Phoebe TypeScript MCP Server

It is generated with Stainless.

Installation

Direct invocation

You can run the MCP Server directly via npx:

export EBIRD_API_KEY="My API Key"
npx -y phoebe-ebird-mcp@latest

Via MCP Client

There is a partial list of existing clients at modelcontextprotocol.io. If you already have a client, consult their documentation to install the MCP server.

For clients with a configuration JSON, it might look something like this:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "phoebe_ebird_api": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "phoebe-ebird-mcp", "--client=claude", "--tools=dynamic"],
      "env": {
        "EBIRD_API_KEY": "My API Key"
      }
    }
  }
}

Cursor

If you use Cursor, you can install the MCP server by using the button below. You will need to set your environment variables in Cursor's mcp.json, which can be found in Cursor Settings > Tools & MCP > New MCP Server.

VS Code

If you use MCP, you can install the MCP server by clicking the link below. You will need to set your environment variables in VS Code's mcp.json, which can be found via Command Palette > MCP: Open User Configuration.

Open VS Code

Claude Code

If you use Claude Code, you can install the MCP server by running the command below in your terminal. You will need to set your environment variables in Claude Code's .claude.json, which can be found in your home directory.

claude mcp add --transport stdio phoebe_ebird_api --env EBIRD_API_KEY="Your EBIRD_API_KEY here." -- npx -y phoebe-ebird-mcp

Exposing endpoints to your MCP Client

There are three ways to expose endpoints as tools in the MCP server:

1. Exposing one tool per endpoint, and filtering as necessary
2. Exposing a set of tools to dynamically discover and invoke endpoints from the API
3. Exposing a docs search tool and a code execution tool, allowing the client to write code to be executed against the TypeScript client

Filtering endpoints and tools

You can run the package on the command line to discover and filter the set of tools that are exposed by the MCP Server. This can be helpful for large APIs where including all endpoints at once is too much for your AI's context window.

You can filter by multiple aspects:

• --tool includes a specific tool by name
• --resource includes all tools under a specific resource, and can have wildcards, e.g. my.resource*
• --operation includes just read (get/list) or just write operations

Dynamic tools

If you specify --tools=dynamic to the MCP server, instead of exposing one tool per endpoint in the API, it will expose the following tools:

1. list_api_endpoints - Discovers available endpoints, with optional filtering by search query
2. get_api_endpoint_schema - Gets detailed schema information for a specific endpoint
3. invoke_api_endpoint - Executes any endpoint with the appropriate parameters

This allows you to have the full set of API endpoints available to your MCP Client, while not requiring that all of their schemas be loaded into context at once. Instead, the LLM will automatically use these tools together to search for, look up, and invoke endpoints dynamically. However, due to the indirect nature of the schemas, it can struggle to provide the correct properties a bit more than when tools are imported explicitly. Therefore, you can opt-in to explicit tools, the dynamic tools, or both.

See more information with --help.

All of these command-line options can be repeated, combined together, and have corresponding exclusion versions (e.g. --no-tool).

Use --list to see the list of available tools, or see below.

Code execution

If you specify --tools=code to the MCP server, it will expose just two tools:

• search_docs - Searches the API documentation and returns a list of markdown results
• execute - Runs code against the TypeScript client

This allows the LLM to implement more complex logic by chaining together many API calls without loading intermediary results into its context window.

The code execution itself happens in a Deno sandbox that has network access only to the base URL for the API.

Specifying the MCP Client

Different clients have varying abilities to handle arbitrary tools and schemas.

You can specify the client you are using with the --client argument, and the MCP server will automatically serve tools and schemas that are more compatible with that client.

• --client=<type>: Set all capabilities based on a known MCP client

  • Valid values: openai-agents, claude, claude-code, cursor
  • Example: --client=cursor

Additionally, if you have a client not on the above list, or the client has gotten better over time, you can manually enable or disable certain capabilities:

• --capability=<name>: Specify individual client capabilities
  • Available capabilities:
    • top-level-unions: Enable support for top-level unions in tool schemas
    • valid-json: Enable JSON string parsing for arguments
    • refs: Enable support for $ref pointers in schemas
    • unions: Enable support for union types (anyOf) in schemas
    • formats: Enable support for format validations in schemas (e.g. date-time, email)
    • tool-name-length=N: Set maximum tool name length to N characters
  • Example: --capability=top-level-unions --capability=tool-name-length=40
  • Example: --capability=top-level-unions,tool-name-length=40

Examples

1. Filter for read operations on cards:

--resource=cards --operation=read

2. Exclude specific tools while including others:

--resource=cards --no-tool=create_cards

3. Configure for Cursor client with custom max tool name length:

--client=cursor --capability=tool-name-length=40

4. Complex filtering with multiple criteria:

--resource=cards,accounts --operation=read --tag=kyc --no-tool=create_cards

Running remotely

Launching the client with --transport=http launches the server as a remote server using Streamable HTTP transport. The --port setting can choose the port it will run on, and the --socket setting allows it to run on a Unix socket.

