cameronrye/openzim-mcp

Transform static ZIM archives into dynamic knowledge engines for AI models
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> ✨ **Highlights.** A lean **8-tool advanced surface** (zim_query, zim_search, zim_get, zim_get_section, zim_browse, zim_metadata, zim_links, zim_health) with a schema small enough for small-model dispatch — or one-tool **Simple mode** for natural-language queries. **Archive-type presets** auto-tune retrieval per source (Wikipedia, Stack Exchange, …), **inbound link discovery** answers "what links here," and **native libzim introspection** validates and inspects any archive. Available on Smithery and the official MCP Registry. Release notes → Docs →
**OpenZIM MCP** is a modern, secure, high-performance Model Context Protocol server that gives AI models structured, offline access to ZIM format) knowledge archives — Wikipedia, Wiktionary, Stack Exchange, and the rest of the Kiwix Library.
Built for research assistants, knowledge chatbots, and content-analysis systems that need *intelligent* access to vast knowledge repositories — not just a raw text dump. Smart navigation by namespace (articles, metadata, media), structure-aware retrieval (sections, tables of contents, related articles), full-text search with suggestions and multi-archive search, and link-graph extraction to map content relationships. Cached, paginated operations keep things responsive across massive archives; comprehensive input validation and path-traversal protection keep things safe.
Streamable HTTP transport, per-entry MCP resources with live change notifications, and dual Simple / Advanced modes are all built in.
Install
The container defaults to **stdio** transport, so docker run -i speaks MCP over stdin/stdout — wire it into an MCP client the same way as the binary (see Quick start). For the long-running **HTTP** service (bearer auth, CORS, health endpoints), opt in at runtime with -e OPENZIM_MCP_TRANSPORT=http -e OPENZIM_MCP_HOST=0.0.0.0 -e OPENZIM_MCP_AUTH_TOKEN=… -p 8000:8000; see HTTP & Docker deployment.
Verify the install:
Get your first ZIM archive
The server does nothing without an archive to read. Grab a real one — a 13.6 MB extract of English Wikipedia on climate change, from the openZIM project's own testing suite. No account, nothing to install:
~/zim-files is the directory every example below points the server at — the server expands ~ itself, so it works from a shell and from a client config file alike. For full archives — Wikipedia, Wiktionary, Stack Exchange and the rest, ranging from a few hundred MB to tens of GB — browse browse.library.kiwix.org and save the .zim into the same directory. More detail, including checksums and a Windows PowerShell equivalent: Quick start.
Smithery & one-click install
OpenZIM MCP is listed on the Smithery registry and the official MCP Registry (as io.github.cameronrye/openzim-mcp). Add it to your MCP client with the Smithery CLI:
For a one-click **Claude Desktop extension**, download the openzim-mcp- .mcpb asset (and its .sha256) from the latest release and double-click it. The bundle launches the version-pinned uvx openzim-mcp@ (so the host needs uv) and prompts for your ZIM directory. Maintainer runbook: docs/distribution.md.
Quick start
Run the server in Simple mode (default — exposes one natural-language tool, zim_query):
Wire it into your MCP client. Example for Claude Desktop's claude_desktop_config.json (any MCP client that speaks stdio works the same way):
Once the client connects, ask your LLM: *"summarize the article on Photosynthesis"* — zim_query dispatches to the right underlying tool automatically.