Bibliothèque Nationale de France (Gallica) MCP server

This MCP (Model Context Protocol) server provides access to the French National Library's (BnF) Gallica API and can generate sequential research reports on various topics. It allows users to search through Gallica's digital collections and automatically create structured research reports with relevant images and properly formatted citations.

Installation

Prerequisites

• Python 3.8 or higher
• Pip (Python package manager)

Installation Steps

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/votre-nom/mcp-bnf.git
   cd mcp-bnf
   

2. Install dependencies:

   pip install -r requirements.txt
   

Configuration with Claude Desktop

Setting Up the MCP Server

1. Install Claude Desktop if you haven't already done so.

2. Open Claude Desktop configuration:

   • Access Claude Desktop settings
   • Open the configuration file (typically located at %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json)

3. Add the BnF server configuration:

   {
    "bnf": {
     "command": "py",
     "args": [
       "c:\\path\\to\\mcp-bnf\\bnf_server.py"
     ],
     "cwd": "c:\\path\\to\\mcp-bnf"
   },
   

   Replace path\\to\\mcp-bnf with the actual path to your installation directory.

4. Save the configuration file and restart Claude Desktop

Available MCP Tools

Once configured, the following tools will be available in Claude Desktop:

Gallica Search

This tool allows you to search for documents in the BnF's Gallica digital library using various criteria such as title, author, subject, date, and document type.

Sequential Report Generation

Creates comprehensive research reports on any topic using Gallica sources. The reports include:

• A formatted bibliography
• An introduction
• Historical context
• Analysis
• Conclusion
• Relevant images and maps (optional)

Usage Examples

After configuring the server with Claude Desktop, you can ask Claude to use the BnF tools to:

Search for Documents

You can make requests like:

• "Search for books about Victor Hugo in Gallica"
• "Find maps of Paris from the 19th century"

Generate Reports

You can request reports with commands like:

• "Create a report on Impressionism in France"
• "Generate a report on the history of Lebanon under the French mandate with images"

The server will automatically search for relevant documents, organize them into a coherent report, and include properly formatted citations and relevant visual elements when requested.

How to add this MCP server to Cursor

There are two ways to add an MCP server to Cursor. The most common way is to add the server globally in the ~/.cursor/mcp.json file so that it is available in all of your projects.

If you only need the server in a single project, you can add it to the project instead by creating or adding it to the .cursor/mcp.json file.

Adding an MCP server to Cursor globally

To add a global MCP server go to Cursor Settings > MCP and click "Add new global MCP server".

When you click that button the ~/.cursor/mcp.json file will be opened and you can add your server like this:

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "cursor-rules-mcp": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "-y",
                "cursor-rules-mcp"
            ]
        }
    }
}

Adding an MCP server to a project

To add an MCP server to a project you can create a new .cursor/mcp.json file or add it to the existing one. This will look exactly the same as the global MCP server example above.

How to use the MCP server

Once the server is installed, you might need to head back to Settings > MCP and click the refresh button.

The Cursor agent will then be able to see the available tools the added MCP server has available and will call them when it needs to.

You can also explictly ask the agent to use the tool by mentioning the tool name and describing what the function does.