# StatPearls MCP Server
[](https://smithery.ai/server/@jpoles1/statpearls-mcp)
A [Model Context Protocol (MCP)](https://modelcontextprotocol.io/introduction) server that fetches disease information from [StatPearls](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK430685/), a trusted source of peer-reviewed medical content.
Give your AI system a relaible source of medical knowledge for its next conversation.
## Features
- Searches for diseases and medical conditions on StatPearls
- Retrieve comprehensive, reliable medical information from StatPearls
- Convert HTML content to well-formatted Markdown to make it AI-friendly
- Integrates with AI models via the Model Context Protocol
### If you don't already have a Model Context Protocol (MCP) client:
If you are a casual user, you can use [Claude Desktop](https://modelcontextprotocol.io/quickstart/user) to get started using MCP servers. It is a free and open-source desktop application that allows you to run MCP servers locally and connect to them.
If you are a power user/developer, I recommend using VSCode with the [RooCode](https://docs.roocode.com/) extension which enables you to connect in [MCP servers](https://docs.roocode.com/features/mcp/what-is-mcp) to your development environment for infinite possibilities!
## Installation
Once you have an MCP-capable AI client, you can run this server locally.
The easiest way to get up and running is to download the appropriate executable/binary for your OS from the [releases page](https://github.com/jpoles1/statpearls-mcp/releases). This will give you a self-contained executable that you can run without any additional setup.
Place this executable in a directory of your choice. Then simply add the following to your `mcp_settings.json` file:
#### For Windows:
```json
{
"mcpServers": {
...
"statpearls": {
"command": "{path_to_executable_here}\\statpearls-mcp.exe"
},
...
}
}
#### For Mac/Linux:
```json
{
"mcpServers": {
...
"statpearls": {
"command": "{path_to_executable_here}/statpearls-mcp"
},
...
}
}
```
### Installing via Smithery
To install statpearls-mcp for Claude Desktop automatically via [Smithery](https://smithery.ai/server/@jpoles1/statpearls-mcp):
```bash
npx -y @smithery/cli install @jpoles1/statpearls-mcp --client claude
```
### For Developers:
You can also run the server from source. This requires [Bun](https://bun.sh/) to be installed on your system.
1. Clone the repository
2. Install dependencies (`bun install`)
3. Compile the server (`bun run build`)
4. Now you can add the server to your `mcp_settings.json` file:
```json
{
"mcpServers": {
...
"statpearls": {
"command": "node",
"args": [
"{path_to_proj_here}/dist/index.js"
]
},
...
}
}
```
## Tool Definition
The server provides a single tool:
- **statpearls_disease_info**: Fetches comprehensive, reliable medical information about diseases from StatPearls.
### Input Schema
```json
{
"query": "diabetes",
"format_options": {
"includeToc": true,
"maxLength": 50000
}
}
```
- `query`: Disease or medical condition to search for (required)
- `format_options`: Optional formatting preferences
- `includeToc`: Whether to include a table of contents (default: true)
- `maxLength`: Maximum length of the returned content in characters (default: 50000)
### Example Output
The tool returns formatted Markdown content with:
- Title and source information
- Table of contents (optional)
- Structured sections including etiology, epidemiology, pathophysiology, clinical features, diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis (when available)
## Development
### Project Structure
```
statpearls-mcp/
├── src/ # Source code
│ ├── index.ts # Main entry point and server setup
│ ├── test-html-parser.ts # Test utility for HTML parser
│ ├── test-statpearls-parser.ts # Test utility for StatPearls parser
│ ├── testrun.ts # Test runner utility
│ ├── tools/ # Tool definitions and handlers
│ │ └── statpearls.ts # StatPearls tool definition and handler
│ ├── services/ # Core functionality services
│ │ ├── search.ts # Search functionality
│ │ ├── content.ts # Content retrieval and processing
│ │ └── markdown.ts # HTML to Markdown conversion
│ ├── types/ # Type definitions
│ │ ├── index.ts # Common type definitions
│ │ └── statpearls.ts # StatPearls-specific type definitions
│ └── utils/ # Utility functions
│ ├── html.ts # HTML parsing utilities
│ ├── error.ts # Error handling utilities
│ └── statpearls-parser.ts # StatPearls content parsing utilities
├── scripts/ # Build and utility scripts
│ ├── build.ts # Build script for creating Node.js compatible bundle
│ ├── compile.ts # Script for compiling executables
│ ├── release.ts # Script for handling releases
│ └── version.ts # Script for managing versioning
├── dist/ # Build output directory (not in repository)
├── package.json # Project configuration and dependencies
├── tsconfig.json # TypeScript configuration
├── bun.lock # Bun dependency lock file
├── README.md # Main project documentation
└── RELEASE-PROCESS.md # Documentation for release process
```
### Building and Releasing
#### Building
The build process creates a single JavaScript file that can run with vanilla Node.js:
```bash
# Production build
bun run build
# or
bun run build:prod
# Development build
bun run build:dev
```
This creates a bundled file at `dist/index.js` that includes all dependencies.
#### Compiling Executables
You can compile platform-specific executables using Bun's compilation feature:
```bash
# Compile for all platforms
bun run compile:all
# Compile for specific platforms
bun run compile:linux
bun run compile:windows
bun run compile:mac
```
This creates executable files in the `dist` directory:
- `statpearls-mcp` (default executable)
- `statpearls-mcp-linux-x64` (Linux)
- `statpearls-mcp-windows-x64.exe` (Windows)
- `statpearls-mcp-darwin-x64` (macOS)
#### Releasing
The release process handles versioning, building, compiling, and Git operations:
```bash
# Release a patch version (bug fixes)
bun run release:patch
# Release a minor version (new features, backward compatible)
bun run release:minor
# Release a major version (breaking changes)
bun run release:major
```
This process:
1. Updates the version in package.json
2. Builds the distribution file
3. Compiles executables for all platforms
4. Creates a Git commit with the version number
5. Creates a Git tag for the version
6. Pushes the commit and tag to GitHub
#### Versioning
The project follows semantic versioning. You can check the current version with:
```bash
bun run version
```
## License
This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.
