FTIR.fun MCP Server

MCP server for FTIR spectral-library work and material identification. Connects AI assistants to 135,000+ FTIR reference spectra with hosted tools for instrument-file parsing, unknown-spectrum analysis, full tri-axis reports, peak explanation, reference-spectrum lookup, and historical-result fetch.

Tools

parse_ftir_spectrum

Parse a base64-encoded FTIR instrument file into aligned curve points and detected peaks.

analyze_ftir_spectrum

Search the FTIR.fun spectral library for one unknown FTIR spectrum.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
query	string	No	Natural-language FTIR request. Peak positions (e.g. "1730, 1600, 1250 cm-1") are extracted automatically.
peaks	number[]	No	FTIR peak positions in cm⁻¹ (e.g. [1736, 1379, 1241]).
file_base64	string	No	Base64-encoded FTIR spectrum file (supports 28+ formats: Thermo .spa/.spc, Bruker .opus, PerkinElmer .sp, JCAMP-DX, CSV, Excel).
filename	string	No	Original filename for format detection (e.g. "sample.spa").
top_k	integer	No	Number of ranked candidates to return (1–50, default 15).
tolerance_cm1	integer	No	Peak matching tolerance in cm⁻¹ (1–30, default 8).

Returns: Ranked candidate materials with library similarity scores, peak-by-peak explanations linked to published literature (DOI), confidence levels, and uncertainty disclosures.

submit_ftir_report

Submit a base64-encoded spectrum file to the existing full FTIR.fun tri-axis workflow. Returns task_id and result_num.

get_ftir_report_status

Poll the task_id returned by submit_ftir_report. When complete, the response includes the same structured report_view used by the FTIR.fun website and the final report_url.

explain_peaks

Explain one or more FTIR peaks without requiring a full library search.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
query	string	No	Natural-language FTIR peak question, for example "What does 1715 cm-1 indicate?".
peaks	number[]	No	One or more FTIR peak positions in cm⁻¹.
sampling_mode	string	No	Optional sampling mode such as ATR, Thin Film, or KBr Pellet.

Returns: Structured peak explanations with supporting assignments and uncertainty wording when available.

find_spectra

Find FTIR library reference spectra by substance name, CAS number, spectrum number, or keywords.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
query	string	Yes	Substance name, CAS number, FTIR library NUM, or keywords.
limit	integer	No	Number of reference spectra to return (1–20, default 10).

Returns: Matching reference spectra with num, names, CAS, peak markers, and library curve data.

fetch_result

Fetch one historical FTIR.fun result by report number.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
result_num	string	Yes	FTIR.fun report/result number.
language_code	string	No	Display language for the stored result context, default en.

Returns: Structured historical result context with report_url, headline, summary, report_view, and result_context.

Hosted MCP (Recommended)

Connect directly to the production endpoint — no local install required:

For VS Code, use .vscode/mcp.json or the user-level MCP configuration:

{
  "inputs": [
    {
      "type": "promptString",
      "id": "ftirfun-api-key",
      "description": "FTIR.fun API key",
      "password": true
    }
  ],
  "servers": {
    "ftirfun": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://ftir.fun/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer ${input:ftirfun-api-key}"
      }
    }
  }
}

This is direct Bearer API-key authentication. FTIR.fun does not use OAuth dynamic client registration or an /authorize page. Do not use the nonexistent @ftirfun/mcp-server npm package; the hosted URL needs no local install.

One-line setup for Claude Code:

claude mcp add ftirfun https://ftir.fun/mcp

The hosted endpoint exposes seven FTIR tools (parse_ftir_spectrum, analyze_ftir_spectrum, submit_ftir_report, get_ftir_report_status, explain_peaks, find_spectra, fetch_result) and is the canonical production service.

Self-Hosted (Local Wrapper)

This repository provides a lightweight local MCP wrapper that proxies to the hosted API. The local wrapper exposes the same seven FTIR tools as the hosted server.

Configuration

export FTIRFUN_API_KEY="your-ftirfun-api-key"

Optional:

export FTIRFUN_API_BASE_URL="https://ftir.fun"
export FTIRFUN_API_TIMEOUT_SECONDS="120"

Run Locally (stdio)

python -m venv .venv
. .venv/bin/activate
pip install .
ftirfun-mcp

Run Streamable HTTP

FTIRFUN_API_KEY="your-ftirfun-api-key" \
ftirfun-mcp --transport streamable-http --host 127.0.0.1 --port 8001

Docker

docker build -t ftirfun-mcp .
docker run --rm -p 8001:8001 -e FTIRFUN_API_KEY="your-ftirfun-api-key" ftirfun-mcp

Push This Repo To GitHub

This repo includes its own push helper:

bash push_github_main.sh origin main "your commit message"

Token resolution order:

1. GITHUB_ENV_FILE=/path/to/env
2. ./.env
3. shared fallback /home/bob/projects/ftirfun/.env

For registry introspection, the server can start without an API key. Tool calls that require the hosted API return a structured api_key_required error until FTIRFUN_API_KEY is configured.

Tool Boundary

Use this MCP server for FTIR spectral-library screening only.

Do not use for:

• Non-FTIR spectroscopy
• General chemistry Q&A
• Institutional AI-only review of existing third-party reports
• Accredited laboratory certification

Registry Links

• Hosted MCP: https://ftir.fun/mcp
• Server Card: https://ftir.fun/.well-known/mcp/server-card.json
• Smithery: https://smithery.ai/servers/hlin2097/ftirfun
• MCP.so: https://mcp.so/server/ftir-spectral-search/ftir_fun
• PyPI: https://pypi.org/project/ftirfun-mcp/
• Website: https://ftir.fun