Click on "Install Server".
Wait a few minutes for the server to deploy. Once ready, it will show a "Started" state.
In the chat, type
@followed by the MCP server name and your instructions, e.g., "@Bio-MCP BLASTBLAST this sequence against the nt database: ATGCGATCGATCG"
That's it! The server will respond to your query, and you can continue using it as needed.
Here is a step-by-step guide with screenshots.
Bio-MCP BLAST
π MCP server for NCBI BLAST sequence similarity search
Enable AI assistants to perform BLAST searches through natural language. Search nucleotide and protein databases, create custom databases, and get formatted results instantly.
𧬠Features
blastn - Nucleotide-nucleotide BLAST search
blastp - Protein-protein BLAST search
makeblastdb - Create custom BLAST databases
Multiple output formats - JSON, XML, tabular, pairwise
Flexible input - File paths or raw sequences
Queue support - Async processing for large searches
π Quick Start
Installation
# Install BLAST+
conda install -c bioconda blast
# Or via package manager
# macOS: brew install blast
# Ubuntu: sudo apt-get install ncbi-blast+
# Install MCP server
git clone https://github.com/bio-mcp/bio-mcp-blast.git
cd bio-mcp-blast
pip install -e .Basic Usage
# Start the server
python -m src.server
# Or with queue support
python -m src.main --mode queueConfiguration
Add to your MCP client config:
{
"mcpServers": {
"bio-blast": {
"command": "python",
"args": ["-m", "src.server"],
"cwd": "/path/to/bio-mcp-blast"
}
}
}π‘ Usage Examples
Simple Sequence Search
User: "BLAST this sequence against nr: ATGCGATCGATCG"
AI: [calls blastn] β Returns top hits with E-values and alignmentsFile-Based Search
User: "Search proteins.fasta against SwissProt database"
AI: [calls blastp] β Processes file and returns similarity resultsDatabase Creation
User: "Create a BLAST database from reference_genomes.fasta"
AI: [calls makeblastdb] β Creates searchable database filesLong-Running Search
User: "BLAST large_dataset.fasta against nt database"
AI: [calls blastn_async] β "Job submitted! ID: abc123, checking progress..."π οΈ Available Tools
blastn
Nucleotide-nucleotide BLAST search
Parameters:
query(required) - Path to FASTA file or sequence stringdatabase(required) - Database name (e.g., "nt", "nr") or pathevalue- E-value threshold (default: 10)max_hits- Maximum hits to return (default: 50)output_format- Output format: "tabular", "xml", "json", "pairwise"
blastp
Protein-protein BLAST search
Parameters:
Same as blastn, but for protein sequences
makeblastdb
Create BLAST database from FASTA file
Parameters:
input_file(required) - Path to FASTA filedatabase_name(required) - Name for output databasedbtype(required) - "nucl" or "prot"title- Database title (optional)
Async Variants (Queue Mode)
blastn_async- Submit nucleotide search to queueblastp_async- Submit protein search to queueget_job_status- Check job progressget_job_result- Retrieve completed results
βοΈ Configuration
Environment Variables
# Basic settings
export BIO_MCP_MAX_FILE_SIZE=100000000 # 100MB max file size
export BIO_MCP_TIMEOUT=300 # 5 minute timeout
export BIO_MCP_BLAST_PATH="blastn" # BLAST executable path
# Queue mode settings
export BIO_MCP_QUEUE_URL="http://localhost:8000"Database Setup
# Download common databases
mkdir -p ~/blast-databases
cd ~/blast-databases
# NCBI databases (large downloads!)
update_blastdb.pl --decompress nt
update_blastdb.pl --decompress nr
update_blastdb.pl --decompress swissprot
# Set environment variable
export BLASTDB=~/blast-databasesπ³ Docker Deployment
Local Docker
# Build image
docker build -t bio-mcp-blast .
# Run container
docker run -p 5000:5000 \
-v ~/blast-databases:/data/blast-db:ro \
-e BLASTDB=/data/blast-db \
bio-mcp-blastDocker Compose
services:
blast-server:
build: .
ports:
- "5000:5000"
volumes:
- ./databases:/data/blast-db:ro
environment:
- BLASTDB=/data/blast-db
- BIO_MCP_TIMEOUT=600π Queue System
For long-running BLAST searches, use the queue system:
Setup
# Start queue infrastructure
cd ../bio-mcp-queue
./setup-local.sh
# Start BLAST server with queue support
python -m src.main --mode queue --queue-url http://localhost:8000Usage
# Submit async job
job_info = await blast_server.submit_job(
job_type="blastn",
parameters={
"query": "large_sequences.fasta",
"database": "nt",
"evalue": 0.001
}
)
# Check status
status = await blast_server.get_job_status(job_info["job_id"])
# Get results when complete
results = await blast_server.get_job_result(job_info["job_id"])π Output Formats
Tabular (Default)
# Fields: query_id, subject_id, percent_identity, alignment_length, ...
Query_1 gi|123456 98.5 500 7 0 1 500 1000 1499 1e-180 633JSON
{
"BlastOutput2": [{
"report": {
"results": {
"search": {
"query_title": "Query_1",
"hits": [...]
}
}
}
}]
}XML
Standard BLAST XML format for programmatic parsing.
π§ͺ Testing
# Run tests
pytest tests/ -v
# Test with real data
python tests/test_integration.py
# Performance testing
python tests/benchmark.pyπ Performance Tips
Local Optimization
Use SSD storage for databases
Increase available RAM
Use multiple CPU cores:
export BLAST_NUM_THREADS=8
Database Selection
Use smaller, specific databases when possible
Consider pre-filtering sequences
Use appropriate E-value thresholds
Queue Optimization
Scale workers based on CPU cores
Use separate queues for different database sizes
Monitor memory usage with large databases
π Security
Input Validation
File size limits prevent resource exhaustion
Path validation prevents directory traversal
Command injection protection
Sandboxing
Containers run as non-root user
Temporary files isolated per job
Network access restricted in production
π Troubleshooting
Common Issues
BLAST not found
# Check installation
which blastn
blastn -version
# Install via conda
conda install -c bioconda blastDatabase not found
# Check BLASTDB environment variable
echo $BLASTDB
# List available databases
blastdbcmd -list /path/to/databasesOut of memory
# Reduce max_target_seqs
blastn -max_target_seqs 100
# Use streaming for large outputs
# Increase system swap spaceTimeout errors
# Increase timeout
export BIO_MCP_TIMEOUT=3600 # 1 hour
# Or use queue mode for long searches
python -m src.main --mode queueπ Resources
π€ Contributing
Fork the repository
Create a feature branch
Add tests for new functionality
Ensure all tests pass
Submit a pull request
See CONTRIBUTING.md for detailed guidelines.
π License
MIT License - see LICENSE file.
π Support
π Bug Reports: GitHub Issues
π‘ Feature Requests: GitHub Issues
π Documentation: Bio-MCP Docs
π¬ Discussions: GitHub Discussions
Happy BLASTing! π§¬π