TMDB

You deploy this MCP server to connect AI assistants with TMDB data, enabling you to search movies, retrieve details, and generate movie-related content through structured prompts and tools. This setup integrates TMDB API access into an MCP client workflow so you can build richer movie-aware capabilities into your applications or assistants.

How to use

You run the MCP server locally or remotely and connect through an MCP client. The server exposes static resources for basic TMDB information, dynamic resource templates for individual movies, and a set of tools and prompts that let you search, discover trends, get details, and craft content like reviews and recommendations. Use the client’s commands to perform actions such as fetching movie details, listing trending titles, or finding similar movies. The prompts let you tailor outputs, for example by requesting a review in a specific style or generating personalized recommendations.

Key capabilities include searching for movies by title or keywords, retrieving current trending movies, getting details for a specific movie by ID, and finding movies similar to a given title. You can also prompt the server to generate content such as reviews or recommendations, which can be tailored by mood or genre.

How to install

Prerequisites you need before installing are Node.js (v16 or later), npm or yarn, and a TMDB API key.

• Clone the project to your development machine
• Install dependencies
• Configure your TMDB API key in a .env file
• Build the project
• Start the server
• Optionally configure Claude Desktop to connect to the MCP server

Concrete steps you should follow exactly are shown here. Copy and run these commands in your terminal to set up the TMDB MCP server locally.

# 1. Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/your-username/tmdb-mcp.git
cd tmdb-mcp

# 2. Install dependencies
npm install

# 3. Configure your TMDB API key
# Create a .env file in the project root and add:
# TMDB_API_KEY=your_api_key_here

# 4. Build the project
npm run build

# 5. Start the server
npm start

Claude Desktop setup (optional)

If you are using Claude Desktop, add a local MCP server entry so Claude can communicate with TMDB MCP Server.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "tmdb_mcp": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/absolute/path/to/your/tmdb-mcp/build/index.js"]
    }
  }
}

Available tools

Search Movies

Find movies by title or keywords using the TMDB API and return matching results with basic metadata such as title, year, and overview.

Get Trending Movies

Retrieve the current trending movies for the day or week from TMDB.

Get Similar Movies

Find movies similar to a specified movie by ID or title and provide related titles and metadata.