Authorization can be provided via the following headers: | Header | Equivalent client option | Security scheme | | ----------------- | ------------------------ | --------------- | | X-eBirdApiToken | apiKey | APIKeyHeader |

A configuration JSON for this server might look like this, assuming the server is hosted at http://localhost:3000:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "phoebe_ebird_api": {
      "url": "http://localhost:3000",
      "headers": {
        "X-eBirdApiToken": "My API Key"
      }
    }
  }
}

The command-line arguments for filtering tools and specifying clients can also be used as query parameters in the URL. For example, to exclude specific tools while including others, use the URL:

http://localhost:3000?resource=cards&resource=accounts&no_tool=create_cards

Or, to configure for the Cursor client, with a custom max tool name length, use the URL:

http://localhost:3000?client=cursor&capability=tool-name-length%3D40

Importing the tools and server individually

// Import the server, generated endpoints, or the init function
import { server, endpoints, init } from "phoebe-ebird-mcp/server";

// import a specific tool
import listObservationsDataRecent from "phoebe-ebird-mcp/tools/data/observations/recent/list-observations-data-recent";

// initialize the server and all endpoints
init({ server, endpoints });

// manually start server
const transport = new StdioServerTransport();
await server.connect(transport);

// or initialize your own server with specific tools
const myServer = new McpServer(...);

// define your own endpoint
const myCustomEndpoint = {
  tool: {
    name: 'my_custom_tool',
    description: 'My custom tool',
    inputSchema: zodToJsonSchema(z.object({ a_property: z.string() })),
  },
  handler: async (client: client, args: any) => {
    return { myResponse: 'Hello world!' };
  })
};

// initialize the server with your custom endpoints
init({ server: myServer, endpoints: [listObservationsDataRecent, myCustomEndpoint] });

Available Tools

The following tools are available in this MCP server.

Resource data.observations.recent:

• list_observations_data_recent (read): Get the list of recent observations (up to 30 days ago) of birds seen in a country, state, county, or location. Results include only the most recent observation for each species in the region specified.

Resource data.observations.recent.notable:

• list_recent_observations_data_notable (read): Get the list of recent, notable observations (up to 30 days ago) of birds seen in a country, region or location. Notable observations can be for locally or nationally rare species or are otherwise unusual, e.g. over-wintering birds in a species which is normally only a summer visitor.

Resource data.observations.recent.species:

• retrieve_recent_observations_data_species (read): Get the recent observations, up to 30 days ago, of a particular species in a country, region or location. Results include only the most recent observation from each location in the region specified.

  Notes

  The species code is typically a 6-letter code, e.g. cangoo for Canada Goose. You can get complete set of species code from the GET eBird Taxonomy end-point.

  When using the r query parameter set the regionCode URL parameter to an empty string.

Resource data.observations.recent.historic:

• list_recent_observations_data_historic (read): Get a list of all taxa seen in a country, region or location on a specific date, with the specific observations determined by the "rank" parameter (defaults to latest observation on the date).

  Notes Responses may be cached for 30 minutes

Resource data.observations.geo.recent:

• list_geo_observations_data_recent (read): Get the list of recent observations (up to 30 days ago) of birds seen at locations within a radius of up to 50 kilometers, from a given set of coordinates. Results include only the most recent observation for each species in the region specified.

Resource data.observations.geo.recent.species:

• list_recent_geo_observations_data_species (read): Get all observations of a species, seen up to 30 days ago, at any location within a radius of up to 50 kilometers, from a given set of coordinates. Results include only the most recent observation from each location in the region specified.

  URL parameters

  | Name | Description | | ----------- | ----------------------- | | speciesCode | The eBird species code. |

  Notes

  The species code is typically a 6-letter code, e.g. horlar for Horned Lark. You can get complete set of species code from the GET eBird Taxonomy end-point.

Resource data.observations.geo.recent.notable:

• list_recent_geo_observations_data_notable (read): Get the list of notable observations (up to 30 days ago) of birds seen at locations within a radius of up to 50 kilometers, from a given set of coordinates. Notable observations can be for locally or nationally rare species or are otherwise unusual, for example over-wintering birds in a species which is normally only a summer visitor.

