Wikipedia MCP Server

What is Wikipedia MCP Server?

Wikipedia MCP Server is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that retrieves information from Wikipedia to provide context to Large Language Models (LLMs). It helps AI assistants access factual information from Wikipedia to ground their responses in reliable sources.

How to use Wikipedia MCP Server?

Install via pipx (pipx install wikipedia-mcp), pip, or from source. Run the server with wikipedia-mcp and optionally specify transport (--transport stdio, http, streamable-http, or sse), language or country (--language, --country), caching (--enable-cache), access tokens (--access-token), and authentication mode (--auth-mode static or --auth-mode jwt). Configure Claude Desktop by adding a command entry in claude_desktop_config.json.

Key features of Wikipedia MCP Server

• Search Wikipedia articles matching specific queries
• Retrieve full article content, summaries, and sections
• Extract links and related topics from articles
• Multi‑language support via language codes or country names
• Optional caching of API responses for performance
• Multiple MCP transport protocols: stdio, HTTP, streamable‑HTTP
• Optional bearer‑token or JWT authentication for network transports
• Google ADK compatibility with strict function calling schemas

Use cases of Wikipedia MCP Server

• Provide real‑time Wikipedia facts to LLM‑based chatbots
• Ground AI assistant answers in verified, up‑to‑date encyclopedia content
• Enable multilingual research by switching Wikipedia language variants
• Build knowledge‑rich agents that extract sections, links, and coordinates
• Serve as a reliable fact‑checking backend for automated content pipelines

FAQ from Wikipedia MCP Server

How do I install Wikipedia MCP Server for use with Claude Desktop?

The recommended method is pipx install wikipedia-mcp to make the wikipedia-mcp command globally available. You can also install via Smithery or from PyPI.

What transport protocols does the server support?

It supports stdio (default), http, streamable-http, and legacy sse. Use --transport to choose.

Can I access Wikipedia in languages other than English?

Yes. Use the --language flag (e.g., --language ja for Japanese) or the --country flag (e.g., --country Taiwan). Variants such as zh-hans and sr-latn are also supported.

How do I secure the server when using network transports?

Enable authentication with --auth-mode static and a bearer token, or --auth-mode jwt with a JWKS URI and issuer. These options protect incoming MCP requests.

Is there caching to reduce API calls?

Yes, pass --enable-cache to cache Wikipedia API responses locally and improve performance.