Inaturalist Mcp

[](https://github.com/cssnr/inaturalist-mcp/releases/latest) [](https://pypi.org/project/inaturalist-mcp/) [](https://github.com/cssnr/inaturalist-mcp/pkgs/container/inaturalist-mcp) [](https://github.com/cssnr/inaturalist-mcp/pkgs/container/inaturalist-mcp) [](https://pypi.org/project/inaturalist-mcp/) [](https://github.com/cssnr/inaturalist-mcp/actions/workflows/build.yaml) [](https://github.com/cssnr/inaturalist-mcp/actions/workflows/deploy.yaml) [](https://github.com/cssnr/inaturalist-mcp/actions/workflows/release.yaml) [](https://github.com/cssnr/inaturalist-mcp/pulse) [](https://github.com/cssnr/inaturalist-mcp?tab=readme-ov-file#readme) [](https://github.com/cssnr/inaturalist-mcp?tab=readme-ov-file#readme) [](https://github.com/cssnr/inaturalist-mcp/graphs/contributors) [](https://github.com/cssnr/inaturalist-mcp/issues) [](https://github.com/cssnr/inaturalist-mcp/discussions) [](https://github.com/cssnr/inaturalist-mcp/forks) [](https://github.com/cssnr/inaturalist-mcp/stargazers) [](https://cssnr.github.io/) [](https://discord.gg/wXy6m2X8wY) [](https://ko-fi.com/cssnr)

iNaturalist MCP

• [Setup](#setup)
• [Local](#local)
• [Remote](#remote)
• [Development](#development)
• [Building](#building)
• [Support](#support)
• [Contributing](#contributing)

iNaturalist MCP server that provides access to the iNaturalist API via the Model Context Protocol.

Exposes a search_taxa tool that searches for organisms by common or scientific name and returns taxonomic details, common names, photos, and Wikipedia links.

Setup

This can be run in [Local](#local) CLI mode or [Remote](#remote) server mode.

Local

In CLI mode using uv.

View Config - Local uv

{
  "$schema": "https://opencode.ai/config.json",
  "mcp": {
    "inaturalist": {
      "type": "local",
      "command": ["uvx", "inaturalist-mcp"],
      "enabled": true
    }
  }
}

In CLI mode using Python pip.

pip install inaturalist-mcp

View Config - Local Python

{
  "$schema": "https://opencode.ai/config.json",
  "mcp": {
    "inaturalist": {
      "type": "local",
      "command": ["inaturalist-mcp"],
      "enabled": true
    }
  }
}

Remote

With Docker run.

docker run --rm -p 80:8000 ghcr.io/cssnr/inaturalist-mcp:latest

With Docker Compose.

services:
  app:
    image: ghcr.io/cssnr/inaturalist-mcp:latest
    ports:
      - '80:8000'

With Python from source.

uv sync
uv run uvicorn inaturalist_mcp.server:app --app-dir src --host 0.0.0.0 --port 8000

View Config - Remote

{
  "$schema": "https://opencode.ai/config.json",
  "mcp": {
    "inaturalist": {
      "type": "remote",
      "url": "http://localhost/mcp",
      "enabled": true
    }
  }
}

Note: Set the url to the host you are running the server on.

[](https://render.com/deploy?repo=https://github.com/cssnr/inaturalist-mcp)

For a Docker Swarm + Traefik example see the docker-compose-swarm.yaml.

For a Portainer Deploy workflow see the .github/workflows/deploy.yaml.

Development

Sync project.

uv sync

Run local server.

run cli

Run remote server (live reload).

run dev

Point your client to: http://localhost:8000/mcp

Run remote Docker Compose (live reload).

run compose

Point your client to: http://localhost/mcp

You can set the PORT environment variable.

Building

Docker Image

To build and test the docker image run.

bash build.sh
docker compose up

Point your client to: http://localhost/mcp

Python Package

This builds the bdist and wheel, if you have a use for it...

run build

Support

If you run into any issues or need help getting started, please do one of the following:

• Report an Issue:
• Q&A Discussion:
• Request a Feature:
• Chat with us on Discord:

[](https://github.com/cssnr/inaturalist-mcp/issues/new?template=1-feature.yaml) [](https://github.com/cssnr/inaturalist-mcp/issues) [](https://github.com/cssnr/inaturalist-mcp/discussions) [](https://discord.gg/wXy6m2X8wY)

Contributing

Please consider making a donation to support the development of this project and additional open source projects.

[](https://ko-fi.com/cssnr)

For a full list of current projects visit: https://cssnr.github.io/

Source & license

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

• Author: cssnr
• Source: cssnr/inaturalist-mcp
• License: MIT
• Homepage: https://cssnr.github.io

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