Openedu Mcp

OpenEdu MCP Server

A comprehensive Model Context Protocol (MCP) server designed to provide educational resources and support curriculum planning for educators. This server integrates with multiple educational APIs to provide access to books, articles, definitions, and research papers with intelligent educational filtering and grade-level appropriateness.

🎓 Features

Complete API Integration Suite

• 📚 Open Library Integration: Educational book search, recommendations, and metadata
• 🌐 Wikipedia Integration: Educational article analysis with grade-level filtering
• 📖 Dictionary Integration: Vocabulary analysis and language learning support
• 🔬 arXiv Integration: Academic paper search with educational relevance scoring

Educational Intelligence

• Grade Level Filtering: K-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-12, College level content
• Subject Classification: Mathematics, Science, ELA, Social Studies, Arts, PE, Technology
• Curriculum Alignment: Common Core, NGSS, State Standards support
• Educational Metadata: Complexity scoring, reading levels, educational value assessment

Performance & Reliability

• Intelligent Caching: SQLite-based caching with TTL support
• Rate Limiting: Built-in rate limiting to respect API quotas
• Usage Analytics: Comprehensive usage tracking and performance metrics
• Error Handling: Robust error handling with educational context preservation

🚀 Quick Start

Prerequisites

• Python 3.9 or higher
• pip package manager

Installation

1. Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/Cicatriiz/openedu-mcp.git
cd openedu-mcp

1. Install dependencies:

pip install -r requirements.txt

1. Set up configuration:

cp .env.example .env
# Edit .env with your preferred settings if needed

1. Run the server:

python -m src.main

1. Test the installation:

   python run_validation_tests.py

Development Setup

For development, install additional dependencies:

pip install -r requirements-dev.txt

Run tests:

# Unit tests
pytest tests/

# Integration tests
pytest tests/test_integration/

# Performance tests
pytest tests/test_performance.py

Format code:

black src tests
isort src tests

🛠️ MCP Tools Reference

The Education MCP Server provides 21+ MCP tools across four API integrations:

📚 Open Library Tools (4 tools)

search_educational_books

Search for educational books with grade-level and subject filtering.

search_educational_books(
    query="mathematics",
    subject="Mathematics", 
    grade_level="6-8",
    limit=10
)

get_book_details_by_isbn

Get detailed book information by ISBN with educational metadata.

get_book_details_by_isbn(
    isbn="9780134685991",
    include_cover=True
)

search_books_by_subject

Search books by educational subject with curriculum alignment.

search_books_by_subject(
    subject="Science",
    grade_level="3-5",
    limit=10
)

get_book_recommendations

Get curated book recommendations for specific grade levels.

get_book_recommendations(
    grade_level="9-12",
    subject="Physics",
    limit=5
)

🌐 Wikipedia Tools (5 tools)

search_educational_articles

Search Wikipedia articles with educational filtering and analysis.

search_educational_articles(
    query="photosynthesis",
    grade_level="3-5",
    subject="Science",
    limit=5
)

get_article_summary

Get article summaries with educational metadata and complexity analysis.

get_article_summary(
    title="Solar System",
    include_educational_analysis=True
)

get_article_content

Get full article content with educational enrichment.

get_article_content(
    title="Photosynthesis",
    include_images=True
)

get_featured_article

Get Wikipedia's featured article with educational analysis.

get_featured_article(
    date="2024/01/15",
    language="en"
)

get_articles_by_subject

Get articles by educational subject with grade-level filtering.

get_articles_by_subject(
    subject="Mathematics",
    grade_level="6-8",
    limit=10
)

📖 Dictionary Tools (5 tools)

get_word_definition

Get educational word definitions with grade-appropriate complexity.

get_word_definition(
    word="ecosystem",
    grade_level="6-8",
    include_pronunciation=True
)

get_vocabulary_analysis

Analyze word complexity and educational value.

get_vocabulary_analysis(
    word="photosynthesis",
    context="plant biology lesson"
)

get_word_examples

Get educational examples and usage contexts for vocabulary.

get_word_examples(
    word="fraction",
    grade_level="3-5",
    subject="Mathematics"
)

get_pronunciation_guide

Get phonetic information and pronunciation guides.

get_pronunciation_guide(
    word="photosynthesis",
    include_audio=True
)

get_related_vocabulary

Get synonyms, antonyms, and related educational terms.

get_related_vocabulary(
    word="democracy",
    relationship_type="related",
    grade_level="9-12",
    limit=10
)

🔬 arXiv Tools (5 tools)

search_academic_papers

Search academic papers with educational relevance filtering.

