How do I install Art Institute Chicago?

Copy the http config for Cursor, Claude Desktop, Claude Code, or VS Code on this page. It uses the publisher's install, not a PlugMCP proxy.

Does Art Institute Chicago need an API key?

The publisher lists these environment variables: AIC_CONTACT, AIC_REQUESTS_PER_MINUTE, MCP_LOG_LEVEL, MCP_TRANSPORT_TYPE, MCP_HTTP_HOST, MCP_HTTP_PORT, MCP_HTTP_ENDPOINT_PATH, MCP_AUTH_MODE.

What transport does Art Institute Chicago use?

Art Institute Chicago is reached over HTTP.

When was Art Institute Chicago last checked?

Last checked 2026-11-09. Search the Art Institute of Chicago collection: artworks, artists, exhibitions, and audio guides.

Art Institute Chicago MCP server

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The publisher's own URL. Not a PlugMCP endpoint.

Add to Cursor Add in Claude Add to VS Code Run on PlugMCP

Host a copy with our keys and logs.

Server URL

https://art-institute-chicago.caseyjhand.com/mcp

Credentials from the publisher

AIC_CONTACT — Contact the museum can reach (an email or URL, printable ASCII), sent in the AIC-User-Agent header on every request. Defaults to the repository URL; set your own for any deployment.
AIC_REQUESTS_PER_MINUTE — Outbound request budget per minute for api.artic.edu (1-600). Defaults to 50, under the published 60 per minute anonymous limit.
MCP_LOG_LEVEL — Sets the minimum log level for output (e.g., 'debug', 'info', 'warn').

The Claude button above opens Claude with the name and URL filled in. You still confirm it there.

shClaude Code

1claude mcp add --transport http io.github.cyanheads-art-institute-chicago-mcp-server https://art-institute-chicago.caseyjhand.com/mcp

Run in a terminal.

jsonClaude Desktop

1{2  "mcpServers": {3    "io.github.cyanheads-art-institute-chicago-mcp-server": {4      "command": "npx",5      "args": [6        "-y",7        "mcp-remote",8        "https://art-institute-chicago.caseyjhand.com/mcp"9      ]10    }11  }12}

claude_desktop_config.json

Remote · HTTPPublisher installStep-by-step: add this in Claude

Remote URL or a command on your machine? How the two installs differ

Run on PlugMCP

Host a copy with our keys and logs.

A new server you create. It is not this listing's official endpoint. Use the publisher install when you want their URL and their credentials.

Launch

Server facts

Live

6 tools

Tools

tools/listVoice mode preview

artic_search_artworks	Search the Art Institute of Chicago collection by text and structured filters, ranked by relevance or sorted by date or acquisition year. Text matches all words across titles, artists, descriptions, provenance, and other catalog fields; common English words such as the and of are ignored. Filters co
artic_get_artworks	Fetch full Art Institute of Chicago records for up to 100 artworks by id in one call, returning deferred_ids for the rest: description, provenance, exhibition and publication history, dimensions, inscriptions, credit line, categorization, gallery, image URLs with rights status, and related multimedi
artic_search_artists	Find artists, cultures, and organizations in the Art Institute of Chicago collection by name, or fetch them by id. Each result carries life dates, agent type, alternate names, how many of the museum's artworks credit them, and up to three of their works, the museum's highlighted works first. Pass an
artic_search_exhibitions	Search Art Institute of Chicago exhibitions by text, date, artwork_id, or artist_id. Relationship filters cover recorded museum links; an absent link does not prove an artwork or artist never appeared in a show. For the full exhibition record of one artwork, read the exhibition_history section of ar
artic_search_audio_guide	Search the Art Institute of Chicago's mobile audio-guide stops by text, matching stop titles and transcripts. Returns each stop's title, MP3 URL, and transcript text. Stops carry no artwork id, so match a stop to a work by its title; for a known artwork, artic_get_artworks related_media lists the re
artic_lookup_vocabulary	List the values of an Art Institute of Chicago collection vocabulary with how many artworks carry each, most common first, optionally narrowed by a substring. Each value passes to the artic_search_artworks filter of the same name exactly as listed (case is ignored). Counts here span the whole collec

Art Institute Chicago

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Server facts

Tools

Questions

How do I install Art Institute Chicago?

Does Art Institute Chicago need an API key?

What transport does Art Institute Chicago use?

When was Art Institute Chicago last checked?

Documentation