Model Context Protocol (MCP)

The OpenViking MCP server provides Model Context Protocol tools for semantic search and RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation). Connect it to Claude Desktop, Claude CLI, or any MCP-compatible client.

Available Tools

Tool	Description	Use Case
`query`	Full RAG pipeline (search + LLM answer)	Ask questions and get answers with sources
`search`	Semantic search only	Find relevant documents without LLM generation
`add_resource`	Add files/URLs to database	Ingest new content for indexing

Quick Start

Install Dependencies

cd examples/mcp-query
uv sync

Configure OpenViking

Copy the example config:

cp ov.conf.example ov.conf

Edit ov.conf with your API keys:

{
  "embedding": {
    "dense": {
      "api_base": "https://ark.cn-beijing.volces.com/api/v3",
      "api_key": "<your-api-key>",
      "provider": "volcengine",
      "dimension": 1024,
      "model": "doubao-embedding-vision-250615"
    }
  },
  "vlm": {
    "api_base": "https://ark.cn-beijing.volces.com/api/v3",
    "api_key": "<your-api-key>",
    "provider": "volcengine",
    "model": "doubao-seed-2-0-pro-260215"
  }
}

Start the Server

uv run server.py

The server starts on http://127.0.0.1:2033/mcp by default.

Connect from Claude

Claude CLI:

claude mcp add --transport http openviking http://localhost:2033/mcp

Claude Desktop: Add to .mcp.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "openviking": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "http://localhost:2033/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Tool Reference

query

Ask questions and get answers using RAG. Parameters:

query(
    question: str,              # The question to ask
    top_k: int = 5,            # Number of search results (1-20)
    temperature: float = 0.7,   # LLM sampling temperature (0.0-1.0)
    max_tokens: int = 2048,     # Max response tokens
    score_threshold: float = 0.2, # Min relevance score (0.0-1.0)
    system_prompt: str = ""     # Optional system prompt
)

Example usage in Claude:

You: What are the key features of OpenViking?
Claude: [Uses query tool]
        OpenViking is a context database for AI agents with these key features:
        
        1. Filesystem Management Paradigm - Organizes memories, resources, and skills
        2. Tiered Context Loading (L0/L1/L2) - Reduces token consumption
        3. Directory Recursive Retrieval - Improves retrieval effectiveness
        ...
        
        ---
        Sources:
          1. README.md (relevance: 0.9234)
          2. concepts/filesystem.md (relevance: 0.8876)
          3. getting-started.md (relevance: 0.8523)
        
        [search: 0.45s, llm: 1.23s, total: 1.68s]

Response format:

<answer text>

---
Sources:
  1. <filename> (relevance: <score>)
  2. <filename> (relevance: <score>)
  ...

[search: <time>s, llm: <time>s, total: <time>s]

search

Perform semantic search without LLM generation. Parameters:

search(
    query: str,                  # Search query
    top_k: int = 5,             # Number of results (1-20)
    score_threshold: float = 0.2, # Min relevance score (0.0-1.0)
    target_uri: str = ""        # Optional URI to scope search
)

Example usage:

You: Search for "memory extraction" in OpenViking docs
Claude: [Uses search tool]
        Found 3 results:
        
        [1] viking://resources/OpenViking/docs/concepts/memory.md (score: 0.9123)
        Memory extraction is the process of analyzing conversation history
        and identifying key facts, preferences, and decisions to store...
        
        [2] viking://resources/OpenViking/guides/memory-setup.md (score: 0.8567)
        To configure memory extraction, set the following parameters in ov.conf...
        
        [3] viking://resources/OpenViking/examples/memory-plugin/README.md (score: 0.7891)
        This example demonstrates how to use OpenViking's memory extraction...

add_resource

Add documents, directories, or URLs to the database. Parameters:

add_resource(
    resource_path: str  # Local file/directory path or URL
)

Supported formats:

PDF, Markdown, Text, HTML
Local files and directories
URLs (auto-downloaded)
GitHub repositories (via URL)

Example usage:

You: Add the FastAPI documentation to OpenViking
Claude: [Uses add_resource tool with https://github.com/tiangolo/fastapi]
        Resource added and indexed: viking://resources/fastapi
        
You: Now search for dependency injection in FastAPI
Claude: [Uses search tool]
        Found 5 results about dependency injection in FastAPI...

Server Options

uv run server.py [OPTIONS]

Options:
  --config PATH       Config file path (default: ./ov.conf)
                      Env: OV_CONFIG
                      
  --data PATH         Data directory path (default: ./data)
                      Env: OV_DATA
                      
  --host HOST         Bind address (default: 127.0.0.1)
  
  --port PORT         Listen port (default: 2033)
                      Env: OV_PORT
                      
  --transport TYPE    Transport type:
                      - streamable-http (default)
                      - stdio (for Claude Desktop)

Examples

# Use custom config and port
uv run server.py --config ~/my-config/ov.conf --port 9000

# Use environment variables
export OV_CONFIG=./ov.conf
export OV_DATA=./my-data
export OV_PORT=3000
uv run server.py

# Enable debug logging
export OV_DEBUG=1
uv run server.py

# Use stdio transport (Claude Desktop)
uv run server.py --transport stdio

Testing with MCP Inspector

The MCP Inspector is a tool for testing MCP servers:

