Khan Academy MCP Server

An open-source Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that lets AI assistants search, browse, and read Khan Academy's educational content. No API key required.

Quick Start

npx khanmcp

Or install globally:

npm install -g khanmcp
khanacademy-mcp

Claude Desktop Configuration

Add this to your Claude Desktop config (~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json on macOS):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "khanacademy": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "khanmcp"]
    }
  }
}

Tools

| Tool | Description | |------|-------------| | search | Search Khan Academy for videos, articles, exercises, and courses | | list_subjects | List all top-level subjects and popular courses | | get_topic_tree | Browse the subject/topic hierarchy by slug with configurable depth | | get_content | Get details about a specific content item (video, article, exercise) | | get_course | Get full course structure with units, lessons, and content items | | get_transcript | Get video transcripts (timestamped or full text) | | get_article | Read the full text content of a Khan Academy article | | get_lesson | Get all content items in a specific lesson | | embed_video | Embed a video with thumbnail image, metadata, chapters, and optional transcript | | get_exercise | Get exercise details with related study content (videos, articles) and practice URL | | get_quiz | List all quizzes, unit tests, and course challenge for a course with prep material | | study_guide | Build a structured study plan for any topic |

Tool Details

search

query: string    — Search query (e.g., "photosynthesis", "quadratic formula")
limit?: number   — Max results (1-30, default: 10)

list_subjects

No parameters. Returns all top-level subjects and popular courses.

get_topic_tree

slug: string     — Topic slug (e.g., "math", "science/biology")
depth?: number   — Levels to fetch (0-3, default: 1)

get_content

slug: string     — Content slug or full URL

get_course

slug: string     — Course slug or URL (e.g., "math/algebra")

get_transcript

slug: string     — Video slug, KA URL, YouTube URL, or YouTube ID
language?: string — Language code (default: "en")
format?: string  — "full", "timestamped", or "both" (default: "full")

get_article

slug: string     — Article slug or full URL (articles have "/a/" in the path)

get_lesson

slug: string     — Lesson slug or full URL

embed_video

slug: string              — Video slug, KA URL, YouTube URL, or YouTube ID
include_transcript?: bool — Include the full transcript (default: false)
language?: string         — Language code for transcript (default: "en")

get_exercise

slug: string     — Exercise slug or full URL (exercises have "/e/" in the path)

get_quiz

slug: string     — Course slug or URL (e.g., "math/algebra")
kind?: string    — "all", "quiz", "unit-test", or "course-challenge" (default: "all")

study_guide

topic: string    — Topic or concept to study (e.g., "quadratic equations")
depth?: string   — "quick", "standard", or "comprehensive" (default: "standard")

Workflows

Topic exploration: list_subjects → get_topic_tree → get_course → get_lesson → get_content / get_transcript

Quick lookup: search → get_content or get_article → get_transcript (if video)

Study session: search or get_topic_tree → study_guide for review, then get_article / get_transcript for deep dives

Course overview: get_course → pick a unit/lesson → get_lesson → get_content

Test prep: get_quiz → review covered lessons → get_exercise for practice → get_transcript / get_article to study weak areas

Development

git clone https://github.com/aicoder2009/khanacademyMCP.git
cd khanacademyMCP
npm install
npm run build

Test with:

echo '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"method":"tools/list"}' | node dist/index.js

How It Works

Khan Academy deprecated their public API in 2020. This MCP server uses:

• Khan Academy's internal GraphQL API — safelisted queries for content metadata and search
• YouTube transcript API — fetches video captions/subtitles
• Page scraping — extracts structured data from Khan Academy web pages as a fallback
• Static catalog — hardcoded top-level subjects for reliable list_subjects

All access is read-only with rate limiting (500ms between requests) and in-memory caching to be respectful of Khan Academy's servers.

Limitations

• No authentication — cannot access user-specific data (progress, recommendations)
• Khan Academy's internal API may change without notice — static fallbacks ensure basic functionality
• Transcript availability depends on YouTube captions being present
• Rate-limited to avoid overloading Khan Academy's servers

License

MIT