search_academic_papers(
    query="machine learning education",
    academic_level="Undergraduate",
    subject="Computer Science",
    max_results=10
)

get_paper_summary

Get paper summaries with educational analysis and accessibility scoring.

get_paper_summary(
    paper_id="2301.00001",
    include_educational_analysis=True
)

get_recent_research

Get recent research papers by educational subject.

get_recent_research(
    subject="Physics",
    days=30,
    academic_level="High School",
    max_results=5
)

get_research_by_level

Get research papers appropriate for specific academic levels.

get_research_by_level(
    academic_level="Graduate",
    subject="Mathematics",
    max_results=10
)

analyze_research_trends

Analyze research trends for educational insights.

analyze_research_trends(
    subject="Artificial Intelligence",
    days=90
)

🖥️ Server Tools (1 tool)

get_server_status

Get comprehensive server status and performance metrics.

get_server_status()

🔌 Connectivity Endpoints

This section details how to interact with the OpenEdu MCP Server through various interfaces, including direct standard I/O, HTTP for tool execution, and Server-Sent Events for real-time updates.

Stdio Tool (handle_stdio_input)

The server includes a tool designed for direct command-line or piped input.

• Tool Name: handle_stdio_input
• Description: Processes a single line of text input and returns a transformed version. This is useful for basic interaction or scripting with the MCP server if it's configured to listen to stdin.
• Signature: async def handle_stdio_input(ctx: Context, input_string: str) -> str
• Example Interaction:

`` Tool: handle_stdio_input Input: "your text here" Output: "Processed: YOUR TEXT HERE" ``

HTTP Endpoint for MCP Tools

All registered MCP tools (including handle_stdio_input and the 20+ tools listed above) are accessible via HTTP. This allows integration with various applications and services. The server likely uses a JSON RPC style for these interactions.

• Endpoint: POST /mcp (This is a common convention for FastMCP servers supporting JSON RPC)
• Request Method: POST
• Headers: Content-Type: application/json
• Request Body Structure (JSON RPC):

``json { "jsonrpc": "2.0", "method": "", "params": {"param1": "value1", ...}, "id": "your_request_id" } ``

• Example curl call to handle_stdio_input:

``bash curl -X POST -H "Content-Type: application/json" \ -d '{"jsonrpc": "2.0", "method": "handle_stdio_input", "params": {"input_string": "hello from http"}, "id": 1}' \ http://localhost:8000/mcp ``

• Expected Response:

``json { "jsonrpc": "2.0", "result": "Processed: HELLO FROM HTTP", "id": 1 } ` If an error occurs, the result field will be replaced by an error object containing code and message`.

Server-Sent Events (SSE) Endpoint

The server provides an SSE endpoint for real-time notifications. This is useful for clients that need to stay updated with server-initiated events.

• Endpoint: GET /events
• Description: Streams events from the server to the client.
• Event Format: Each event is sent as a block of text:

``` event: data: id:

``` (Note: An empty line separates events.)

• Known Events:
• connected: Sent once when the client successfully connects to the SSE stream.
• data: {"message": "Successfully connected to SSE stream"}
• ping: Sent periodically as a heartbeat to keep the connection alive and indicate server health.
• data: {"heartbeat": , "message": "ping"} (loop_count increments)
• error: Sent if an error occurs within the SSE generation stream.
• data: {"error": ""}

