1688 & Alibaba.com MCP Server

1688 wholesale and Alibaba.com supplier data inside Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor and your own code: find factories, compare prices and MOQs, check supplier ratings and reviews. Hosted and read-only. No 1688 or Alibaba.com login, no cookies, nothing to install.

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Built from a real 1688 and Alibaba.com search run on 2 November 2026.

Quick start · Agent setup · Tools · Prompts · Client setup · API · Pricing · FAQ

1688 & Alibaba.com MCP is a hosted 1688 MCP server that connects your AI assistant to the two wholesale marketplaces sourcing buyers use most: 1688.com (阿里巴巴1688, China's domestic wholesale site) and Alibaba.com (the international B2B marketplace). Ask in English or Chinese: your assistant finds factories and wholesale listings, compares tiered prices and minimum order quantities (MOQ), checks sales, repeat-buyer rates and supplier verification, and reads Alibaba.com store reviews before you contact a supplier. Results come back as structured rows it can sort, filter, translate and convert into your currency. Developers can call the same tools as a 1688 API and an Alibaba.com API. It covers the 1688 and Alibaba.com marketplaces, not Alibaba Cloud.

Why 1688 & Alibaba.com MCP

• No 1688 or Alibaba.com account. No QR-code or Alipay login, no cookies, no Chinese phone number, no slider captchas to solve. Your own buyer account is never used, so it is never at risk.

• Nothing to install. Add one URL and sign in with Apify. Works in claude.ai and ChatGPT too, not only in desktop apps.

• Both marketplaces in one server. 1688 wholesale products, Alibaba.com products and supplier profiles, and Alibaba.com store reviews, so one question can compare domestic and export prices.

• The fields sourcing decisions need. Quantity price tiers, MOQ, units sold, the shop's repeat-buyer rate (回头率), factory or trading-company type, province and city, dropshipping (一件代发) support, variant prices and stock, Alibaba.com price ladders, sample prices, certifications, response time and on-time delivery.

• Maintained for you. Used by more than 8,000 people on the Apify Store. When 1688 or Alibaba.com change, the tools are updated; your setup stays the same.

• Made for assistants. A bundled skill teaches your assistant the inputs that work and how to chain the tools, and long requests keep running while it checks back.

• Pay per result. Plus a small start fee per run, billed to your own Apify account. No subscription; try it on Apify's free plan.

Related MCP server: Taobao MCP Bridge

How it works

flowchart LR
    A["Your AI assistant<br/>Claude · ChatGPT · Cursor · VS Code"] -->|"remote MCP URL<br/>Apify sign-in"| B["1688 & Alibaba.com MCP server<br/>hosted on Apify"]
    B --> C["1688 products"]
    B --> D["Alibaba.com products<br/>and suppliers"]
    B --> E["Supplier reviews"]
    C --> G["Structured rows"]
    D --> G
    E --> G
    G -->|"sort · filter · translate · compare"| A

Each tool call starts a run on your Apify account. Your assistant waits for it, reads the rows, and answers in plain language. Chain the tools for deeper answers: search 1688 for factory prices, search Alibaba.com for export suppliers of the same product, then read the store reviews of the suppliers you shortlist.

Quick start

1. Create a free Apify account if you do not have one.

2. Add the server to your assistant. Click a button above, or follow the steps for your client below.

3. Sign in with Apify when your assistant asks, then ask a question such as "Find 1688 suppliers for stainless steel water bottles (不锈钢水杯) under ¥15 with their MOQ, and compare them with Alibaba.com suppliers."

About the Apify sign-in page. Apify notes that your assistant "was registered dynamically and wasn't verified by Apify" and asks for full API access. Every assistant that signs in this way sees that notice; it lets your assistant start runs on your account. You can remove the access at any time on your Apify Console integrations page.

Server URL, for any client that accepts a remote MCP server:

https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,get-actor-run,get-dataset-items,zen-studio/1688-wholesale-scraper,zen-studio/alibaba-scraper,zen-studio/alibaba-supplier-review-scraper

Set up with your AI agent

Paste this repository's URL into Claude Code, Codex, Cursor or another agent and ask it to set up 1688 & Alibaba.com MCP. The steps below are written so your agent can follow them.

