Genius MCP Server

Query songs, artists, lyrics annotations, album artwork annotations, song relationships, credits, and editorial knowledge through a clean set of

Local serverstdioPython

What is the Genius MCP MCP server?

Genius MCP MCP server is a locally run integration for AI assistants that speak the Model Context Protocol. Query songs, artists, lyrics annotations, album artwork annotations, song relationships, credits, and editorial knowledge through a clean set of tools and prompts — powered by both the official Genius API and the lyricsgenius Python.

What you get

  • Search — for songs and artists by name
  • Fetch full song metadata — — title, album, release date, lyrics state, and Genius editorial descriptions
  • Fetch artist profiles — — bio, follower count, verification status
  • Browse an artist's discography — — sorted by popularity or release date, or as a full album list with tracklists
  • Read annotations — — community and artist-verified explanations of specific lyric fragments, each tagged with a trust level so the AI knows how much weight to give them
  • Read album artwork annotations — — community explanations of visual elements, symbolism, and artistic choices written directly on album cover art images

What the assistant can call

Once Genius MCP is connected, these are the calls the assistant has available:

  • search_song — Search Genius for songs matching a query. Returns song IDs, titles, artists, and annotation counts
  • get_song_details — Fetch full metadata and editorial description for a song by its Genius ID
  • get_song_annotations — Fetch all annotations for a song, optionally filtered by trust level (artist_verified, accepted, unreviewed)
  • get_annotation_detail — Fetch the full text and metadata of a single annotation by its ID
  • get_song_questions_and_answers — Fetch user-submitted questions and answers for a song, with pagination. Only questions that have an accepted answer are returned
  • get_song_relationships — Fetch the musical relationships for a song — what it samples, interpolates, covers, remixes, or translates, and which later songs sampled or covered
  • get_song_credits — Fetch writing and production credits for a song: writers, producers, featured artists, and custom performance roles (e.g. mixing engineer, recording
  • search_artist — Search Genius for an artist by name. Returns artist IDs and basic profile info
  • get_artist_details — Fetch full profile and editorial bio for an artist by their Genius ID
  • get_artist_songs — List songs by an artist, sortable by popularity or release_date, with pagination
  • get_artist_albums — Retrieve the full discography of an artist as a paginated list of albums with album IDs
  • search_album — Search Genius for albums matching a query. Returns album IDs, names, artist names, and release dates

Configuration and credentials

You will need 2 environment variables: GENIUS_ACCESS_TOKEN, STREAMABLE_HTTP. 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.

Setting it up

Setup follows the usual MCP pattern — install or clone the server, register it in your client's configuration file, restart the client.

Choosing this one

This sits in the developer tooling group, where several servers overlap in what they claim to do but differ sharply once you actually set them up. Genius MCP's toolset — search_song, get_song_details, get_song_annotations and 11 more — is a fair guide to whether it matches your workflow. It is maintained by federicogarciav; worth a glance at recent repository activity before you build anything load-bearing on it.

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

Before you rely on it

  • It runs with your machine's permissions. That is convenient and also the reason to think about what you point it at before you approve a tool call.
  • With 14 tools registered it takes up a noticeable share of the context window; turn it off in projects that never touch Genius MCP.
  • 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 genius mcp mcp server does with a few real requests.

Available tools

ToolWhat it does
search_songSearch Genius for songs matching a query. Returns song IDs, titles, artists, and annotation counts.
get_song_detailsFetch full metadata and editorial description for a song by its Genius ID.
get_song_annotationsFetch all annotations for a song, optionally filtered by trust level (artist_verified, accepted, unreviewed).
get_annotation_detailFetch the full text and metadata of a single annotation by its ID.
get_song_questions_and_answersFetch user-submitted questions and answers for a song, with pagination. Only questions that have an accepted answer are returned.
get_song_relationshipsFetch the musical relationships for a song — what it samples, interpolates, covers, remixes, or translates, and which later songs sampled or covered it. Only relationship types with at least one linked song are returned.
get_song_creditsFetch writing and production credits for a song: writers, producers, featured artists, and custom performance roles (e.g. mixing engineer, recording studio, label).
search_artistSearch Genius for an artist by name. Returns artist IDs and basic profile info.
get_artist_detailsFetch full profile and editorial bio for an artist by their Genius ID.
get_artist_songsList songs by an artist, sortable by popularity or release_date, with pagination.
get_artist_albumsRetrieve the full discography of an artist as a paginated list of albums with album IDs.
search_albumSearch Genius for albums matching a query. Returns album IDs, names, artist names, and release dates.
get_album_detailsFetch metadata, full ordered tracklist, and cover art list for an album by its Genius album ID. Each track includes its song ID for chaining into other tools. The first cover art is always the main album cover; annotated
get_cover_art_annotationsFetch the full annotation written on a specific album cover art image — body text, trust level, authors, and vote count. Requires cover_art_id and album_id (both available from get_album_details). Only call for cover art

Configuration

VariableDescriptionRequired
GENIUS_ACCESS_TOKENCredential the server authenticates with.Yes
STREAMABLE_HTTPConfiguration value read at startup.Optional

Example prompts to try

  • Use Genius MCP to search song.
  • Use Genius MCP to get song details.
  • Use Genius MCP to get song annotations.

Frequently asked questions

It connects Genius MCP to MCP-compatible AI assistants such as Claude and Cursor, exposing 14 tools (search_song, get_song_details, get_song_annotations, and more) that the assistant can call on your behalf. Instead of copying data back and forth by hand, the assistant works with Genius MCP directly.