CardsNearby MCP ServerVerifiedFeatured

What is CardsNearby MCP Server?

CardsNearby MCP Server connects Claude, Cursor and other MCP agents to CardsNearby's live directory of US card shops and card shows, so you can ask for sports card, Pokémon, Magic or other TCG stores and events near any US location.

It is run by CardsNearby itself as a hosted endpoint at https://www.cardsnearby.com/api/mcp. It uses Streamable HTTP (JSON-RPC 2.0), needs no authentication, is read-only and is free to use. There is nothing to install unless your client needs a stdio bridge.

How to use CardsNearby MCP Server?

No account or API key is needed. Point your client at the endpoint.

Claude Code

claude mcp add --transport http cardsnearby https://www.cardsnearby.com/api/mcp

Claude Desktop / claude.ai

Add a custom connector with the URL https://www.cardsnearby.com/api/mcp. Because the server has no sign-in, it connects without any extra step.

If you prefer the configuration file, the CardsNearby README shows how to bridge the remote server over stdio with mcp-remote (requires Node.js for npx):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "cardsnearby": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "mcp-remote", "https://www.cardsnearby.com/api/mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Cursor

Add this to your mcp.json, as documented in the README:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "cardsnearby": {
      "url": "https://www.cardsnearby.com/api/mcp"
    }
  }
}

VS Code

Add a url entry to .vscode/mcp.json:

{
  "servers": {
    "cardsnearby": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://www.cardsnearby.com/api/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Key features of CardsNearby MCP Server

• Covers local card shops and card shows across the United States: sports cards, Pokémon, Magic: The Gathering, Yu-Gi-Oh! and other TCGs.
• Search by latitude + longitude or by US city + state.
• Shop results are sorted by distance and include address, games carried, services, rating, phone and a link to the full listing.
• Show results include venue, next upcoming date, games featured and a link.
• Hosted, free and read-only, with no authentication.
• Live data that CardsNearby says is refreshed continuously.

CardsNearby MCP Server tools

The server exposes three tools (confirmed with a live tools/list call):

• find_card_shops finds local trading card shops near a location. The radius defaults to 25 miles (max 100) and the limit to 10 results (max 25).
• find_card_shows finds upcoming card shows and conventions near a location. The radius defaults to 50 miles (max 150) and the limit to 10 (max 25).
• list_coverage lists the US states CardsNearby covers, how many shops are listed in each, and the total. Use it to check coverage before searching by city.

Both search tools accept latitude, longitude, city, state, radius_miles and limit.

Use cases of CardsNearby MCP Server

• Selling a collection: "Find card shops near Charlotte, NC that buy collections."
• Planning a weekend: "Are there any card shows within 50 miles of Dallas this month?"
• Checking coverage: "Which states does CardsNearby cover, and where are the most shops?"
• Travel: ask your assistant for Pokémon or Magic stores near the city you are visiting, with phone numbers to call ahead.
• Trip planning agents: combine show dates and venues with your calendar or route planning in the same conversation.

Troubleshooting CardsNearby MCP Server

• Claude Desktop config does not start: the mcp-remote bridge runs through npx, so Node.js must be installed and on your PATH.
• No results for a small town: widen radius_miles (up to 100 for shops, 150 for shows) or run list_coverage to check whether the state is covered.
• Wrong city matched: pass the state along with the city, or use latitude and longitude instead.
• Fewer results than expected: the limit defaults to 10; ask for up to 25.