For AI agents installing this server:

1. This is a hosted remote MCP server (streamable HTTP). There is nothing to download or build. It needs a free Apify account and an Apify sign-in (OAuth) in the user's browser; do not ask for an API token unless the sign-in fails.

2. Server name alibaba-1688, server URL:

   https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,get-actor-run,get-dataset-items,zen-studio/1688-wholesale-scraper,zen-studio/alibaba-scraper,zen-studio/alibaba-supplier-review-scraper

3. Add it with the client's own command:

   • Claude Code: claude plugin marketplace add zen-studio-labs/alibaba-1688-mcp, then claude plugin install alibaba-1688@alibaba-1688-mcp (adds the server and the 1688 & Alibaba.com skill).

   • Codex: codex mcp add alibaba-1688 --url "<server URL>", then codex mcp login alibaba-1688.

   • VS Code: code --add-mcp '{"name":"alibaba-1688","type":"http","url":"<server URL>"}'.

   • Cursor and other clients: add {"mcpServers": {"alibaba-1688": {"url": "<server URL>"}}} to the client's MCP config file (Cursor: ~/.cursor/mcp.json).

4. Ask the user to complete the sign-in. In Claude Code they run /mcp, select alibaba-1688 and choose Authenticate; other clients open the Apify sign-in page themselves. A client restart may be needed before the tools appear.

5. Check it works without starting a paid run: call fetch-actor-details for zen-studio/1688-wholesale-scraper and confirm it returns the input reference. Do not run test searches: on Apify's free plan every run counts against a small allowance (25 runs in total for 1688 products), so keep runs for the user's real requests.

6. Before real requests, read the 1688 & Alibaba.com skill: it explains how long runs work, how the tools chain together and which inputs return good results.

Tools

All tools are read-only. They never place orders, send inquiries, message suppliers or post reviews.

Each Store page lists every field.

Example prompts

Find factories (1688)

• Find 1688 suppliers for stainless steel water bottles (不锈钢水杯) under ¥15, sorted by units sold, with price tiers and MOQ.

• Which 1688 factories in Yiwu (义乌) sell silicone phone cases with an MOQ of 10 or less? Show their repeat-buyer rates.

Compare 1688 with Alibaba.com

• Compare 1688 and Alibaba.com prices for LED strip lights: lowest tier price, MOQ and supplier rating on each, converted to USD.

• For yoga mats, show the five cheapest Alibaba.com offers shipping to Germany and the five best-selling 1688 offers side by side.

Vet a supplier (Alibaba.com)

• Find verified manufacturers of yoga mats on Alibaba.com with Trade Assurance, then read the store reviews of the top three.

• Read the reviews of this supplier and summarise complaints about shipping time: https://ansune1.en.alibaba.com/

Dropshipping and small orders

• Find 1688 pet water fountains that support dropshipping (一件代发) with an MOQ of 1, best-selling first.

• List every colour and size of 1688 product 577048715130 with its price and stock.

In Chinese

• 在1688上找义乌的源头工厂，搜索“硅胶手机壳”，起批量10件以内，列出价格和回头率。

• 对比1688和阿里巴巴国际站上不锈钢保温杯的价格和起订量。

Tip: search 1688 in Chinese (不锈钢水杯, 手机壳, 瑜伽垫); that is how its suppliers title their listings, and it returns more products. Search Alibaba.com in English.

Client setup

1. Open Settings > Connectors and select Add custom connector.

2. Name it 1688 Alibaba and paste the server URL above.

3. Select Connect and sign in with Apify.

4. In a chat, enable the 1688 Alibaba connector from the tools menu.

The connector syncs between claude.ai and Claude Desktop. Custom connector availability depends on your Claude plan. For better results, also add the 1688 & Alibaba.com skill: download alibaba-1688-skill.zip and upload it under Skills in Claude's settings.

