CDS MCP Server

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for integrating with CERN Document Server (CDS), built on the Invenio digital library framework.

Features

• Search CDS documents with filters for experiments, document types, and date ranges

• Get detailed document information including full abstracts, authors, and metadata

• Access document files with download URLs and file metadata

• Browse experiments and document types for better search filtering

Installation

Requires Python 3.10+.

Quickstart (recommended)

No installation needed, just use uvx to run directly:

uvx cds-mcp

From PyPI

pip install cds-mcp

From source

git clone https://github.com/MohamedElashri/cds-mcp
cd cds-mcp
uv sync

Usage

Claude Desktop

Add to your claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "cds": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["cds-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "CERN_CLIENT_ID": "your-client-id",
        "CERN_CLIENT_SECRET": "your-client-secret"
      }
    }
  }
}

For public access only, omit the authentication environment variables:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "cds": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["cds-mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Note for macOS users: If you see an error about uvx not being found, you may need to provide the absolute path. Claude Desktop does not support ~ or $HOME expansion.

1. Run which uvx in your terminal to find the path (e.g., /Users/yourusername/.local/bin/uvx).

2. Use that absolute path in the command field:

"command": "/Users/yourusername/.local/bin/uvx"

Claude Code

Project-specific (default) — installs in the current directory's configuration:

claude mcp add cds-mcp -- uvx cds-mcp

Global — installs for your user account (works in all projects):

claude mcp add --scope user cds-mcp -- uvx cds-mcp

To include authentication, add the CERN credentials before the --:

# Example: Global installation with CERN SSO authentication
claude mcp add --scope user -e CERN_CLIENT_ID=your_client_id -e CERN_CLIENT_SECRET=your_client_secret cds-mcp -- uvx cds-mcp

Manual Configuration — you can also manually edit your global config at ~/.claude.json (on Linux/macOS) or %APPDATA%\Claude\claude.json (on Windows):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "cds": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["cds-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "CERN_CLIENT_ID": "your_client_id",
        "CERN_CLIENT_SECRET": "your_client_secret"
      }
    }
  }
}

GitHub Copilot

Add to your VS Code settings.json:

{
  "mcp": {
    "servers": {
      "cds": {
        "command": "uvx",
        "args": ["cds-mcp"],
        "env": {
          "CERN_CLIENT_ID": "your_client_id",
          "CERN_CLIENT_SECRET": "your_client_secret"
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

Or add a .vscode/mcp.json to your project:

{
  "servers": {
    "cds": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["cds-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "CERN_CLIENT_ID": "your_client_id",
        "CERN_CLIENT_SECRET": "your_client_secret"
      }
    }
  }
}

Gemini CLI

Add to your ~/.gemini/settings.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "cds": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["cds-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "CERN_CLIENT_ID": "your_client_id",
        "CERN_CLIENT_SECRET": "your_client_secret"
      }
    }
  }
}

Direct usage

# Run with uvx (no install needed)
uvx cds-mcp

# Or if installed from PyPI
cds-mcp

# Or from source
uv run cds-mcp

# With CERN SSO authentication
CERN_CLIENT_ID=your_client_id CERN_CLIENT_SECRET=your_client_secret uvx cds-mcp

Authentication & Access Control

CERN SSO Authentication (Recommended)

The CDS MCP server now supports proper CERN SSO authentication using OAuth2/OIDC for accessing restricted content.

Setup Instructions

1. Register your application in the CERN Application Portal:

   • Create a new OIDC application

   • Select "Confidential Client" type

   • Note your Client ID and Client Secret

2. Configure authentication by setting environment variables:

   export CERN_CLIENT_ID="your-client-id"
   export CERN_CLIENT_SECRET="your-client-secret"

3. Use with MCP clients - the server will automatically handle token acquisition and refresh.

Supported Access Levels

• Public Records: Available without authentication

• Restricted Collections: Requires CERN SSO authentication and appropriate experiment membership

  • ATLAS: Internal Notes, Communications, Conference Slides

  • CMS: Internal Notes, Analysis Notes

  • LHCb: Internal Notes, Analysis Notes

  • ALICE: Internal Notes, Analysis Notes

Tools

1. search_cds_documents: Search CDS with various filters

2. get_cds_document_details: Get detailed information about a specific document

3. get_cds_document_files: Get file information and download URLs

4. get_cds_experiments: List available CERN experiments for filtering

5. get_cds_document_types: List available document types for filtering

Development

git clone https://github.com/MohamedElashri/cds-mcp
cd cds-mcp
uv sync
uv run python tests/test_integration.py  # Test real CDS API integration
uv run python tests/test_mcp_server.py   # Test MCP server functionality

License

MIT License - see LICENSE for details.