• Example: Connecting with JavaScript's EventSource:

```javascript const evtSource = new EventSource("http://localhost:8000/events");

evtSource.onopen = function() { console.log("Connection to SSE opened."); };

evtSource.onmessage = function(event) { // Generic message handler if no specific event type is matched console.log("Generic message:", event.data); try { const parsedData = JSON.parse(event.data); console.log("Parsed generic data:", parsedData); } catch (e) { // Data might not be JSON } };

evtSource.addEventListener("connected", function(event) { console.log("Event: connected"); console.log("Data:", JSON.parse(event.data)); });

evtSource.addEventListener("ping", function(event) { console.log("Event: ping"); console.log("Data:", JSON.parse(event.data)); });

evtSource.addEventListener("error", function(event) { if (event.target.readyState === EventSource.CLOSED) { console.error("SSE Connection was closed.", event); } else if (event.target.readyState === EventSource.CONNECTING) { console.error("SSE Connection is reconnecting...", event); } else { // An error occurred while streaming, data might be available console.error("SSE Error:", event); if (event.data) { try { console.error("Error Data:", JSON.parse(event.data)); } catch (e) { console.error("Error Data (raw):", event.data); } } } }); ```

• Example: Connecting with curl:

``bash curl -N -H "Accept:text/event-stream" http://localhost:8000/events ` *(Note: curl` will keep the connection open and print events as they arrive.)*

💻 Editor & AI Tool Integration

You can integrate the OpenEdu MCP Server with various AI-assisted coding tools and IDE plugins. This allows these tools to leverage the server's educational functionalities directly within your development environment. Configuration typically involves telling the editor how to start and communicate with the OpenEdu MCP server. The server is run using python -m src.main from the root of this project.

Below are example configurations for some popular tools. You may need to adjust paths (e.g., for cwd or if you have a specific Python environment) based on your local setup.

Cursor

To add this server to Cursor IDE:

1. Go to Cursor Settings > MCP.
2. Click + Add new Global MCP Server.
3. Alternatively, add the following configuration to your global .cursor/mcp.json file (ensure cwd points to the root directory of this project):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "openedu-mcp-server": {
      "command": "python",
      "args": [
        "-m",
        "src.main"
      ],
      "cwd": "/path/to/your/openedu-mcp" // Replace with the actual path to this project's root
    }
  }
}

See the Cursor documentation for more details.

Windsurf

To set up MCP with Windsurf (formerly Cascade):

1. Navigate to Windsurf - Settings > Advanced Settings or use the Command Palette to Open Windsurf Settings Page.
2. Scroll down to the Cascade section and add the OpenEdu MCP server directly in mcp_config.json (ensure cwd points to the root directory of this project):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "openedu-mcp-server": {
      "command": "python",
      "args": [
        "-m",
        "src.main"
      ],
      "cwd": "/path/to/your/openedu-mcp" // Replace with the actual path to this project's root
    }
  }
}

Cline

Add the following JSON manually to your cline_mcp_settings.json via Cline's MCP Server setting (ensure cwd points to the root directory of this project):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "openedu-mcp-server": {
      "command": "python",
      "args": [
        "-m",
        "src.main"
      ],
      "cwd": "/path/to/your/openedu-mcp" // Replace with the actual path to this project's root
    }
  }
}

Roo Code

Access the MCP settings by clicking Edit MCP Settings in Roo Code settings or using the Roo Code: Open MCP Config command in VS Code's command palette (ensure cwd points to the root directory of this project):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "openedu-mcp-server": {
      "command": "python",
      "args": [
        "-m",
        "src.main"
      ],
      "cwd": "/path/to/your/openedu-mcp" // Replace with the actual path to this project's root
    }
  }
}

Claude

Add the following to your claude_desktop_config.json file (ensure cwd points to the root directory of this project):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "openedu-mcp-server": {
      "command": "python",
      "args": [
        "-m",
        "src.main"
      ],
      "cwd": "/path/to/your/openedu-mcp" // Replace with the actual path to this project's root
    }
  }
}

See the Claude Desktop documentation for more details if available.

📋 Educational Use Cases

Elementary Education (K-2)

# Find age-appropriate books
books = await search_educational_books(
    query="animals", 
    grade_level="K-2", 
    subject="Science"
)

# Get simple definitions
definition = await get_word_definition(
    word="habitat", 
    grade_level="K-2"
)

# Find educational articles
articles = await search_educational_articles(
    query="animal homes", 
    grade_level="K-2"
)

Middle School STEM (6-8)

# Get math textbooks
books = await search_books_by_subject(
    subject="Mathematics", 
    grade_level="6-8"
)

# Analyze vocabulary complexity
analysis = await get_vocabulary_analysis(
    word="equation", 
    context="solving math problems"
)

# Find related terms
related = await get_related_vocabulary(
    word="algebra", 
    grade_level="6-8"
)

High School Advanced (9-12)

# Get physics recommendations
books = await get_book_recommendations(
    grade_level="9-12", 
    subject="Physics"
)

# Get detailed articles
article = await get_article_content(
    title="Quantum mechanics"
)

# Find accessible research
papers = await search_academic_papers(
    query="climate change", 
    academic_level="High School"
)

College Research

# Find academic textbooks
books = await search_educational_books(
    query="calculus", 
    grade_level="College"
)

# Get recent research
research = await get_recent_research(
    subject="Computer Science", 
    academic_level=

…

## Source & license

This open-source MCP server is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

- **Author:** [Cicatriiz](https://github.com/Cicatriiz)
- **Source:** [Cicatriiz/openedu-mcp](https://github.com/Cicatriiz/openedu-mcp)
- **License:** MIT

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.