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Anime

@cyanheadsMCP server · External

Search anime/manga, franchise relations, schedule, characters, rankings, studio filmography.

v0.3.0Apache-2.0TypeScript
Freeno charge per call

Runs on your machine from its package; the steps are below.

What it does

  1. Reads
  2. Writes
  3. High impact

At most: only reads or looks up information.

What it costs

Free

Odel charges nothing per call. The publisher may charge for its own service.

Runs locally over stdio

This server isn't hosted — your MCP client launches it from a package registry. Use one of the commands below, or drop the config into your client (e.g. Claude Desktop).

npm@cyanheads/anime-mcp-serverv0.3.0

Run

npx -y @cyanheads/anime-mcp-server

MCP client config

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "anime": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@cyanheads/anime-mcp-server"
      ]
    }
  }
}
npm@cyanheads/anime-mcp-serverv0.3.0

Run

npx -y @cyanheads/anime-mcp-server

MCP client config

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "anime": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@cyanheads/anime-mcp-server"
      ]
    }
  }
}
README10 min read

@cyanheads/anime-mcp-server

Search anime/manga, get full detail, franchise relations, seasonal schedule, characters, rankings, and studio filmography via MCP. STDIO or Streamable HTTP.

8 Tools • 1 Resource

Version License Docker MCP SDK npm TypeScript Bun

Install in Claude Desktop Install in Cursor Install in VS Code

Framework


Overview

Anime and manga data from AniList, Jikan (MyAnimeList), and Kitsu. Search titles, pull full detail with side-by-side AniList and MAL scores, walk a franchise's relation graph, check the airing schedule, and look up characters, voice actors, and studio filmographies.

Tools

ToolDescription
anime_search_mediaSearch anime or manga by title, genre, tag, season, year, format, or status. Returns ranked results with IDs, titles, scores, format, and episode/chapter counts. AniList primary; Jikan (MAL) fallback when AniList has no match for a title-only query.
anime_get_mediaFull detail for one anime or manga by AniList ID — synopsis, format, episode/chapter count, status, season, studios, source material, genres and tags (spoiler-flagged), AniList and MAL scores side by side, streaming links, cover/banner, and direct relations.
anime_get_relationsWalks the related-works graph within a hop limit. Groups main and supplementary entries by relation priority, then year; not a strict chronology.
anime_get_scheduleAiring schedule for a season or upcoming episode window. Season mode lists all anime airing in a given season/year. Upcoming mode returns the next episode for each airing title within a date window, with UTC timestamp and countdown.
anime_find_charactersCharacters and voice actors for a title, or look up a character/VA by name. Returns characters with role (main/supporting/background), voice actors by language, and cross-links to other media.
anime_get_recommendationsAniList recommendations with matching Jikan (MAL) vote counts. Optionally echoes what the user liked about the source title to contextualize picks.
anime_get_rankingsTop, trending, or seasonal rankings. Filterable by genre, tag, and format. Top returns all-time by score; trending uses AniList's trending order; seasonal returns the current or specified season sorted by popularity.
anime_get_studioA studio's full filmography by name or AniList studio ID — all titles the studio produced, sortable by year or score, with format, status, and episode count.

Resources

ResourceDescription
anime://media/{id}Compact media record by AniList ID — title, synopsis, scores, genres, streaming count, and cover image. Stable URI for injectable context.

All resource data is also reachable via tools. Use anime_search_media to discover AniList IDs before fetching the resource URI.


Capability reference

anime_search_media tool

  • Search anime or manga by title, genre, tag, season/year, format, status, or up to 5 sort values; at least one criterion is required. page/per_page pages results (max 50), and include_adult: true opts into adult titles
  • Results carry AniList IDs, titles, scores, and episode/chapter counts. AniList is primary; title-only searches with no match can fall back to Jikan at per_page 25 or less. Follow has_next_page; total_results is exact only on the final page
  • AniList serves only the first 5,000 search, season, and ranking entries; deeper pages fail with page_depth_exceeded, so narrow the criteria instead

anime_get_media tool

  • Fetch full detail by AniList id, with adult content requiring include_adult: true; discover IDs through anime_search_media
  • Returns synopsis, genres, spoiler-flagged tags, studios, direct relations, images, streaming links, and separate AniList/MAL scores. data_sources identifies successful supplements; not_found means the ID did not resolve
  • full_text: true returns the complete result as fenced JSON; by default the synopsis is a 500-character preview and tags and relations are shortened, with counts of what was omitted

