中文 | English | Español | Français | 日本語

FTIR.fun MCP Server

MCP server and REST API client for FTIR.fun — gives AI assistants and code pipelines direct access to 130,000+ FTIR infrared reference spectra for material identification, peak explanation, and spectral library search.

Available Tools at a Glance

Related MCP server: Chemspace MCP Server

Get an API Key

1. Sign in at ftir.fun — new accounts include free trial credits.

2. Go to Account → API Keys and click Generate.

3. Copy the key immediately (starts with ftir_; shown only once).

Authentication uses a single header — no OAuth, no browser redirect:

# For MCP (hosted)
Authorization: Bearer ftir_your_key_here

# For REST API
X-API-Key: ftir_your_key_here

MCP Tools

The hosted MCP endpoint https://ftir.fun/mcp exposes seven tools.

analyze_ftir_spectrum

Search the FTIR infrared spectral library for one unknown spectrum. Accepts peaks, a natural-language query, or a raw instrument file.

Parameters

Returns: Ranked candidate materials with library similarity scores, peak-by-peak evidence linked to published literature (DOI), confidence levels, and uncertainty disclosures.

Example

Identify this infrared spectrum: peaks at 2915, 1715, 1450, 1260, 1090 cm-1.

explain_peaks

Explain one or more FTIR infrared peaks without requiring a full spectral library search. Useful for quick functional-group assignment and wavenumber interpretation.

Parameters

Returns: Structured peak explanations with functional-group assignments and uncertainty wording when available.

Example

Use FTIR.fun to explain the infrared peaks at 1715 and 3300 cm-1 in ATR mode.

parse_ftir_spectrum

Parse a base64-encoded FTIR instrument file into aligned wavenumber-intensity curve points and automatically detected peak positions. Use this to extract raw spectral data before analysis.

Parameters

Returns: Aligned (wavenumber, intensity) data points and a list of detected peak positions in cm⁻¹.

find_spectra

Find FTIR library reference spectra by substance name, CAS number, spectrum number, or keywords. Returns raw spectral curve data for direct comparison.

Parameters

Returns: Matching reference spectra with num, names, CAS, peak markers, and library curve data.

Example

Find FTIR reference spectra for polyethylene terephthalate (PET).

submit_ftir_report

Submit a base64-encoded FTIR spectrum file to the full FTIR.fun tri-axis identification workflow — the same multi-stage analysis used on the website. Returns a task_id and result_num immediately; poll with get_ftir_report_status for the completed report.

Parameters

Returns: { task_id, result_num }

get_ftir_report_status

Poll the status of a report submitted via submit_ftir_report. When complete, the response includes the full structured report_view (the same data shown on the FTIR.fun website) and a shareable report_url.

Parameters

Returns: Status field plus report_view and report_url when complete.

fetch_result

Fetch a historical FTIR.fun infrared analysis result by report number.

Parameters

Returns: Structured context with report_url, headline, summary, report_view, and result_context.

REST API

Call FTIR.fun directly from any language — Python, JavaScript, R, MATLAB, Go. Ideal for LIMS integrations, batch spectral processing pipelines, or adding infrared spectrum search to your own application.

Full API reference: https://ftir.fun/api-docs/

Health check (no key required)

curl https://ftir.fun/health
# → {"status":"ok","service":"ftirfun-api"}

Identify an unknown infrared spectrum — peak list

curl -X POST https://ftir.fun/ftir/analyze_spectrum \
  -H "X-API-Key: ftir_your_key_here" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "peaks": [2915, 1715, 1450, 1260, 1090],
    "options": {"top_k": 10, "tolerance_cm1": 8}
  }'

import requests

resp = requests.post(
    "https://ftir.fun/ftir/analyze_spectrum",
    headers={"X-API-Key": "ftir_your_key_here"},
    json={
        "peaks": [2915, 1715, 1450, 1260, 1090],
        "options": {"top_k": 10, "tolerance_cm1": 8},
    },
)
print(resp.json())

Identify from an instrument file

import base64, requests

with open("sample.spa", "rb") as f:
    b64 = base64.b64encode(f.read()).decode()

resp = requests.post(
    "https://ftir.fun/ftir/analyze_spectrum",
    headers={"X-API-Key": "ftir_your_key_here"},
    json={"file_base64": b64, "filename": "sample.spa"},
)
print(resp.json())

Supports 28+ instrument formats: Thermo .spa/.spc, Bruker .opus, PerkinElmer .sp, JCAMP-DX .jdx/.dx, CSV, Excel, and more.