# Start your OpenViking MCP server
uv run server.py

# In another terminal, start the inspector
npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector

# Connect to http://localhost:2033/mcp

You can then:

Browse available tools
Test tool invocations
Inspect request/response payloads
Debug server behavior

Production Deployment

Systemd Service (Linux)

/etc/systemd/system/openviking-mcp.service

[Unit]
Description=OpenViking MCP Server
After=network.target

[Service]
Type=simple
User=youruser
WorkingDirectory=/path/to/OpenViking/examples/mcp-query
Environment="OV_CONFIG=/etc/openviking/ov.conf"
Environment="OV_DATA=/var/lib/openviking/data"
ExecStart=/path/to/uv run server.py --host 0.0.0.0 --port 2033
Restart=always
RestartSec=10

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable openviking-mcp
sudo systemctl start openviking-mcp
sudo systemctl status openviking-mcp

Docker

Dockerfile

FROM python:3.11-slim

WORKDIR /app

RUN pip install uv

COPY pyproject.toml uv.lock ./
RUN uv sync

COPY server.py ./
COPY ov.conf ./

EXPOSE 2033

CMD ["uv", "run", "server.py", "--host", "0.0.0.0", "--port", "2033"]

docker build -t openviking-mcp .
docker run -d -p 2033:2033 \
  -v /path/to/data:/app/data \
  -v /path/to/ov.conf:/app/ov.conf \
  openviking-mcp

Reverse Proxy (Nginx)

/etc/nginx/sites-available/openviking-mcp

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name mcp.yourdomain.com;

    location /mcp {
        proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:2033/mcp;
        proxy_http_version 1.1;
        proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
        proxy_set_header Connection "upgrade";
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
    }
}

Security Considerations

The MCP server has no built-in authentication. For production:

Use a reverse proxy with authentication (Nginx, Caddy)
Restrict access via firewall rules
Use HTTPS for external access
Bind to 127.0.0.1 if only local access needed

Add Basic Auth (Nginx)

location /mcp {
    auth_basic "OpenViking MCP";
    auth_basic_user_file /etc/nginx/.htpasswd;
    
    proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:2033/mcp;
    # ... rest of proxy config
}

Generate password file:

sudo htpasswd -c /etc/nginx/.htpasswd username

Resources

The server exposes one resource:

openviking://status

Get server status and configuration:

{
  "config_path": "./ov.conf",
  "data_path": "./data",
  "status": "running"
}

Troubleshooting

Server fails to start

Check the config file:

cat ov.conf

Verify API keys are set and valid. Test manually:

python3 -c "import openviking; print('ok')"

Claude can't connect

Verify the server is running:

curl http://localhost:2033/mcp

Check the MCP config:

cat ~/.mcp.json  # Claude Desktop
claude mcp list  # Claude CLI

Search returns no results

Add content first:

# Via MCP tool
Claude: Add https://github.com/owner/repo to OpenViking

# Or via CLI
ov add-resource https://github.com/owner/repo

Check indexing status:

ov observer queue

Import errors

Reinstall dependencies:

rm -rf .venv uv.lock
uv sync

Advanced Configuration

Custom System Prompts

Control LLM behavior via system_prompt parameter:

query(
    question="Explain dependency injection",
    system_prompt="You are a Python expert. Answer in bullet points."
)

Scoped Search

Limit search to specific resources:

search(
    query="authentication",
    target_uri="viking://resources/fastapi"
)

Adjusting Relevance

# Strict relevance (fewer, higher quality results)
search(query="...", score_threshold=0.7, top_k=3)

# Broad relevance (more results, lower quality)
search(query="...", score_threshold=0.1, top_k=20)

Get Started

Core Concepts

Guides

Integrations

Model Context Protocol (MCP)

Available Tools

Quick Start

Tool Reference

query

search

add_resource

Server Options

Examples

Testing with MCP Inspector

Production Deployment

Systemd Service (Linux)

Docker

Reverse Proxy (Nginx)

Security Considerations

Add Basic Auth (Nginx)

Resources

openviking://status

Troubleshooting

Advanced Configuration

Custom System Prompts

Scoped Search

Adjusting Relevance

See Also

Get Started

Core Concepts

Guides

Integrations

​Available Tools

​Quick Start

​Tool Reference

​query

​search

​add_resource

​Server Options

​Examples

​Testing with MCP Inspector

​Production Deployment

​Systemd Service (Linux)

​Docker

​Reverse Proxy (Nginx)

​Security Considerations

​Add Basic Auth (Nginx)

​Resources

​openviking://status

​Troubleshooting

​Advanced Configuration

​Custom System Prompts

​Scoped Search

​Adjusting Relevance

​See Also

Available Tools

Quick Start

Tool Reference

query

search

add_resource

Server Options

Examples

Testing with MCP Inspector

Production Deployment

Systemd Service (Linux)

Docker

Reverse Proxy (Nginx)

Security Considerations

Add Basic Auth (Nginx)

Resources

openviking://status

Troubleshooting

Advanced Configuration

Custom System Prompts

Scoped Search

Adjusting Relevance

See Also