anime_get_relations tool

  • Walk a franchise from an AniList id up to max_depth hops (default 2, max 4)
  • Returns main and supplementary entries with season year and episode/chapter counts, ordered by relation priority then year. not_found means the root ID did not resolve
  • depth, parent_id, relation_to_parent, and path show the shortest route to each entry. relation_to_root is set only for entries linked directly to the root, and is null otherwise. Entries at the hop limit are returned without their own relations; depth_reached is the deepest hop returned

anime_get_schedule tool

  • season mode requires season and season_year; upcoming uses days_ahead (default 7, max 30). Page with page/per_page (max 50); adult titles require include_adult: true
  • Returns UTC ISO 8601 airing times and time_until_airing_seconds. Follow has_next_page; total_results is exact only on the final season page. invalid_season and conflicting_inputs identify invalid mode inputs

anime_find_characters tool

  • Supply exactly one of media id, character_name, or voice_actor_name. language filters only media cast lookups; per_page is capped at 25
  • Returns cast, voice actors, or media appearances according to mode. truncated: true carries next-page guidance for capped cast lists; media_not_found/not_found distinguish an unknown media ID from an unmatched name
  • voice_actor_data_available: false means the provider had no voice actor data, as opposed to an empty list. full_text: true returns every role on the page and the full biography as fenced JSON; by default biographies are 500-character previews and staff roles stop at 20, with counts of what was omitted

anime_get_recommendations tool

  • Fetch recommendations for an AniList id, paging with page/per_page (max 25); optional liked_aspects is echoed unchanged
  • Returns separate anilist_rating and jikan_votes, with sources identifying each contribution. truncated: true supplies next-page guidance; not_found means the source ID did not resolve

anime_get_rankings tool

  • Rank ANIME or MANGA in top/trending; seasonal and season/year filters apply only to ANIME (anime_only_season otherwise). Genre/tag/format filters and page/per_page (max 50) remain available. Adult titles require include_adult: true
  • Entries carry 1-based rank and season_label. Follow has_next_page; total_results is exact only on the final page. Seasonal mode takes season/season_year together or neither for the current season (invalid_season otherwise)

anime_get_studio tool

  • Identify a studio with exactly one of name or id; sort by popularity, score, or release date and page with page/per_page (max 25)
  • Returns one row per distinct title within the page, with is_main_studio identifying main credits. Follow has_next_page; total_titles is exact only when the whole filmography fits on page 1. not_found means the studio did not resolve

anime://media/{id} resource

  • Read a compact application/json media record using an AniList id from anime_search_media or anime_get_media
  • The ID must be a whole number from 1 to 2147483647; anything else fails with invalid_id before any upstream call
  • Returns title variants, synopsis, scores, genres, streaming count, and cover image; use anime_get_media for tags, studios, streaming links, and relations

Features

Built on @cyanheads/mcp-ts-core: stdio and Streamable HTTP transports, pluggable auth (none / jwt / oauth), swappable storage (in-memory, filesystem, Supabase, Cloudflare KV/R2/D1), structured logging with optional OpenTelemetry tracing.

Anime/manga-specific:

  • Three-source architecture: AniList GraphQL (primary), Jikan v4 REST (MAL scores + recommendations), Kitsu JSON:API (streaming links with sub/dub language detail)
  • ID reconciliation via AniList's idMal bridge — no cross-source ID guessing
  • Franchise relation graph traversal with heuristic ordering by relation-type priority, then season year
  • Rate-limit-aware service layer: AniList 30 req/30s with automatic backoff; Jikan 350ms floor between calls
  • Keyless by design — all three sources are public and require no API credentials

Agent-friendly output:

  • Dual scores surfaced separately — AniList meanScore (0–100) and MAL score (0–10) with population size (scored_by) so agents can reason about weight; never blended into a composite
  • Spoiler flags — the tag summary hides spoiler/adult tags; structured output and full_text: true carry all tags with their flags
  • Supplement provenance — anime_get_media.data_sources reports whether AniList, MAL/Jikan, and Kitsu data was retrieved; an unavailable supplement leaves its flag false
  • UTC timestamps throughout; season labels echoed (WINTER 2024) to avoid the winter/spring/summer/fall boundary footgun

Getting started

No API keys required — all three upstream sources (AniList, Jikan, Kitsu) are keyless public APIs.