Explain infrared peaks

curl -X POST https://ftir.fun/ftir/explain_peaks \
  -H "X-API-Key: ftir_your_key_here" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"peaks": [1715, 2915], "sampling_mode": "ATR"}'

Search reference spectra by name or CAS

curl "https://ftir.fun/v1/search?q=polypropylene&limit=5" \
  -H "X-API-Key: ftir_your_key_here"

MCP Client Setup

The hosted MCP endpoint requires no local install. Use https://ftir.fun/mcp with a Bearer token.

VS Code (GitHub Copilot Agent mode)

Create .vscode/mcp.json in your project (or add to user-level settings):

{
  "inputs": [
    {
      "type": "promptString",
      "id": "ftirfun-api-key",
      "description": "FTIR.fun API key",
      "password": true
    }
  ],
  "servers": {
    "ftirfun": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://ftir.fun/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer ${input:ftirfun-api-key}"
      }
    }
  }
}

Open Command Palette → MCP: List Servers → select ftirfun → Start.

Claude Desktop / Claude Code

URL:    https://ftir.fun/mcp
Header: Authorization: Bearer ftir_your_key_here

One-line setup for Claude Code:

claude mcp add --transport http ftirfun https://ftir.fun/mcp \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer ftir_your_key_here"

Cursor

Create or edit ~/.cursor/mcp.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ftirfun": {
      "url": "https://ftir.fun/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer ftir_your_key_here"
      }
    }
  }
}

OpenAI Codex

[mcp_servers.ftirfun]
url = "https://ftir.fun/mcp"
http_headers = { Authorization = "Bearer ftir_your_key_here" }

Gemini CLI

Edit ~/.gemini/settings.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ftirfun": {
      "httpUrl": "https://ftir.fun/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer ftir_your_key_here"
      }
    }
  }
}

Any other MCP client that supports a remote streamable-HTTP server works: set the URL to https://ftir.fun/mcp and send Authorization: Bearer <your key>. Full tool schema: server-card.json.

Self-Hosted (Local Wrapper)

A lightweight local MCP wrapper that proxies to the hosted API. Exposes the same seven FTIR tools.

Configuration

export FTIRFUN_API_KEY="your-ftirfun-api-key"
# Optional:
export FTIRFUN_API_BASE_URL="https://ftir.fun"
export FTIRFUN_API_TIMEOUT_SECONDS="120"

Run Locally (stdio)

python -m venv .venv
. .venv/bin/activate
pip install .
ftirfun-mcp

Run Streamable HTTP

FTIRFUN_API_KEY="your-ftirfun-api-key" \
ftirfun-mcp --transport streamable-http --host 127.0.0.1 --port 8001

Docker

docker build -t ftirfun-mcp .
docker run --rm -p 8001:8001 -e FTIRFUN_API_KEY="your-ftirfun-api-key" ftirfun-mcp

Tool Boundary

Use this MCP server for FTIR spectral-library screening only. Do not use for non-FTIR spectroscopy, general chemistry Q&A, or accredited laboratory certification.

About FTIR.fun

FTIR.fun is a cloud platform for infrared spectroscopy analysis used by researchers and engineers in 52+ countries. It gives fast access to a continuously updated library of 130,000+ FTIR reference spectra covering polymers, additives, coatings, pharmaceuticals, and industrial chemicals.

What you can do on ftir.fun:

• Spectral library search — upload an instrument file or paste peak positions; get ranked matches with similarity scores and literature DOI citations

• AI peak explanation — ask about any wavenumber; receive functional-group assignments backed by a chemical knowledge graph

• Full tri-axis report — automatic multi-stage material identification with a shareable result URL

• Image-to-CSV extraction — digitize a spectrum curve from a published figure

• Formulation workbench — multi-component deformulation and unknown-mixture analysis

Step-by-step setup guides: https://ftir.fun/ai-integration/

Registry & Links