Skip to main content
Glama
phuihock

TA-Lib MCP Server

by phuihock
README.md
# TA-Lib MCP Server

Technical analysis indicators MCP server and HTTP API for the Model Context Protocol.

## Quick Start

```bash
# Install dependencies
uv sync --dev

# Copy logging configuration
cp logging.conf.example logging.conf

# Run MCP server with STDIO transport (default)
uv run python -m mcp_talib.cli --mode mcp --transport stdio

# Run MCP server with HTTP transport
uv run python -m mcp_talib.cli --mode mcp --transport http --port 8000

# Run HTTP API server only
uv run python -m mcp_talib.cli --mode api --port 8001

# Run CLI tools directly
uv run python -m mcp_talib.cli_tools list
uv run python -m mcp_talib.cli_tools call sma --close '[1,2,3,4,5]' --timeperiod 3
```

## Architecture

This project provides **three independent access methods**:

### 1. MCP Server (`--mode mcp`)
- Pure MCP protocol implementation exposing all TA-Lib indicators as MCP tools
- Supports both STDIO and HTTP transports
- For use with MCP clients (Claude Desktop, MCP Inspector, MCP.js, etc.)
- No REST endpoints

**Run with STDIO** (for Claude Desktop):
```bash
uv run python -m mcp_talib.cli --mode mcp --transport stdio
```

**Run with HTTP** (for MCP Inspector or web clients):
```bash
uv run python -m mcp_talib.cli --mode mcp --transport http --port 8000
# Then connect MCP Inspector to http://localhost:8000/mcp
```

### 2. HTTP API Server (`--mode api`)
- Pure REST API with `/api/tools/*` JSON endpoints
- For programmatic HTTP access to indicators
- No MCP protocol, just clean REST

**Run HTTP API**:
```bash
uv run python -m mcp_talib.cli --mode api --port 8001
```

**Example request**:
```bash
curl -X POST http://localhost:8001/api/tools/sma \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{"close": [1,2,3,4,5], "timeperiod": 3}'
```

### 3. CLI Tools
Direct command-line access to all indicators via Typer:

```bash
uv run python -m mcp_talib.cli_tools list
uv run python -m mcp_talib.cli_tools call sma --close '[1,2,3,4,5]' --timeperiod 3
```

## Features

- **All TA-Lib Overlap Studies**: BBANDS, DEMA, EMA, HT_TRENDLINE, KAMA, MA, MAMA, MAVP, MIDPOINT, MIDPRICE, SAR, SAREXT, SMA, T3, TEMA, TRIMA, WMA
- **Three Access Methods**: MCP, HTTP REST, CLI
- **Dual Transport**: STDIO and HTTP for MCP
- **Cross-platform**: Works on Linux, macOS, Windows
- **Comprehensive Testing**: 26+ unit and integration tests
- **Error Handling**: Detailed error messages and validation

## Logging Configuration

The server requires a `logging.conf` file for configuration. Copy the example:

```bash
cp logging.conf.example logging.conf
```

Customize logging levels, format, and output file in `logging.conf`. The server logs to `console.log` to maintain MCP protocol compliance.

## Client Configuration

### Claude Desktop Integration

1. **Create a configuration file** at `~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json` (macOS) or appropriate location for your OS.

2. **Add the MCP server configuration**:

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "talib": {
      "command": "uv",
      "args": [
        "run",
        "python",
        "-m",
        "mcp_talib.cli",
        "--mode",
        "mcp",
        "--transport",
        "stdio"
      ],
      "cwd": "/path/to/mcp-talib"
    }
  }
}
```

3. **Restart Claude Desktop** to load the TA-Lib server.

4. **Verify installation** by asking Claude: "What technical analysis tools do you have?"

### MCP Inspector (HTTP)

For HTTP transport, configure MCP Inspector to connect to:

```
http://localhost:8000/mcp
```

Run the MCP server with HTTP:
```bash
uv run python -m mcp_talib.cli --mode mcp --transport http --port 8000
```

**Important**: The HTTP transport includes CORS middleware to support browser-based MCP clients like MCP Inspector. If you're behind a reverse proxy or need to restrict access, update the `allow_origins` setting in `transport/http.py`.

### MCP.js Client Example

```javascript
import { MCPServerClient } from '@modelcontextprotocol/client';

const client = new MCPServerClient({
  name: 'talib',
  command: 'uv',
  args: ['run', 'python', '-m', 'mcp_talib.cli', '--mode', 'mcp', '--transport', 'stdio'],
  cwd: process.cwd()
});

// List available tools
const tools = await client.listTools();
console.log('Available tools:', tools.map(t => t.name));

// Calculate SMA
const smaResult = await client.callTool('calculate_sma', {
  close_prices: [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10],
  timeperiod: 5
});
console.log('SMA result:', smaResult);
```

### HTTP API Client (Python)

```python
import requests

# List available tools
response = requests.get('http://localhost:8001/api/tools')
tools = response.json()['tools']
print('Available tools:', tools)

