Ordinals MCP Server

Bitcoin Ordinals MCP Server — inscriptions, runes, BRC-20, collections & rare sats

Local serverstdio

What is the Ordinals MCP server?

If you already use Ordinals, the ordinals mcp server is the piece that lets your assistant work with it directly. Bitcoin Ordinals MCP Server — inscriptions, runes, BRC-20, collections & rare sats.

What the server does

The only alternative (ordiscan-mcp) has 25 npm downloads and covers a fraction of the surface. This server is the production-grade option.

  • 24 tools, full coverage. — Inscriptions, runes, BRC-20, collections, rare sats, and marketplace data. No other Ordinals MCP covers all six categories
  • Multi-API with automatic failover. — Aggregates Hiro (primary, 500 RPM), Ordiscan (fallback), and Magic Eden (marketplace). If one API rate-limits, requests automatically route to the next
  • Intelligent caching. — TTLs tuned per data type -- sat rarity (24h), inscription metadata (5m), collection info (2m), balances (1m), marketplace listings (30s). Stale cache serves as last resort during outages

Installation

ordinals-mcp on npm is all you need. Most clients run it directly, so configuration is a few lines and a restart.

Credentials and setup notes

Configuration is passed through the environment: HIRO_API_KEY, ORDISCAN_API_KEY, MAGIC_EDEN_API_KEY. Treat anything key-shaped as a real credential — scope it to the minimum the server needs, and rotate it if it ever lands in a shared config.

Worth knowing first

  • 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.
  • Missing credentials fail quietly in some clients — if no tools show up, check the environment block first.
  • Keep per-call confirmation enabled while you learn its behaviour; it is the cheapest safeguard you have.

Where it fits

Plenty of developer tooling servers cover similar ground. The differences that matter in practice are scope of access and how much setup stands between you and a working tool call. It is maintained by ExpertVagabond; worth a glance at recent repository activity before you build anything load-bearing on it.

We check each listing at SyncDev against the project's documentation before it goes live — if something here drifts out of date, it is a bug worth reporting.

How to install the Ordinals MCP server

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ordinals": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "ordinals-mcp@latest"],
      "env": {
        "HIRO_API_KEY": "your-key",
        "ORDISCAN_API_KEY": "your-key"
      }
    }
  }
}

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

Configuration

VariableDescriptionRequired
HIRO_API_KEYCredential the server authenticates with.Yes
ORDISCAN_API_KEYCredential the server authenticates with.Yes
MAGIC_EDEN_API_KEYCredential the server authenticates with.Yes

Frequently asked questions

It connects Ordinals to MCP-compatible AI assistants such as Claude and Cursor. Instead of copying data back and forth by hand, the assistant works with Ordinals directly.