Resource data.observations.nearest.geo_species:

• list_nearest_observations_data_geo_species (read): Find the nearest locations where a species has been seen recently. #### Notes The species code is typically a 6-letter code, e.g. barswa for Barn Swallow. You can get complete set of species code from the GET eBird Taxonomy end-point.

Resource product.lists:

• retrieve_product_lists (read): Get information on the most recently submitted checklists for a region.

Resource product.lists.historical:

• retrieve_lists_product_historical (read): Get information on the checklists submitted on a given date for a country or region.

Resource product.top100:

• retrieve_product_top100 (read): Get the top 100 contributors on a given date for a country or region.

  Notes

  The results are updated every 15 minutes.

  When ordering by the number of completed checklists, the number of species seen will always be zero. Similarly when ordering by the number of species seen the number of completed checklists will always be zero. Selected Response Field Notes

  profileHandle - if a user has enabled their profile, this is the handle to reach it via ebird.org/ebird/profile/{profileHandle}

  numSpecies - always zero when checklistSort parameter is true. Invalid observations ARE included in this total numCompleteChecklists - always zero when checklistSort parameter is false

Resource product.stats:

• retrieve_product_stats (read): Get a summary of the number of checklist submitted, species seen and contributors on a given date for a country or region.

  Notes The results are updated every 15 minutes.

Resource product.speciesList:

• list_product_species_list (read): Get a list of species codes ever seen in a region, in taxonomic order (species taxa only)

  Notes The results are usually updated every 10 seconds for locations, every day for larger regions.

Resource product.checklist:

• view_product_checklist (read): Get the details and observations of a checklist.

  Notes Do NOT use this to download large amounts of data. You will be banned if you do. In the fields for each observation, the following fields are duplicates or obsolete and will be removed at a future date: howManyAtleast, howManyAtmost, hideFlags, projId, subId, subnational1Code and present.

Resource ref.region.adjacent:

• list_region_ref_adjacent (read): Get the list of countries or regions that share a border with this one. #### Notes Only subnational2 codes in the United States, New Zealand, or Mexico are currently supported

Resource ref.region.info:

• retrieve_region_ref_info (read): Get information on the name and geographical area covered by a region.

  Notes

  Taking Madison County, New York, USA (location code US-NY-053) as an example the various values for the regionNameFormat query parameter work as follows:

  | Value | Description | Result | | -------------- | ------------------------------------------ | -------------------------------- | | detailed | return a detailed description | Madison County, New York, US | | detailednoqual | return the name to the subnational1 level | Madison, New York | | full | return the full description | Madison, New York, United States | | namequal | return the qualified name | Madison County | | nameonly | return only the name of the region | Madison | | revdetailed | return the detailed description in reverse | US, New York, Madison County |

Resource ref.region.list:

• list_region_ref_list (read): Get the list of sub-regions for a given country or region. #### Notes Not all combinations of region type and region code are valid. You can fetch all the subnational1 or subnational2 regions for a country however you can only specify a region type of 'country' when using 'world' as a region code.

Resource ref.hotspot:

• list_ref_hotspot (read): Hotspots in a region

Resource ref.hotspot.geo:

• retrieve_hotspot_ref_geo (read): Get the list of hotspots, within a radius of up to 50 kilometers, from a given set of coordinates.

Resource ref.hotspot.info:

• retrieve_hotspot_ref_info (read): Get information on the location of a hotspot. #### Notes This API call only works for hotspots. If you pass the location code for a private location or an invalid location code then an HTTP 410 (Gone) error is returned.

Resource ref.taxonomy.ebird:

• retrieve_taxonomy_ref_ebird (read): Get the taxonomy used by eBird. #### Notes Each entry in the taxonomy contains a species code for example, barswa for Barn Swallow. You can download the taxonomy for selected species using the species query parameter with a comma separating each code. Otherwise the full taxonomy is downloaded.

Resource ref.taxonomy.forms:

• list_taxonomy_ref_forms (read): For a species, get the list of subspecies recognised in the taxonomy. The results include the species that was passed in.

Resource ref.taxonomy.locales:

• list_taxonomy_ref_locales (read): Returns the list of supported locale codes and names for species common names, with the last time they were updated. Use the accept-language header to get translated language names when available.

  NOTE: The locale codes and names are stable but the other fields in this result are not yet finalized and should be used with caution.

Resource ref.taxonomy.versions:

• list_taxonomy_ref_versions (read): Returns a list of all versions of the taxonomy, with a flag indicating which is the latest.

Resource ref.taxonomy.speciesGroups:

• list_taxonomy_ref_species_groups (read): Get the list of species groups, e.g. terns, finches, etc. #### Notes Merlin puts like birds together, with Falcons next to Hawks, whereas eBird follows taxonomic order.