How do I use DigiKey MCP Server?

1. Click on "Install Server". 2. Wait a few minutes for the server to deploy. Once ready, it will show a "Started" state. 3. In the chat, type @ followed by the MCP server name and your instructions, e.g., "@DigiKey MCP Server find the datasheet and current pricing for an ESP32-WROOM-32E" 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.

DigiKey MCP Server

A Model Context Protocol server for the DigiKey Product Search API v4, built with FastMCP. Docker-first, designed for the Docker MCP Toolkit.

Originally inspired by bengineer19/digikey_mcp.

Prerequisites

DigiKey API credentials — Register at developer.digikey.com, create an app with client_credentials grant type
Docker (recommended) or Python 3.10+
Docker MCP Toolkit — included with Docker Desktop (requires MCP Toolkit support)

Quick Start — Docker MCP Toolkit

The recommended way to run this server. The Docker MCP gateway manages the container lifecycle, injects secrets, and exposes tools to MCP clients like Claude Code or Claude Desktop.

1. Build the Docker image

git clone https://github.com/simon-77/digikey-mcp.git cd digikey-mcp docker build -t digikey-mcp:latest .

2. Create a custom catalog

The gateway discovers servers through catalog files. Create one at ~/.docker/mcp/catalogs/custom.yaml:

version: 3 name: custom displayName: Custom MCP Servers registry: digikey: description: DigiKey component search, pricing, and datasheets via API title: DigiKey type: server image: digikey-mcp:latest secrets: - name: digikey.CLIENT_ID env: CLIENT_ID - name: digikey.CLIENT_SECRET env: CLIENT_SECRET env: - name: USE_SANDBOX value: "false" - name: DIGIKEY_LOCALE_SITE value: "US" - name: DIGIKEY_LOCALE_LANGUAGE value: "en" - name: DIGIKEY_LOCALE_CURRENCY value: "USD" tools: - name: keyword_search - name: product_details - name: search_manufacturers - name: search_categories - name: get_category_by_id - name: search_product_substitutions - name: get_product_media - name: get_product_pricing - name: get_digi_reel_pricing prompts: 0 resources: {}

Change the env values to match your locale (e.g., AT/en/EUR for Austria).

Note: The tools list must match the tools defined in the server. The gateway uses this list to register tools with MCP clients. prompts: 0 and resources: {} indicate the server exposes no MCP prompts or resources.

3. Register the catalog and enable the server

docker mcp catalog import ~/.docker/mcp/catalogs/custom.yaml docker mcp server enable digikey

Re-run catalog import whenever you modify custom.yaml.

4. Set secrets

docker mcp secret set digikey.CLIENT_ID docker mcp secret set digikey.CLIENT_SECRET

You'll be prompted to enter each value. Secret names must be prefixed with the server name (digikey.).

5. Connect an MCP client

docker mcp client connect claude-code

This adds the gateway to your project's .mcp.json:

{ "mcpServers": { "MCP_DOCKER": { "command": "docker", "args": ["mcp", "gateway", "run"], "type": "stdio" } } }

When the MCP client starts, the gateway launches the digikey-mcp:latest container, injects secrets as environment variables, and proxies tool calls.

Rebuilding after changes

docker build -t digikey-mcp:latest . # Restart your MCP client to pick up the new image

No need to re-import the catalog or re-set secrets — just rebuild and restart.

Alternative: Docker standalone

Run the container directly without the MCP Toolkit. You manage secrets and lifecycle yourself.

docker build -t digikey-mcp . docker run --rm -i \ -e CLIENT_ID=your_client_id \ -e CLIENT_SECRET=your_client_secret \ -e USE_SANDBOX=false \ -e DIGIKEY_LOCALE_SITE=US \ -e DIGIKEY_LOCALE_LANGUAGE=en \ -e DIGIKEY_LOCALE_CURRENCY=USD \ digikey-mcp

.mcp.json for MCP clients:

{ "mcpServers": { "digikey": { "command": "docker", "args": [ "run", "--rm", "-i", "-e", "CLIENT_ID=your_client_id", "-e", "CLIENT_SECRET=your_client_secret", "-e", "USE_SANDBOX=false", "-e", "DIGIKEY_LOCALE_SITE=US", "-e", "DIGIKEY_LOCALE_LANGUAGE=en", "-e", "DIGIKEY_LOCALE_CURRENCY=USD", "digikey-mcp" ] } } }

Locale env vars are optional — defaults are US/en/USD (see Configuration).

