cBioPortal MCP Server

Instructions

Implementation Reference

• cbioportal_mcp/endpoints/studies.py:69-162 (handler)

  Core handler function for search_studies tool: fetches all studies, filters by keyword in name/description, applies client-side pagination and sorting.
  @handle_api_errors("search studies") async def search_studies( self, keyword: str, page_number: int = 0, page_size: int = 50, sort_by: Optional[str] = None, direction: str = "ASC", limit: Optional[int] = None, ) -> Dict[str, Any]: """ Search for cancer studies by keyword in their name or description with pagination support. Args: keyword: Keyword to search for page_number: Page number to retrieve (0-based) page_size: Number of items per page sort_by: Field to sort by direction: Sort direction (ASC or DESC) limit: Maximum number of items to return across all pages (None for no limit) Returns: Dictionary containing list of studies and metadata """ # Input Validation validate_keyword(keyword) validate_page_params(page_number, page_size, limit) validate_sort_params(sort_by, direction) try: # Await the asynchronous API call all_studies = await self.api_client.make_api_request("studies") if not isinstance(all_studies, list): # Handle cases where API request might not return a list (e.g., error response) error_message = ( "Unexpected response from API when fetching all studies." ) if isinstance(all_studies, dict) and "error" in all_studies: error_message = all_studies["error"] return { "error": f"Failed to search studies for '{keyword}': {error_message}" } keyword_lower = keyword.lower() matching_studies = [ study for study in all_studies if keyword_lower in study.get("name", "").lower() or keyword_lower in study.get("description", "").lower() ] if sort_by: reverse = direction.upper() == "DESC" matching_studies.sort( key=lambda s: str(s.get(sort_by, "")), reverse=reverse ) total_count = len(matching_studies) start_idx = page_number * page_size end_idx = start_idx + page_size paginated_studies = matching_studies[start_idx:end_idx] if limit and limit > 0 and len(paginated_studies) > limit: paginated_studies = paginated_studies[:limit] has_more = end_idx < total_count return { "studies": paginated_studies, "pagination": { "page": page_number, "page_size": page_size if limit != 0 else total_count, # Adjust page_size if all were requested "total_found": total_count, "has_more": has_more if limit != 0 else False, # No more if all were requested }, } except httpx.HTTPStatusError as exc: return { "error": f"Failed to search studies for '{keyword}': API request failed with status {exc.response.status_code}" } except httpx.RequestError as exc: return { "error": f"Failed to search studies for '{keyword}': Network error - {str(exc)}" } except Exception as e: return { "error": f"Failed to search studies for '{keyword}': An unexpected error occurred - {str(e)}" }
• cbioportal_mcp/server.py:96-131 (registration)

  Registers the search_studies method (line 106 in tool_methods list) as an MCP tool using FastMCP.add_tool
  def _register_tools(self): """Register tool methods as MCP tools.""" # List of methods to register as tools (explicitly defined) tool_methods = [ # Pagination utilities "paginate_results", "collect_all_results", # Studies endpoints "get_cancer_studies", "get_cancer_types", "search_studies", "get_study_details", "get_multiple_studies", # Genes endpoints "search_genes", "get_genes", "get_multiple_genes", "get_mutations_in_gene", # Samples endpoints "get_samples_in_study", "get_sample_list_id", # Molecular profiles endpoints "get_molecular_profiles", "get_clinical_data", "get_gene_panels_for_study", "get_gene_panel_details", ] for method_name in tool_methods: if hasattr(self, method_name): method = getattr(self, method_name) self.mcp.add_tool(method) logger.debug(f"Registered tool: {method_name}") else: logger.warning(f"Method {method_name} not found for tool registration")
• cbioportal_mcp/server.py:193-205 (handler)

  Thin wrapper handler in main server class that delegates to StudiesEndpoints.search_studies
  async def search_studies( self, keyword: str, page_number: int = 0, page_size: int = 50, sort_by: Optional[str] = None, direction: str = "ASC", limit: Optional[int] = None, ) -> Dict[str, Any]: """Search for cancer studies by keyword in their name or description with pagination support.""" return await self.studies.search_studies( keyword, page_number, page_size, sort_by, direction, limit )