Plugin (server plus the 1688 & Alibaba.com skill, recommended):

/plugin marketplace add zen-studio-labs/alibaba-1688-mcp
/plugin install alibaba-1688@alibaba-1688-mcp

Server only:

claude mcp add --transport http alibaba-1688 "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,get-actor-run,get-dataset-items,zen-studio/1688-wholesale-scraper,zen-studio/alibaba-scraper,zen-studio/alibaba-supplier-review-scraper"

Then sign in: run /mcp, select the alibaba-1688 server and choose Authenticate. Until you do, /mcp lists the server as not authenticated and may say its tools could not be fetched; both clear once you sign in.

Click Install in Cursor above, or add examples/cursor-mcp.json to ~/.cursor/mcp.json (all projects) or .cursor/mcp.json (one project). Cursor asks you to sign in with Apify on first use.

Click Install in VS Code above (VS Code Insiders), or add examples/vscode-mcp.json to .vscode/mcp.json. Start the server from the MCP view and sign in with Apify when prompted. Use the tools in Copilot Chat agent mode.

1. Open ChatGPT Plugins, select +, then Add custom MCP server.

2. Name it 1688 Alibaba, paste the server URL above, and choose OAuth authentication.

3. Confirm, create the plugin, and sign in with Apify.

4. In a new chat, type @ and select 1688 Alibaba.

Business, Enterprise and Edu workspaces may need an admin to enable custom servers. See OpenAI's custom MCP server guide.

codex mcp add alibaba-1688 --url "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,get-actor-run,get-dataset-items,zen-studio/1688-wholesale-scraper,zen-studio/alibaba-scraper,zen-studio/alibaba-supplier-review-scraper"
codex mcp login alibaba-1688

Or copy examples/codex-config.toml into ~/.codex/config.toml.

Most clients that support remote MCP servers accept:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "alibaba-1688": {
      "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,get-actor-run,get-dataset-items,zen-studio/1688-wholesale-scraper,zen-studio/alibaba-scraper,zen-studio/alibaba-supplier-review-scraper"
    }
  }
}

If your client cannot complete the Apify sign-in, send your Apify token as a header instead, see examples/bearer-token-mcp.json. Copy the token from your Apify Console integrations page and keep it out of shared files. Clients that only run local servers can bridge with mcp-remote, see examples/claude-desktop-config.json.

Use it as a 1688 / Alibaba.com API

Each tool is also an Apify Actor with a REST API, so you can call it from your own code, a pipeline or an automation, without an assistant. Copy your API token from the Apify Console integrations page. The input fields are the same ones the assistant uses; each Store page has an API tab with ready-made code and the full input reference.

pip install apify-client

import os
from apify_client import ApifyClient

client = ApifyClient(os.environ["APIFY_TOKEN"])
run = client.actor("zen-studio/1688-wholesale-scraper").call(
    run_input={"keywords": ["不锈钢水杯"], "maxResults": 20, "priceMax": 15, "sortBy": "bestSelling"}
)
for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items():
    if item.get("limit_reached") or item.get("retry_later") or "price" not in item:
        print("notice:", item.get("message") or item.get("error"))  # not a product row
        continue
    if item.get("error"):
        print("partial:", item["error"])  # usable product, some fields missing
    print(item["price"]["min"], item["minOrderQuantity"], item["title"], item["detailUrl"])

npm install apify-client

import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

const client = new ApifyClient({ token: process.env.APIFY_TOKEN });
const run = await client.actor('zen-studio/alibaba-scraper').call({
    keywords: ['stainless steel water bottle'],
    maxResults: 20,
    shipToCountry: 'US',
});
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
console.log(items);

Start a run and get its results in one request:

curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/zen-studio~1688-wholesale-scraper/run-sync-get-dataset-items" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $APIFY_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"keywords": ["不锈钢水杯"], "maxResults": 20, "priceMax": 15}'

This waits up to 300 seconds. For bigger runs, start the run asynchronously and read its dataset when it finishes, see the Apify API reference.

Use Apify's integration for n8n, Make or Zapier, choose the Actor (for example zen-studio/1688-wholesale-scraper) and pass the same JSON input.