Add the following to your MCP client configuration file:

json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "anime-mcp-server": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "bunx",
      "args": ["@cyanheads/anime-mcp-server@latest"],
      "env": {
        "MCP_TRANSPORT_TYPE": "stdio",
        "MCP_LOG_LEVEL": "info"
      }
    }
  }
}

Or with npx (no Bun required):

json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "anime-mcp-server": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@cyanheads/anime-mcp-server@latest"],
      "env": {
        "MCP_TRANSPORT_TYPE": "stdio",
        "MCP_LOG_LEVEL": "info"
      }
    }
  }
}

Or with Docker:

json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "anime-mcp-server": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "docker",
      "args": [
        "run", "-i", "--rm",
        "-e", "MCP_TRANSPORT_TYPE=stdio",
        "ghcr.io/cyanheads/anime-mcp-server:latest"
      ]
    }
  }
}

For Streamable HTTP, set the transport and start the server:

sh
MCP_TRANSPORT_TYPE=http MCP_HTTP_PORT=3010 bun run start:http
# Server listens at http://localhost:3010/mcp

Prerequisites

  • Bun v1.4.0 or higher (or Node.js v24+). No API keys needed.

Installation

  1. Clone the repository:
sh
git clone https://github.com/cyanheads/anime-mcp-server.git
  1. Navigate into the directory:
sh
cd anime-mcp-server
  1. Install dependencies:
sh
bun install
  1. Configure environment (optional):
sh
cp .env.example .env
# edit .env if you want to change transport or log level

Configuration

No server-specific env vars are required. All framework variables are optional with sensible defaults.

VariableDescriptionDefault
MCP_TRANSPORT_TYPETransport: stdio or http.stdio
MCP_HTTP_PORTPort for HTTP server.3010
MCP_HTTP_HOSTHostname for HTTP server.127.0.0.1
MCP_HTTP_ENDPOINT_PATHEndpoint path for the MCP server./mcp
MCP_SESSION_MODESession mode: auto, stateful, or stateless.stateless
MCP_AUTH_MODEAuth mode: none, jwt, or oauth.none
MCP_LOG_LEVELLog level (RFC 5424): debug, info, notice, warning, error.info
LOG_TOOL_FAILURE_PAYLOADSLog failed calls' arguments and results, redacted by key name and capped at LOG_TOOL_FAILURE_PAYLOAD_MAX_BYTES (default 16384). Secrets inside free-form values are not redacted.false
OTEL_ENABLEDEnable OpenTelemetry instrumentation.false

See .env.example for the full list of optional overrides.


Running the server

Local development

  • Build and run:

    sh
    # One-time build
    bun run rebuild
    
    # Run the built server
    bun run start:stdio
    # or
    bun run start:http
    
  • Run checks and tests:

    sh
    bun run devcheck   # Lint, format, typecheck, security
    bun run test       # Vitest test suite
    bun run lint:mcp   # Validate MCP definitions against spec
    

Docker

sh
docker build -t anime-mcp-server .
docker run --rm -p 3010:3010 anime-mcp-server

The Dockerfile defaults to HTTP transport, stateless session mode, and logs to /var/log/anime-mcp-server. OpenTelemetry peer dependencies are installed by default — build with --build-arg OTEL_ENABLED=false to omit them.


Project structure

DirectoryPurpose
src/index.tscreateApp() entry point — registers tools, resources, and inits services.
src/mcp-server/toolsTool definitions (*.tool.ts).
src/mcp-server/resourcesResource definitions (*.resource.ts).
src/services/anilistAniList GraphQL client — primary source for all queries.
src/services/jikanJikan v4 REST client — MAL scores and recommendations.
src/services/kitsuKitsu JSON:API client — streaming links with sub/dub language detail.
tests/Unit and integration tests mirroring src/.
changelog/Per-version changelog files (changelog/<minor>.x/<version>.md).

Development guide

See CLAUDE.md/AGENTS.md for development guidelines and architectural rules. The short version:

  • Handlers throw, framework catches — no try/catch in tool logic
  • Use ctx.log for request-scoped logging, ctx.state for tenant-scoped storage
  • Register new tools and resources via the barrels in src/mcp-server/*/definitions/index.ts
  • Wrap external API calls: validate raw → normalize to domain type → return output schema; never fabricate missing fields
  • AniList is primary — supplement failures (Jikan, Kitsu) degrade gracefully via Promise.allSettled

Contributing

Issues are welcome. Run checks and tests before submitting:

sh
bun run devcheck
bun run test

License

Apache-2.0 — see LICENSE for details.

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