MCP Materials Server

Instructions

Get detailed properties for a specific material from Materials Project.

Args:
    material_id: Materials Project ID (e.g., "mp-149" for Silicon)

Returns:
    JSON with comprehensive material properties

Implementation Reference

• src/mcp_materials/server.py:152-208 (handler)

  The primary handler for the 'get_properties' tool. This function is decorated with @mcp.tool(), which registers it as an MCP tool. It takes a material_id, checks the Materials Project API key, fetches summary data using MPRester, extracts thermodynamic, electronic, symmetry, and other properties, and returns a formatted JSON response.

  def get_properties(
      material_id: str,
  ) -> str:
      """
      Get detailed properties for a specific material from Materials Project.
  
      Args:
          material_id: Materials Project ID (e.g., "mp-149" for Silicon)
  
      Returns:
          JSON with comprehensive material properties
      """
      has_key, key_or_error = check_api_key()
      if not has_key:
          return json.dumps({"error": key_or_error})
  
      try:
          from mp_api.client import MPRester
  
          with MPRester(key_or_error) as mpr:
              doc = mpr.materials.summary.get_data_by_id(material_id)
  
              properties = {
                  "material_id": str(doc.material_id),
                  "formula": doc.formula_pretty,
                  "elements": [str(el) for el in doc.elements],
                  "nelements": doc.nelements,
                  "nsites": doc.nsites,
                  "volume": doc.volume,
                  "density": doc.density,
  
                  # Thermodynamic properties
                  "formation_energy_per_atom": doc.formation_energy_per_atom,
                  "energy_above_hull": doc.energy_above_hull,
                  "is_stable": doc.is_stable,
  
                  # Electronic properties
                  "band_gap": doc.band_gap,
                  "is_metal": doc.is_metal,
                  "is_magnetic": doc.is_magnetic,
                  "total_magnetization": doc.total_magnetization,
  
                  # Symmetry
                  "crystal_system": str(doc.symmetry.crystal_system.value) if doc.symmetry and hasattr(doc.symmetry.crystal_system, 'value') else (str(doc.symmetry.crystal_system) if doc.symmetry else None),
                  "space_group_symbol": doc.symmetry.symbol if doc.symmetry else None,
                  "space_group_number": doc.symmetry.number if doc.symmetry else None,
                  "point_group": doc.symmetry.point_group if doc.symmetry else None,
  
                  # Provenance
                  "database_ids": doc.database_IDs if hasattr(doc, 'database_IDs') else None,
              }
  
              return json.dumps(properties, indent=2)
  
      except Exception as e:
          return json.dumps({"error": str(e)})