Openai Assistant MCP Server

This project provides a server compliant with the Machine-to-Machine Communications Protocol (MCP) that acts as a bridge to various OpenAI API

Local serverstdio

What is the Openai Assistant MCP MCP server?

This project provides a server compliant with the Machine-to-Machine Communications Protocol (MCP) that acts as a bridge to various OpenAI API functionalities. It allows MCP clients to interact with OpenAI's Chat Completion and Assistants. Exposed over MCP by the openai assistant mcp mcp server, that capability becomes something an assistant can invoke while it works, not something you go and do afterwards.

What it actually does

  • Chat Completion: — Ask a direct question to a specified model (gpt-4, gpt-3.5-turbo)
  • Assistant Management: — Create, list, retrieve, update, and delete assistants
  • File Management: — Upload, list, and delete files associated with assistants
  • Tool Management: — Enable or disable tools for assistants, such as file_search

Its toolset

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

  • ask-openai — Ask a direct question
  • list-assistants — List all available assistants
  • retrieve-assistant — Retrieve an assistant by its ID
  • create-assistant — Create a new assistant
  • update-assistant — Update an existing assistant
  • delete-assistant — Delete an assistant by its ID
  • upload-file — Upload a file for use with assistants
  • list-files — List all files available for assistants
  • delete-file — Delete a file by its ID

Configuration

You will need 2 environment variables: PYTHONPATH, OPENAI_API_KEY. 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.

Adding it to your client

Setup follows the usual MCP pattern — install or clone the server, register it in your client's configuration file, restart the client. The configuration blocks on this page cover the common clients.

When to reach for it

Among the AI and media services 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. Openai Assistant MCP's toolset — ask-openai, list-assistants, retrieve-assistant and 6 more — is a fair guide to whether it matches your workflow. It is maintained by snilld-ai; worth a glance at recent repository activity before you build anything load-bearing on it.

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

Caveats

  • 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 9 tools registered it takes up a noticeable share of the context window; turn it off in projects that never touch Openai Assistant 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 openai assistant mcp mcp server does with a few real requests.

Available tools

ToolWhat it does
ask-openaiAsk a direct question.
list-assistantsList all available assistants.
retrieve-assistantRetrieve an assistant by its ID.
create-assistantCreate a new assistant.
update-assistantUpdate an existing assistant.
delete-assistantDelete an assistant by its ID.
upload-fileUpload a file for use with assistants.
list-filesList all files available for assistants.
delete-fileDelete a file by its ID.

How to install the Openai Assistant MCP MCP server

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "openai-server": {
      "command": "mcp-server-openai",
      "args": [],
      "env": {
        "PYTHONPATH": "LOCAL PATH",
        "OPENAI_API_KEY": "OPENAI API KEY"
      }
    }
  }
}

Configuration as documented by the project. Restart the client after saving.

Configuration

VariableDescriptionRequired
PYTHONPATHFilesystem location the server is allowed to use.Optional
OPENAI_API_KEYCredential the server authenticates with.Yes

Example prompts to try

  • Use Openai Assistant MCP to ask-openai.
  • Use Openai Assistant MCP to list-assistants.
  • Use Openai Assistant MCP to retrieve-assistant.

Frequently asked questions

It connects Openai Assistant MCP to MCP-compatible AI assistants such as Claude and Cursor, exposing 9 tools (ask-openai, list-assistants, retrieve-assistant, and more) that the assistant can call on your behalf. Instead of copying data back and forth by hand, the assistant works with Openai Assistant MCP directly.