Alternative: Standalone (pip)

Run without Docker. Requires Python 3.10+.

git clone https://github.com/simon-77/digikey-mcp.git cd digikey-mcp pip install . cat > .env <<EOF CLIENT_ID=your_client_id CLIENT_SECRET=your_client_secret USE_SANDBOX=false DIGIKEY_LOCALE_SITE=US DIGIKEY_LOCALE_LANGUAGE=en DIGIKEY_LOCALE_CURRENCY=USD EOF python digikey_mcp_server.py

.mcp.json for MCP clients:

{ "mcpServers": { "digikey": { "command": "python", "args": ["digikey_mcp_server.py"], "cwd": "/path/to/digikey-mcp", "env": { "CLIENT_ID": "your_client_id", "CLIENT_SECRET": "your_client_secret", "USE_SANDBOX": "false", "DIGIKEY_LOCALE_SITE": "US", "DIGIKEY_LOCALE_LANGUAGE": "en", "DIGIKEY_LOCALE_CURRENCY": "USD" } } } }

Locale env vars are optional — defaults are US/en/USD (see Configuration).

Tools

Search

Tool	Description
`keyword_search`	Search products by keyword with sorting, filtering, manufacturer/category constraints
`search_manufacturers`	List all manufacturers
`search_categories`	List all product categories
`search_product_substitutions`	Find substitute/alternative products

Product Details

Tool	Description
`product_details`	Full product information for a part number
`get_category_by_id`	Category details by ID
`get_product_media`	Images, documents, videos for a product
`get_product_pricing`	Detailed pricing with quantity breaks
`get_digi_reel_pricing`	DigiReel-specific pricing

Search Options

Filters (comma-separated in search_options): LeadFree, RoHSCompliant, InStock, HasDatasheet, HasProductPhoto, Has3DModel, NewProduct

Sort fields: Packaging, ProductStatus, DigiKeyProductNumber, ManufacturerProductNumber, Manufacturer, MinimumQuantity, QuantityAvailable, Price, Supplier, PriceManufacturerStandardPackage

Configuration

All settings are controlled via environment variables. In Docker MCP Toolkit mode, these are set in the catalog env block. In standalone mode, use a .env file.

Variable	Default	Description
`CLIENT_ID`	(required)	DigiKey API client ID
`CLIENT_SECRET`	(required)	DigiKey API client secret
`USE_SANDBOX`	`true`	Use sandbox API (`true`) or production (`false`). The Dockerfile and catalog examples override this to `false`.
`DIGIKEY_LOCALE_SITE`	`US`	DigiKey site (e.g., `AT`, `DE`, `UK`)
`DIGIKEY_LOCALE_LANGUAGE`	`en`	Response language
`DIGIKEY_LOCALE_CURRENCY`	`USD`	Pricing currency (e.g., `EUR`)

Docker MCP Registry

This repo is structured for submission to the docker/mcp-registry. The server.yaml file contains the registry entry reference — this is not the same as the local catalog above. When the server is published to the registry, users won't need to create a custom catalog; they'll install it directly via docker mcp server enable digikey.

Troubleshooting

Gateway shows 0 tools: The server uses lazy OAuth initialization — it won't authenticate until the first tool call. If the gateway still shows no tools, verify the tools list in your catalog matches the tool names above.

OAuth errors on first tool call: Verify your credentials with docker mcp secret list. Secret names must be prefixed: digikey.CLIENT_ID, not CLIENT_ID.

Catalog changes not taking effect: Re-run docker mcp catalog import ~/.docker/mcp/catalogs/custom.yaml after editing the catalog file. Restart your MCP client afterward.

License

MIT License — see LICENSE.

DigiKey MCP Server

DigiKey MCP Server

Prerequisites

Quick Start — Docker MCP Toolkit

1. Build the Docker image

2. Create a custom catalog

3. Register the catalog and enable the server

4. Set secrets

5. Connect an MCP client

Rebuilding after changes

Alternative: Docker standalone

Alternative: Standalone (pip)

Tools

Search

Product Details

Search Options

Configuration

Docker MCP Registry

Troubleshooting

License

Resources

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MCP directory API