Giphy MCP server

This MCP GIPHY Server provides integration with the GIPHY API, allowing assistants to search for and retrieve GIF images based on context and search terms. The server enables AI assistants to include relevant GIF images in their responses by submitting chat history and search parameters.

Installation

Prerequisites

Before installing, you need to have:

• A GIPHY API key
• Python installed on your system

Setting Up

Run the following command to create a virtual environment and install dependencies:

make

Running the Server

Standard Mode (stdio transport)

To run the server with default settings:

uv run -m mcp_server.start

SSE Transport Mode

For SSE (Server-Sent Events) transport:

uv run -m mcp_server.start --transport sse --port 6020

The SSE URL will be:

http://127.0.0.1:6000/sse

Configuration

Environment Variables

Make sure to set your GIPHY API key:

export GIPHY_API_KEY="YOUR_GIPHY_API_KEY"

Client Configuration Options

Local Files with UV

Add this to your configuration file:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "giphy-server": {
      "command": "uv",
      "args": ["run", "-m", "mcp_server.start"],
      "env": {
        "GIPHY_API_KEY": "YOUR_GIPHY_API_KEY"
      }
    }
  }
}

SSE Configuration

For SSE transport, use:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "giphy-server": {
      "command": "http://127.0.0.1:6000/sse",
      "args": []
    }
  }
}

Using the Server

The MCP GIPHY Server works by:

1. Receiving chat context and a search term from an assistant
2. Searching the GIPHY API for relevant images
3. Retrieving image data and metadata
4. Returning the selected GIF to the assistant for inclusion in responses

The assistant can submit recent chat history as context to help find the most relevant GIF for the conversation.

How to install this MCP server

For Claude Code

To add this MCP server to Claude Code, run this command in your terminal:

claude mcp add-json "giphy-server" '{"command":"uv","args":["run","-m","mcp_server.start"],"env":{"GIPHY_API_KEY":"YOUR_GIPHY_API_KEY"}}'

See the official Claude Code MCP documentation for more details.

For 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 > Tools & Integrations and click "New MCP Server".

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

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "giphy-server": {
            "command": "uv",
            "args": [
                "run",
                "-m",
                "mcp_server.start"
            ],
            "env": {
                "GIPHY_API_KEY": "YOUR_GIPHY_API_KEY"
            }
        }
    }
}

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 explicitly ask the agent to use the tool by mentioning the tool name and describing what the function does.

For Claude Desktop

To add this MCP server to Claude Desktop:

1. Find your 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

2. Add this to your configuration file:

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "giphy-server": {
            "command": "uv",
            "args": [
                "run",
                "-m",
                "mcp_server.start"
            ],
            "env": {
                "GIPHY_API_KEY": "YOUR_GIPHY_API_KEY"
            }
        }
    }
}

3. Restart Claude Desktop for the changes to take effect