Strava MCP Server

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that provides full access to the Strava API v3. Connect Claude (or any MCP client) to your Strava fitness data — activities, athletes, clubs, segments, routes, streams, gear, and more.

Features

• 30+ tools covering all major Strava API v3 endpoints

• Auto token refresh — OAuth2 tokens are refreshed and cached automatically

• Formatted responses — distances in km, times in minutes, speeds in km/h

• Convenience tools — weekly/monthly summaries, filter by sport type

Available Tools

Related MCP server: Strava MCP Server

Prerequisites

• Python 3.12+

• uv (Python package manager)

• A Strava account

• A Strava API application (see setup below)

Setup

1. Create a Strava API Application

1. Go to https://www.strava.com/settings/api

2. Create a new application:

   • Application Name: anything (e.g. "MCP Server")

   • Category: choose any

   • Website: http://localhost

   • Authorization Callback Domain: localhost

3. Note your Client ID and Client Secret

2. Clone and Install

git clone https://github.com/manojanasuri16/strava-mcp-server.git
cd strava-mcp-server
uv sync

3. Configure Environment

Create a .env file in the project root:

STRAVA_CLIENT_ID=<your_client_id>
STRAVA_CLIENT_SECRET=<your_client_secret>
STRAVA_REFRESH_TOKEN=<your_refresh_token>

To get your refresh token, follow the OAuth Authorization steps below.

4. OAuth Authorization (Getting Your Refresh Token)

Strava uses OAuth2. You need to authorize the app once to get a refresh token.

Step 1: Authorize in browser

Open this URL in your browser (replace YOUR_CLIENT_ID):

https://www.strava.com/oauth/authorize?client_id=YOUR_CLIENT_ID&response_type=code&redirect_uri=http://localhost&scope=read_all,activity:read_all,activity:write,profile:read_all,profile:write

Step 2: Grab the authorization code

After you click "Authorize", Strava redirects to:

http://localhost?code=AUTHORIZATION_CODE&scope=...

Copy the code value from the URL. This code is single-use and expires in minutes, so proceed quickly.

Step 3: Exchange code for tokens

On Linux/macOS (bash):

curl -X POST https://www.strava.com/api/v3/oauth/token \
  -d client_id=YOUR_CLIENT_ID \
  -d client_secret=YOUR_CLIENT_SECRET \
  -d code=AUTHORIZATION_CODE \
  -d grant_type=authorization_code

On Windows (PowerShell):

Invoke-RestMethod -Method Post -Uri "https://www.strava.com/api/v3/oauth/token" -Body @{
  client_id = "YOUR_CLIENT_ID"
  client_secret = "YOUR_CLIENT_SECRET"
  code = "AUTHORIZATION_CODE"
  grant_type = "authorization_code"
}

Step 4: Save the refresh token

The response will include access_token, refresh_token, and expires_at. Copy the refresh_token value into your .env file.

The server will automatically refresh the access token when it expires using this refresh token.

Usage

Test with MCP Inspector

The MCP Inspector provides a web UI to test your tools:

uv run mcp dev strava_server.py

1. Open the Inspector URL shown in the terminal

2. Click Connect

3. Go to the Tools tab

4. Try running a tool like get_athlete_profile or get_recent_activities

Use with Claude Code (CLI)

From your project directory, register the server:

claude mcp add strava -- uv run strava_server.py

Then start a new Claude Code session and ask things like:

• "How was my running this week?"

• "Show me my last 10 activities"

• "What are my all-time cycling stats?"

• "Find popular running segments near Bangalore"

• "Create a manual yoga activity for today"

Use with Claude Desktop

uv run mcp install strava_server.py

Or manually add to your config file:

• Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "strava": {
      "command": "uv",
      "args": ["run", "strava_server.py"],
      "cwd": "/path/to/strava-mcp-server"
    }
  }
}

Restart Claude Desktop after saving.

Use with ChatGPT Desktop

1. Open ChatGPT Desktop app

2. Go to Settings > MCP

3. Add a new server with:

   • Name: strava

   • Command: uv run strava_server.py

   • Working directory: /path/to/strava-mcp-server

Restart ChatGPT Desktop after adding.

Use with Cursor / VS Code

Add to .cursor/mcp.json or .vscode/mcp.json in your workspace:

{
  "servers": {
    "strava": {
      "command": "uv",
      "args": ["run", "strava_server.py"],
      "cwd": "/path/to/strava-mcp-server"
    }
  }
}

Run Standalone

uv run strava_server.py

Troubleshooting

401 Unauthorized Error

This is the most common issue. It means your access token is invalid.

Cause 1: Stale cached tokens

The server caches tokens at ~/.strava-mcp-tokens.json. If this file contains expired/invalid tokens, the server will keep using them.

Fix:

# Linux/macOS
rm ~/.strava-mcp-tokens.json

# Windows (PowerShell)
Remove-Item "$HOME\.strava-mcp-tokens.json" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue

Then restart the server.

Cause 2: Invalid refresh token

Your refresh token in .env may be expired or revoked. This happens if:

• You re-authorized the app and got a new refresh token (old one is invalidated)

• You revoked the app's access in Strava settings

• The token was never obtained properly

Fix: Redo the OAuth Authorization steps to get a fresh refresh token.

Cause 3: Wrong client credentials

Double-check your STRAVA_CLIENT_ID and STRAVA_CLIENT_SECRET in .env match what's shown at https://www.strava.com/settings/api.

429 Rate Limit

Strava limits API requests to:

• 100 requests per 15 minutes

• 1,000 requests per day

The server returns a helpful error message when rate-limited. Wait a few minutes and try again.

Token Refresh Fails on Startup

If the server crashes immediately with a token error, make sure:

1. Your .env file exists in the project root

2. All three variables are set (STRAVA_CLIENT_ID, STRAVA_CLIENT_SECRET, STRAVA_REFRESH_TOKEN)

3. There are no extra spaces or quotes around the values

Missing Scopes

Some tools require specific OAuth scopes:

• activity:read_all — needed for activity details, streams

• activity:write — needed for creating/updating activities

• profile:read_all — needed for athlete zones

• profile:write — needed for updating weight

If a tool returns a 403 Forbidden error, you may need to re-authorize with the correct scopes. Use the authorization URL in Step 1 above (it includes all scopes).

Project Structure

strava-mcp-server/
├── strava_server.py              # Entry point (thin wrapper)
├── src/
│   └── strava_mcp/
│       ├── __init__.py           # Package exports
│       ├── server.py             # FastMCP instance & logging
│       ├── auth.py               # OAuth2 token management
│       ├── client.py             # HTTP helpers (GET, POST, PUT)
│       ├── formatters.py         # Response formatting utilities
│       └── tools/
│           ├── __init__.py       # Auto-imports all tool modules
│           ├── activities.py     # Activity CRUD, laps, zones, comments, kudos
│           ├── athletes.py       # Profile, stats, zones, weight
│           ├── clubs.py          # Clubs, members, admins, activities
│           ├── gear.py           # Bike & shoe details
│           ├── routes.py         # Routes, GPX/TCX export
│           ├── segments.py       # Segments, efforts, explore, star
│           ├── streams.py        # Time-series data streams
│           └── extras.py         # Summaries, filters, upload status
├── pyproject.toml                # Project config and dependencies
├── uv.lock                       # Locked dependencies
├── .env                           # Your Strava credentials (not committed)
└── README.md                      # This file

License

MIT