NARA Catalog

io.github.ianderso/nara-catalog-mcp

Genealogical research in the US National Archives Catalog: records, transcriptions, page images.

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Connect this server

Add this to your MCP client config — claude_desktop_config.json (Claude Desktop) or .cursor/mcp.json (Cursor).Suits: Claude Desktop · Cursor.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "nara-catalog-mcp": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "nara-catalog-mcp"
      ],
      "env": {
        "NARA_API_KEY": "<your NARA_API_KEY>",
        "NARA_CACHE_DIR": "~/.cache/nara-catalog-mcp",
        "NARA_TIMEOUT": "60",
        "NARA_MONTHLY_CALL_BUDGET": "10000"
      }
    }
  }
}
Environment variables
  • NARA_API_KEYrequiredsecretCatalog API key, requested from the National Archives Catalog API team.
  • NARA_CACHE_DIRDirectory for the on-disk response cache.
  • NARA_TIMEOUTHTTP timeout in seconds.
  • NARA_MONTHLY_CALL_BUDGETCalls per month the key allows, reported by api_budget.

A starting point — check the repository for exact arguments and setup. Restart your client after editing the config.

Category
Developer Tools
Version
1.1.0
Registry
active
Published
10/6/2026

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NARA Catalog — listed on Serverdex

HTML — for your website

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Recommended. A dofollow link from your own domain is the one that counts for search engines, and it's the link we check for a free listing.

Markdown — for your README

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Nice for visibility, but GitHub marks README links nofollow, so it doesn't pass authority. Use the HTML badge on your site as well.