Exchange MCP Server

Convert currencies, get FX rates, and query historical ECB exchange rate data. The exchange mcp server wraps that behind the Model Context Protocol, so an assistant can use it through 9 defined tools rather than through you.

What it actually does

• Declarative tool and resource definitions — single file per primitive, framework handles registration and validation
• Unified error handling — handlers throw, framework catches, classifies, and formats
• Typed error contracts with recovery hints — unsupported_currency, date_out_of_range, canvas_not_found, missing_table, invalid_query
• Pluggable auth: none, jwt, oauth
• Structured logging with optional OpenTelemetry tracing
• STDIO and Streamable HTTP transports

Adding it to your client

Being a remote server, there is no local install. You register the endpoint with your client, authorise it once, and the tools appear.

Its toolset

Everything the assistant can do here goes through one of these:

• fx_list_currencies — List all ~30 ECB-supported ISO 4217 currencies with full names. Use before converting to disambiguate "dollars" (USD vs AUD vs CAD vs HKD vs SGD)
• fx_get_rates — Snapshot of all available rates for a base currency at latest or a historical date. Optional symbols filter for smaller responses; listing the base
• fx_get_rate — Exchange rate for a single currency pair at latest or a historical date. Surfaces date_snapped when a weekend/holiday request returns the prior
• fx_convert_currency — Convert an amount between any two currencies at latest or a historical rate. Cross-rates are triangulated through EUR. Returns converted amount, rate
• fx_get_timeseries — Historical daily rates for a currency pair over a date range, never including a date outside it. Short ranges (≤90 days) are returned inline; when
• fx_dataframe_describe — List DataCanvas tables and their columns from a prior fx_get_timeseries call. Required first step before fx_dataframe_query. Needs
• fx_dataframe_query — Run a read-only SQL SELECT against a DataCanvas table produced by fx_get_timeseries. Supports aggregations, GROUP BY, window functions, and JOINs
• Prerequisites — The Prerequisites tool exposed by this server
• Installation — The Installation tool exposed by this server

Configuration

You will need 4 environment variables: MCP_TRANSPORT_TYPE, MCP_LOG_LEVEL, CANVAS_PROVIDER_TYPE, FRANKFURTER_BASE_URL. The server will not start without them, which is usually why the tools fail to appear on a first run. Keep credentials in your client's env block or a secrets manager rather than in a file you might commit.

• Bun v1.3.0 or higher (or Node.js v24+). - No API key — Frankfurter is free and keyless.

Caveats

• Your data travels to the provider's service, so the usual questions apply about what you send and what they retain.
• With 9 tools registered it takes up a noticeable share of the context window; turn it off in projects that never touch Exchange.
• Missing credentials fail quietly in some clients — if no tools show up, check the environment block first.
• MCP clients confirm each tool call by default. Leave that on until you have watched what the exchange mcp server does with a few real requests.

When to reach for it

Among the database access options, the useful question is rarely "what can it do" but "what does it cost you to run" — permissions, credentials, and how much of your context its toolset consumes. Exchange's toolset — fx_list_currencies, fx_get_rates, fx_get_rate and 6 more — is a fair guide to whether it matches your workflow. It is maintained by cyanheads; worth a glance at recent repository activity before you build anything load-bearing on it.

This entry was verified against Exchange's own documentation before publication; SyncDev keeps the directory reviewed rather than auto-generated.