Other tools: replace the Actor ID with zen-studio/alibaba-scraper or zen-studio/alibaba-supplier-review-scraper.

Use cases

• Find factories (找工厂). Manufacturers for a product, filtered by price, MOQ, province or city and verified tier, with units sold and repeat-buyer rates.

• Price and MOQ comparison. The same product on 1688 and Alibaba.com, tier by tier, so you see the gap between domestic wholesale and export offers.

• Supplier vetting. Alibaba.com ratings, response time, on-time delivery, verification and the full review history before you send an inquiry.

• Dropshipping research (一件代发). Products with an MOQ of 1, dropship support, shipping promise and variant stock.

• Amazon and Shopify product research. Landed-cost inputs per variant: price tiers, unit weight and shipping estimates.

• Price monitoring. Run the same search on a schedule and track price tiers and sales over time.

Example output

One 1688 products row from the run behind the demo, abridged. Your assistant reads rows like this and answers in plain language.

{
  "offerId": "577048715130",
  "title": "源头厂家简约不锈钢水杯带柄便捷随手杯 户外男女水登山水杯",
  "price": { "min": 6, "max": 6.2, "currency": "CNY", "basis": "quantity" },
  "quantityPrices": [
    { "quantityRange": "100~999个", "quantityMin": 100, "quantityMax": 999, "price": 6.2 },
    { "quantityRange": "≥1000个", "quantityMin": 1000, "quantityMax": null, "price": 6 }
  ],
  "minOrderQuantity": 100,
  "unit": "个",
  "saledCount": 59200,
  "soldDisplay": "已售5.9万+件",
  "repurchaseRate": 0.61,
  "province": "浙江",
  "city": "永康市",
  "supplier": {
    "companyName": "永康市聚鑫金属制品有限公司",
    "sellerType": "normal_factory",
    "bizType": "生产加工",
    "shopUrl": "http://ykk5527.1688.com"
  },
  "dropship": { "enabled": true },
  "shipping": { "deliveryDays": 3, "carrier": "中通快递", "unitWeight": 0.8, "location": "浙江金华" },
  "detailUrl": "http://detail.1688.com/offer/577048715130.html"
}

How long requests work

Each tool call returns within about 45 seconds. Bigger requests keep running on Apify after that, and your assistant checks back until the results are ready, then reads them in pages. You may see a few "still running" updates; that is expected. The 1688 & Alibaba.com skill teaches assistants this flow, along with input recipes for each tool. Claude Code gets it with the plugin.

Pricing

Pay per result plus a small start fee per run, billed to your Apify account. There is no subscription to this repository. Current prices, including volume discounts, are on each tool's pricing page:

• 1688 products

• Alibaba.com products and suppliers

• Supplier reviews

Optional add-ons (1688 supplier intelligence, Alibaba.com store reviews and verification reports) are billed per item, and only when you turn them on. Your assistant controls cost through result caps such as maxResults. Ask for a small number first, then scale up.

Free Apify plan: 1688 products allow 25 preview runs in total, up to 20 products per run, first search term only. Alibaba.com products, suppliers and supplier reviews have no separate free-plan cap: they run normally and are billed per result against your plan's monthly credit, so set maxResults and review limits. Any paid Apify plan removes the 1688 cap.

Limitations

• No search by image. Search by keyword, category or product ID.

• No 1688 product reviews. 1688 rows carry the review summary (rating and counts); full review text is available for Alibaba.com suppliers only.

• No phone numbers or email addresses. Use the supplier's storefront link (supplier.shopUrl on 1688, supplier.homeUrl on Alibaba.com) and contact them on the marketplace.

• Read-only. No orders, inquiries, quotes (RFQ) or messages.

• Currencies differ. 1688 prices are in yuan (CNY) and exclude international shipping; Alibaba.com prices follow the ship-to country you set.

Use the data responsibly and in line with the 1688 and Alibaba.com terms and the data protection laws that apply to you, such as PIPL and GDPR. Supplier contact names and reviewer details are personal data.

Troubleshooting

• /mcp says the server is not authenticated, or its tools could not be fetched. Select the server and choose Authenticate. Other clients show a Connect or Sign in button.

