OpenFDA MCP Server (cyanheads)

Community MCP server that queries the U.S. FDA’s public openFDA API across drugs, food, devices, veterinary products, and recalls — a broader surface than drug-only wrappers, including 510(k)/PMA device clearances and drug-shortage records.

   
Type MCP server
Supplier cyanheads
Availability GA — published to npm as @cyanheads/openfda-mcp-server; public HTTP instance live
Pricing Free / OSS (Apache-2.0). An openFDA API key is optional — free tier is 1,000 requests/day, a free key raises it to 120,000/day
Capabilities Read-only — federated openFDA queries across drug/food/device/animal/recall endpoints
Verified works · 2026-07-27 — smoke test booted v0.11.0 via npx over stdio
Security cleared · 2026-07-27 — provenance matches cyanheads, Apache-2.0, maintained, no OSV advisories

How to install

An openFDA API key is optional but recommended for the higher rate limit — get one free at open.fda.gov/apis/authentication.

  • Claude Code — public hosted HTTP instance (no local runtime, nothing to keep running):

    claude mcp add --transport http openfda-mcp https://openfda.caseyjhand.com/mcp

  • Claude Code — local stdio via bunx (Bun v1.3.0+; Claude Code launches the process itself, so this is not a long-lived service):

    claude mcp add-json openfda-mcp '{"command":"bunx","args":["@cyanheads/openfda-mcp-server@latest"],"env":{"MCP_TRANSPORT_TYPE":"stdio","OPENFDA_API_KEY":"your_api_key_here"}}'

    (Omit the OPENFDA_API_KEY entry to run keyless at the lower rate limit. Substitute npx -y @cyanheads/openfda-mcp-server@latest for bunx … if you use Node instead of Bun.)

  • Claude Desktop — Desktop has no native HTTP transport, so use the local stdio entry in claude_desktop_config.json:

    {
  "mcpServers": {
    "openfda-mcp-server": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "bunx",
      "args": ["@cyanheads/openfda-mcp-server@latest"],
      "env": {
        "MCP_TRANSPORT_TYPE": "stdio",
        "OPENFDA_API_KEY": "your_api_key_here"
      }
    }
  }
}

    To point Desktop at the public HTTP instance instead, use an mcp-remote proxy entry ("command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "mcp-remote", "https://openfda.caseyjhand.com/mcp"]). Restart Claude Desktop after editing the config.

What it does

Exposes 14 tools over the openFDA endpoints:

  • openfda_drug_profile — consolidated FDA profile for a single drug (replaces several chained lookups).
  • openfda_search_adverse_events — adverse-event reports across drugs, food, and devices (FAERS and equivalents).
  • openfda_search_animal_events — veterinary adverse-event reports.
  • openfda_search_drug_shortages — FDA drug-shortage records.
  • openfda_search_tobacco_reports — problem reports for tobacco / e-cigarette products.
  • openfda_search_recalls — enforcement and recall actions.
  • openfda_get_drug_label — FDA drug labeling / package inserts.
  • openfda_search_drug_approvals — Drugs@FDA approvals.
  • openfda_search_device_clearances — 510(k) and PMA device clearances.
  • openfda_lookup_ndc — National Drug Code directory lookup.
  • openfda_count_values / openfda_describe_fields — aggregate field values and list searchable fields for any endpoint.
  • openfda_dataframe_query / openfda_dataframe_describe — opt-in SQL (DuckDB / DataCanvas) over staged result sets.

Primary use cases: Pharmacovigilance and adverse-event review, medical-device 510(k)/PMA clearance lookup, drug-shortage and recall monitoring, label/approval research.

Notes

stdio and Streamable HTTP transports; a public instance runs at https://openfda.caseyjhand.com/mcp. Optional OPENFDA_API_KEY env var raises the rate limit; the opt-in DataCanvas SQL surface needs CANVAS_PROVIDER_TYPE=duckdb. Community single-maintainer package — review the source before use.

Distinct from the drug-only OpenFDA MCP Server (ythalorossy) (7 tools, drug endpoints only): this server adds device clearances (510k/PMA), food, veterinary, tobacco, shortage, and recall endpoints plus a hosted HTTP instance. For a broader multi-source biomedical server, see BioMCP.

Sources

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