Open Deep Research MCP server

This MCP server wraps the HuggingFace Open Deep Research project, making it available for use with Model Context Protocol (MCP) clients such as AI assistants. It builds on the smolagents library to provide research capabilities through a standardized interface.

Prerequisites

Before installation, you'll need to obtain the following API keys and set them in your environment or in a .env file:

• OpenAI API Key: https://platform.openai.com/
• HuggingFace API Key: https://huggingface.co/
• SERP API Key: https://serpapi.com/

Setup and Installation

Installation is straightforward using the provided Makefile:

make

This command creates a virtual environment and installs all required dependencies.

Running the Server

Using Stdio Transport (Default)

The server defaults to using stdio transport:

uv run -m mcp_server.start

Using SSE Transport

To run the server with Server-Sent Events (SSE) transport:

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

With SSE transport, the server will be available at:

http://127.0.0.1:6020/sse

Client Configuration

Stdio Configuration

To configure your MCP client to use this server with stdio transport:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "open-deep-research": {
      "command": "uv",
      "args": ["run", "-m", "mcp_server.start"]
    }
  }
}

SSE Configuration

For SSE transport, use this configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "open-deep-research": {
      "command": "http://127.0.0.1:6020/sse",
      "args": []
    }
  }
}

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.