Wikipedia MCP Server
[](https://smithery.ai/server/@Rudra-ravi/wikipedia-mcp)
A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that retrieves information from Wikipedia to provide context to Large Language Models (LLMs). This tool helps AI assistants access factual information from Wikipedia to ground their responses in reliable sources.
Overview
The Wikipedia MCP server provides real-time access to Wikipedia information through a standardized Model Context Protocol interface. This allows LLMs to retrieve accurate and up-to-date information directly from Wikipedia to enhance their responses.
Features
- **Search Wikipedia**: Find articles matching specific queries
- **Retrieve Article Content**: Get full article text with all information
- **Article Summaries**: Get concise summaries of articles
- **Section Extraction**: Retrieve specific sections from articles
- **Link Discovery**: Find links within articles to related topics
- **Related Topics**: Discover topics related to a specific article
- **Multi-language Support**: Access Wikipedia in different languages
Installation
Installing via Smithery
To install wikipedia-mcp for Claude Desktop automatically via [Smithery](https://smithery.ai/server/@Rudra-ravi/wikipedia-mcp):
Using pipx (Recommended)
Using a virtual environment
From source
Usage
Running the server
Configuration for Claude Desktop
Add the following to your Claude Desktop configuration file:
Location of the configuration file:
- macOS: `~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json`
- Windows: `%APPDATA%/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json`
- Linux: `~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json`
Available MCP Tools
The Wikipedia MCP server provides the following tools for LLMs to interact with Wikipedia:
`search_wikipedia`
Search Wikipedia for articles matching a query.
**Parameters:**
- `query` (string): The search term
- `limit` (integer, optional): Maximum number of results to return (default: 10)
**Returns:**
- A list of search results with titles, snippets, and metadata
`get_article`
Get the full content of a Wikipedia article.
**Parameters:**
- `title` (string): The title of the Wikipedia article
**Returns:**
- Article content including text, summary, sections, links, and categories
`get_summary`
Get a concise summary of a Wikipedia article.
**Parameters:**
- `title` (string): The title of the Wikipedia article
**Returns:**
- A text summary of the article
`get_sections`
Get the sections of a Wikipedia article.
**Parameters:**
- `title` (string): The title of the Wikipedia article
**Returns:**
- A structured list of article sections with their content
`get_links`
Get the links contained within a Wikipedia article.
**Parameters:**
- `title` (string): The title of the Wikipedia article
**Returns:**
- A list of links to other Wikipedia articles
`get_related_topics`
Get topics related to a Wikipedia article based on links and categories.
**Parameters:**
- `title` (string): The title of the Wikipedia article
- `limit` (integer, optional): Maximum number of related topics (default: 10)
**Returns:**
- A list of related topics with relevance information
Example Prompts
Once the server is running and configured with Claude Desktop, you can use prompts like:
- "Tell me about quantum computing using the Wikipedia information."
- "Summarize the history of artificial intelligence based on Wikipedia."
- "What does Wikipedia say about climate change?"
- "Find Wikipedia articles related to machine learning."
- "Get me the introduction section of the article on neural networks from Wikipedia."
MCP Resources
The server also provides MCP resources (similar to HTTP endpoints but for MCP):
- `search/{query}`: Search Wikipedia for articles matching the query
- `article/{title}`: Get the full content of a Wikipedia article
- `summary/{title}`: Get a summary of a Wikipedia article
- `sections/{title}`: Get the sections of a Wikipedia article
- `links/{title}`: Get the links in a Wikipedia article
Development
Local Development Setup
Project Structure
- `wikipedia_mcp/`: Main package - `__main__.py`: Entry point for the package - `server.py`: MCP server implementation - `wikipedia_client.py`: Wikipedia API client - `api/`: API implementation - `core/`: Core functionality - `utils/`: Utility functions
Troubleshooting
Common Issues
- **Connection Error**: Ensure the command in claude_desktop_config.json is correct
- **Article Not Found**: Check the exact spelling of article titles
- **Rate Limiting**: Wikipedia API has rate limits; consider adding delays between requests
- **Large Articles**: Some Wikipedia articles are very large and may exceed token limits
Understanding the Model Context Protocol (MCP)
The Model Context Protocol (MCP) is not a traditional HTTP API but a specialized protocol for communication between LLMs and external tools. Key characteristics:
- Uses stdio (standard input/output) or SSE (Server-Sent Events) for communication
- Designed specifically for AI model interaction
- Provides standardized formats for tools, resources, and prompts
- Integrates directly with Claude and other MCP-compatible AI systems
Claude Desktop acts as the MCP client, while this server provides the tools and resources that Claude can use to access Wikipedia information.
Contributing
Contributions are welcome! Please see [CONTRIBUTING.md](CONTRIBUTING.md) for guidelines.
License
This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the [LICENSE](LICENSE) file for details.
Connect with the Author
- Portfolio: [ravikumar-dev.me](https://ravikumar-dev.me)
- Blog: [Medium](https://medium.com/@Ravikumar-e)
- LinkedIn: [in/ravi-kumar-e](https://linkedin.com/in/ravi-kumar-e)
- Twitter: [@Ravikumar_d3v](https://twitter.com/Ravikumar_d3v)