• A 1688 search returns few or unrelated products. Search in Chinese, add words to excludeKeywords for a second meaning (for example 包 to drop bags), or widen the price range.

• A 1688 search stopped at 20 results, or only the first search term ran. That is the free Apify plan's 1688 preview. Any paid plan removes it.

• A free run says the free preview is temporarily unavailable. Try again shortly, or use any paid Apify plan.

• A 1688 product ID comes back with an error field. The message says whether the listing is gone or should be retried in a new run.

• Alibaba.com prices or delivery look different from the website. Set shipToCountry to the country you buy for.

• Your assistant says a run is still going. That is normal for bigger requests. Ask it to keep checking the same run; a new request for the same question is billed again.

• Your client cannot complete the sign-in. Use an Apify token header instead, see Other clients.

FAQ

What are 1688 and Alibaba.com? Both are wholesale marketplaces run by Alibaba Group. 1688.com (阿里巴巴1688) is China's domestic B2B site, in Chinese and priced in yuan, where factories sell to Chinese resellers, often at lower prices and smaller minimum orders. Alibaba.com is the international site where Chinese and other suppliers sell to buyers abroad, in English and with export pricing.

Is this Alibaba Cloud? No. This server reads product and supplier data from the 1688 and Alibaba.com marketplaces. It has nothing to do with Alibaba Cloud (Aliyun) services or their MCP servers.

How is this different from open-source 1688 MCP servers? Open-source servers run a browser on your machine with your own logged-in 1688 account, and you solve the slider captchas yourself; Alibaba.com servers are seller tools that need developer keys. 1688 & Alibaba.com MCP is hosted and read-only: no account, nothing to run, it covers both marketplaces from the buyer's side, and it works in web assistants such as claude.ai and ChatGPT.

Do I need a 1688 or Alibaba.com account, or a Chinese phone number? No. You only need an Apify account, which takes a minute to create.

Can it place orders or contact suppliers? No. All tools are read-only by design.

Is the data live? Yes. Prices, stock, sales and supplier stats reflect the marketplaces at the moment you ask.

Can I search 1688 in English? Yes, but Chinese keywords return more and better matches, because 1688 suppliers title their listings in Chinese. Your assistant can translate your keyword and the results.

Which AI assistants work with it? Any client that supports remote MCP servers, including Claude (claude.ai, Claude Desktop, Claude Code), ChatGPT, Codex, Cursor, VS Code with GitHub Copilot and many more.

Is there a 1688 API or an Alibaba.com API? Yes. Every tool can be called over a REST API or with Apify's Python and JavaScript clients, see Use it as an API.

Is it free? You can try it on Apify's free plan. Results are billed against the plan's monthly credit from the first run; 1688 products also have a 25-run preview limit on the free plan. See Pricing.

Is this an official 1688 or Alibaba.com product? No. 1688 & Alibaba.com MCP is an independent product by Zen Studio and is not affiliated with 1688, Alibaba.com or Alibaba Group.

Privacy

Requests go to Apify's hosted MCP server and run on your Apify account. Apify's privacy policy applies. This repository contains configuration and instructions only; it collects nothing.

More from Zen Studio

1688 & Alibaba.com MCP is built on Zen Studio's Apify Actors. You can also run each tool directly on Apify, from its API, or on a schedule.

• Goofish MCP: Xianyu (闲鱼) second-hand listings, prices and sellers.

• RedNote MCP: Xiaohongshu (小红书) notes, comments and creators.

• Douyin MCP: Douyin (抖音) videos, creators, comments and shop products.

• Taobao & Tmall MCP: Taobao and Tmall (淘宝, 天猫) products, prices, SKUs and shops.

• AliExpress MCP: AliExpress products, exact orders, shipping and buyer reviews.

• G2 & Capterra Reviews MCP: software reviews from G2, Capterra, TrustRadius and Gartner Peer Insights.

License

MIT. 1688, 1688.com, Alibaba, Alibaba.com and 阿里巴巴 are trademarks of their respective owners.