MCP Openverse Server

An MCP server that provides tools for searching and fetching openly-licensed images from Openverse

javascript

17

GitHub Stars

javascript

Language

6 months ago

First Indexed

2 months ago

Catalog Refreshed

Documentation & install

Readme and setup notes from the catalogue, plus a client-ready config you can copy for your MCP host.

Installation

Add the following to your MCP client configuration file.

Configuration

View docs

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "neno-is-ooo-mcp-openverse": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "@mcp/openverse"
      ]
    }
  }
}

You can run a specialized MCP server that lets you search, filter, and fetch openly-licensed images from Openverse. It provides tools to find images, get details, locate related images, and even search for essay illustrations, all with attribution information ready for use.

How to use

You interact with this server through an MCP client. Start the server locally or connect to a remote MCP endpoint, then choose one of the available tools to perform image searches or retrieve image data. Use the provided tools to build workflows for content creation, research, or publication, ensuring you include proper attribution for each image.

How to install

Prerequisites you need before installation are Node.js and npm, which you likely have already if you develop with JavaScript or TypeScript.

Install the MCP Openverse package globally so you can run it from any terminal.

npm install -g @mcp/openverse

If you prefer to install from source, clone the repository, install dependencies, build, and link the package locally.

git clone https://github.com/yourusername/mcp-openverse.git
cd mcp-openverse
npm install
npm run build
npm link

Additional content

You can configure how you run the MCP server in your environment. The project provides two common ways to start the server: via npx for a quick run or via node for a local build path.

If you are using Claude Desktop or a similar MCP client, you can register the server with a stdio configuration that launches the MCP runtime.

Image attribution and limits

All images come with attribution requirements. Include the attribution text and license information with each image you use. The server exposes attribution data for each image to help you comply with licensing terms.

Troubleshooting

If you encounter rate limit errors, you are likely using an anonymous API path. Consider authenticating to increase rate limits, or stagger requests to stay within the allowed quota.

If you receive no results, try broader search terms or remove some filters. Connection issues may be due to network blocks or firewall settings.

Development

To run in development mode, install dependencies and start the development server.

npm install
npm run build
npm run dev

Available tools

search_images

Search openly licensed images with filters for license, source, file extension, aspect ratio, size, and more.

get_image_details

Retrieve detailed information and attribution data for a specific image using its image_id.

get_related_images

Find images related to a given image_id with pagination support.

get_image_stats

Return statistics about available images by source.

search_images_for_essay

High-level tool to locate images suitable for illustrating essays, based on topics and key concepts.