@pipeworx/wolfram-alpha

Wolfram Alpha MCP — computational, factual, and quantitative queries.

Part of Pipeworx — an MCP gateway connecting AI agents to 1857+ live data sources. This is an independent, unofficial integration — not affiliated with, endorsed by, or published by the upstream provider.

Tools

• short_answer(query, units?) — single terse plain-text answer.

• full_query(query, units?, include_pods?, format?) — structured pods.

• wolfram_compute(code, time_constraint_seconds?) — evaluate Wolfram Language code in a real kernel (keyless; proxies Wolfram's hosted MCP evaluator).

Related MCP server: Wolfram Alpha MCP Server

Auth

• Platform key: gateway env PLATFORM_WOLFRAM_KEY (short_answer / full_query only).

• BYO: ?_apiKey=<appid> after registering at https://developer.wolframalpha.com (free 2,000/mo).

• wolfram_compute needs no key.

Evaluation semantics (triage note)

wolfram_compute transmits code verbatim — as a JSON field, no URL encoding anywhere in the path — and the kernel evaluates exactly what was sent. A result that disagrees with the intent of a question is almost certainly a bug in the submitted code, not in transmission or the kernel. Before filing a tool bug, echo the parse back through the tool itself:

wolfram_compute({ code: "ToString[Hold[<the code>], InputForm]" })

Worked incident (fleet #422, 2026-08-17): Length[Select[Permutations[Range[5]], And@@Thread[#!=Range[5]]&]] was reported as "returns 119, should be 44 (derangements of 5)". 119 is the correct value of that code: on two concrete lists, perm != Range[5] evaluates eagerly to a single True/False (whole-list Unequal) before Thread can split it elementwise, so the predicate collapses to "permutation ≠ identity" and counts 120 − 1 = 119. The elementwise form And @@ MapThread[Unequal, {#, Range[5]}] & (or just Subfactorial[5]) returns 44 through the same tool.

Data source

• Short Answers v1: https://api.wolframalpha.com/v1/result

• Full Results v2: https://api.wolframalpha.com/v2/query (output=JSON)

• Wolfram Language kernel: https://agenttools.wolfram.com/mcp (hosted by Wolfram Research)

Quick Start

Add to your MCP client (Claude Desktop, Cursor, Windsurf, etc.):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "wolfram-alpha": {
      "url": "https://gateway.pipeworx.io/wolfram-alpha/mcp"
    }
  }
}

What this endpoint actually serves

tools/list at https://gateway.pipeworx.io/wolfram-alpha/mcp returns the tools in the table above plus the shared Pipeworx meta-tools — ask_pipeworx, discover_tools, search_within, remember/recall and the rest of the gateway-wide set. So the tool count you see is larger than this table: a single-pack endpoint currently lists roughly 30 shared tools alongside the pack's own. The connection's initialize response states its exact scope, and is the authoritative answer for a given day.

This is deliberate, not multiplexing by accident. The meta-tools are what let a scoped connection answer a question this pack does not cover — via ask_pipeworx, which routes across the whole catalog — without you adding a second MCP server. There is currently no way to mount a pack endpoint without them; if the extra schemas cost you more context than the routing is worth, connect to the full gateway once rather than to several pack endpoints.

Or connect to the full Pipeworx gateway to get every pack's tools listed directly, instead of just this one's:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "pipeworx": {
      "url": "https://gateway.pipeworx.io/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Both URLs reach the same gateway and the same 1857+ data sources. The only difference is which pack's tools are listed directly; ask_pipeworx reaches all of them from either one.

No MCP client? Call it over HTTP

curl -X POST https://gateway.pipeworx.io/v1/tools/short_answer \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{"query":"what is the capital of France"}'

No account needed for the first calls. Inspect any tool: GET https://gateway.pipeworx.io/v1/tools/short_answer. Find one: POST https://gateway.pipeworx.io/v1/tools/search_packs with {"query":"..."}.

Run it from npm

@pipeworx/mcp-wolfram-alpha is a local stdio bridge to the Pipeworx gateway: your MCP client starts it with npx, and it forwards every call to the same https://gateway.pipeworx.io/wolfram-alpha/mcp endpoint shown above. It needs network access; there is no offline mode.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "wolfram-alpha": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@pipeworx/mcp-wolfram-alpha"]
    }
  }
}

Without a key it calls anonymously, capped at 50 calls a day. A free account raises that to 200 a day: get a key at https://pipeworx.io/signup and add "env": { "PIPEWORX_API_KEY": "<your key>" } to the server entry. The key is sent as a Bearer token, the same way a hosted connection sends it, so calls are metered and billed exactly as they are there.

It lists only this pack's tools by default. Set PIPEWORX_META_TOOLS=1 to also list ask_pipeworx and the other gateway-wide tools.

Behind an HTTPS proxy: Node's built-in fetch does not read HTTPS_PROXY by default. Newer Node releases honour it when NODE_USE_ENV_PROXY=1 is set; check your Node version's documentation.

Using with ask_pipeworx

Instead of calling tools directly, you can ask questions in plain English — this works on the pack endpoint above as well as on the full gateway:

ask_pipeworx({ question: "your question about Wolfram Alpha data" })

The gateway picks the right tool and fills the arguments automatically.

More

• Docs and guides

• pipeworx.io

License

MIT