# Calculate SMA
payload = {
    'close': [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10],
    'timeperiod': 5
}
response = requests.post('http://localhost:8001/api/tools/sma', json=payload)
result = response.json()
print('SMA result:', result['values'])
```

## Available Tools

The server provides MCP tools and HTTP endpoints for all TA-Lib overlap studies:

- `calculate_sma` - Simple Moving Average
- `calculate_ema` - Exponential Moving Average
- `calculate_rsi` - Relative Strength Index
- `calculate_bbands` - Bollinger Bands
- `calculate_dema` - Double Exponential Moving Average
- `calculate_ht_trendline` - Hilbert Transform Trendline
- `calculate_kama` - Kaufman Adaptive Moving Average
- `calculate_ma` - Moving Average (with matype)
- `calculate_mama` - MESA Adaptive Moving Average
- `calculate_mavp` - Moving Average Variable Period
- `calculate_midpoint` - Midpoint
- `calculate_midprice` - Midpoint Price
- `calculate_sar` - Parabolic SAR
- `calculate_sarext` - Parabolic SAR Extended
- `calculate_t3` - T3 Moving Average
- `calculate_tema` - Triple Exponential Moving Average
- `calculate_trima` - Triangular Moving Average
- `calculate_wma` - Weighted Moving Average

## Development

```bash
# Run all tests
uv run pytest

# Run specific test file
uv run pytest tests/unit/test_sma.py -v

# Run with coverage
uv run pytest --cov=src/mcp_talib

# Format code
uv run black src/ tests/
uv run isort src/ tests/

# Lint code
uv run ruff check src/ tests/
```

## TA-Lib Platform Requirements

This project uses the `ta-lib` Python bindings which require the native TA-Lib C library. On CI or developer machines, you must install the system TA-Lib library before installing Python dependencies.

Links and notes:

- TA-Lib (C library): https://ta-lib.org/ (download and build instructions)
- ta-lib-python (Python bindings): https://github.com/TA-Lib/ta-lib-python

Example (Ubuntu) CI steps:

```bash
# Install build dependencies
sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install -y build-essential wget

# Download and build TA-Lib C library
wget http://prdownloads.sourceforge.net/ta-lib/ta-lib-0.4.0-src.tar.gz
tar -xzf ta-lib-0.4.0-src.tar.gz
cd ta-lib
./configure --prefix=/usr
make
sudo make install

# Then install Python package
pip install TA-Lib
```

If you prefer not to build the C library, use pre-built wheels where available or run tests in an environment that provides TA-Lib (e.g., manylinux CI images).

## HTTP API & CLI

This project exposes the same MCP tools as both HTTP JSON endpoints and a Typed CLI (Typer).

### HTTP Endpoint

`POST /api/tools/{tool_name}`

**Request JSON**: `{ "close": [..], ...params }` (e.g., `timeperiod`)

**Response JSON**: `{ "success": true, "values": [...], "metadata": {...} }`

**Example**:

```bash
curl -X POST http://localhost:8000/api/tools/sma \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{"close": [1,2,3,4,5], "timeperiod": 3}'
```

### MCP Endpoint

The MCP endpoint remains at `/mcp` for MCP clients (MCP Inspector, MCP.js, etc.). The HTTP API mounts the MCP app so both APIs coexist.

### CLI (Typer)

Access tools from the command line via `src/mcp_talib/cli_tools.py`:

**List available tools**:
```bash
uv run python -m mcp_talib.cli_tools list
```

**Call a tool**:
```bash
uv run python -m mcp_talib.cli_tools call sma --close '[1,2,3,4,5]' --timeperiod 3
```

### Implementation Notes

- Requests are validated using Pydantic
- The underlying indicator implementations are the single source of truth (registered in the MCP registry)
- HTTP API and CLI call the same code so results match exactly
- For browser clients, CORS is enabled and `mcp-session-id` is exposed in responses

## License

MIT

TDQS

C2.7/5.0

Scored across 18 tools

Disambiguation5/5

Every tool has a clearly distinct purpose, each calculating a specific technical indicator or moving average type with no overlap. The descriptions explicitly name the unique algorithm (e.g., BBANDS, DEMA, RSI), making it impossible to confuse one tool for another.

Naming Consistency5/5

All tools follow a perfect verb_noun pattern with 'calculate_' as the consistent prefix, followed by the indicator acronym or name in snake_case. There are no deviations in naming style or structure across the entire set.

Tool Count4/5

With 18 tools, the count is slightly high but reasonable for a technical analysis library covering various moving averages and indicators. It aligns well with the domain's scope, though it might feel heavy compared to simpler servers.

Completeness5/5

The tool set provides comprehensive coverage for calculating technical indicators, including multiple moving average types (e.g., SMA, EMA, WMA) and key indicators like RSI and Bollinger Bands. There are no obvious gaps for a TA-Lib server, as it covers the core functionality expected in this domain.

Maintenance

ActivityInactive
ResponsivenessNo issues