Getting Started

Connect Claude Desktop to ACCESS-CI MCP servers and start exploring cyberinfrastructure resources.

Quick Start (Recommended)

Use our hosted servers - no installation required beyond Claude Desktop.

1. Install Claude Desktop

Download and install Claude Desktop for macOS or Windows.

2. Configure Claude Desktop

Open your Claude Desktop config file:

Platform	Config File Location
macOS	~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
Windows	%APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
Linux	~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

Copy and paste this configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "access-compute-resources": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["mcp-remote", "http://45.79.215.140:3002/sse"]
    },
    "access-system-status": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["mcp-remote", "http://45.79.215.140:3003/sse"]
    },
    "access-software-discovery": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["mcp-remote", "http://45.79.215.140:3004/sse"]
    },
    "access-xdmod-charts": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["mcp-remote", "http://45.79.215.140:3005/sse"]
    },
    "access-allocations": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["mcp-remote", "http://45.79.215.140:3006/sse"]
    },
    "access-nsf-awards": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["mcp-remote", "http://45.79.215.140:3007/sse"]
    },
    "access-xdmod-data": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["mcp-remote", "http://45.79.215.140:3008/sse"]
    },
    "access-announcements": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["mcp-remote", "http://45.79.215.140:3009/sse"]
    },
    "access-events": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["mcp-remote", "http://45.79.215.140:3010/sse"]
    },
    "access-affinity-groups": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["mcp-remote", "http://45.79.215.140:3011/sse"]
    }
  }
}

3. Restart and Test

Restart Claude Desktop, then try asking:

"What GPU resources are available on ACCESS-CI?"

Claude will query the MCP servers and provide information about available resources.

Available Servers

All servers are available through the hosted configuration above:

Server	Port	Description
Compute Resources	3002	Hardware specifications and capabilities
System Status	3003	Outages and maintenance schedules
Software Discovery	3004	Software packages across resources
XDMoD Charts	3005	Usage statistics and visualizations
Allocations	3006	Research projects and allocations
NSF Awards	3007	NSF funding data
XDMoD Data	3008	Python analytics for XDMoD
Announcements	3009	Community news and updates
Events	3010	Workshops, webinars, training
Affinity Groups	3011	Community groups and knowledge base

---

For Developers

Want to contribute or extend the MCP servers? Set up a local development environment.

Clone and Build

git clone https://github.com/necyberteam/access-mcp.git
cd access-mcp
npm install        # Install all workspace dependencies
npm run build      # Build all packages

Note: The xdmod-mcp-data package requires Python 3.11+. See its README for setup instructions.

Run Tests

npm test                  # Unit tests
npm run test:integration  # Integration tests (requires API access)
npm run test:all          # All tests

Project Structure

access-mcp/
├── packages/
│   ├── shared/              # Base classes and utilities
│   ├── affinity-groups/     # Affinity Groups API server
│   ├── allocations/         # Allocations API server
│   ├── announcements/       # Announcements API server
│   ├── compute-resources/   # Compute Resources API server
│   ├── events/              # Events API server
│   ├── nsf-awards/          # NSF Awards API server
│   ├── software-discovery/  # Software Discovery API server
│   ├── system-status/       # System Status API server
│   ├── xdmod-charts/        # XDMoD Charts server
│   └── xdmod-mcp-data/      # XDMoD Data server (Python)
├── docs/                    # This documentation site
└── scripts/                 # Build and deployment scripts

Test Local Changes

Run a server locally and connect Claude Desktop to it:

# Start a server in HTTP mode (use production port for consistency)
PORT=3002 node packages/compute-resources/dist/index.js

Then configure Claude Desktop to use your local server:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "access-compute-resources-dev": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["mcp-remote", "http://localhost:3002/sse"]
    }
  }
}

---

Self-Hosting (Docker)

Organizations can run their own instance of the MCP servers using Docker.

Using Pre-built Images

Images are published to GitHub Container Registry on every push to main.

1. Create deployment directory:

   mkdir ~/access-mcp && cd ~/access-mcp

2. Download compose file:

   curl -o docker-compose.yml https://raw.githubusercontent.com/necyberteam/access-mcp/main/docker-compose.prod.yml

3. Create environment file:

   cat > .env << 'EOF'
   GITHUB_REPOSITORY=necyberteam/access-mcp
   SDS_API_KEY=your-sds-api-key-here
   XDMOD_API_TOKEN=your-xdmod-api-token-here
   ACCESS_MCP_SERVICES=nsf-awards=http://mcp-nsf-awards:3000
   EOF

4. Start services:

   docker login ghcr.io -u YOUR_GITHUB_USERNAME
   docker compose pull
   docker compose up -d

Connect to Your Deployment

Update the Claude Desktop config to point to your server:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "access-compute-resources": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["mcp-remote", "http://YOUR_SERVER_IP:3002/sse"]
    }
  }
}

Replace YOUR_SERVER_IP with your server's hostname or IP. Ensure firewall allows ports 3002-3011.

Environment Variables

Variable	Required	Description
GITHUB_REPOSITORY	Yes	Repository path for image pulls
SDS_API_KEY	For software-discovery	Software Discovery Service API key
XDMOD_API_TOKEN	Optional	XDMoD API token for enhanced features
ACCESS_MCP_SERVICES	For NSF integration	Inter-service communication endpoints

Automated Deployment

The repository includes GitHub Actions for CI/CD. Configure these secrets for automated deployment:

• PRODUCTION_HOST - Server hostname or IP
• PRODUCTION_SSH_KEY - SSH private key for deployment

See .github/workflows/deploy-production.yml for details.

---

Troubleshooting

"Server disconnected" Error

• Verify the hosted servers are accessible: curl http://45.79.215.140:3002/health
• Check your internet connection
• Restart Claude Desktop

npm/npx Not Found

Install Node.js LTS which includes npm and npx.

macOS (Homebrew):

brew install node

Windows:

winget install OpenJS.NodeJS.LTS

Claude Desktop Not Finding Servers

1. Verify config file is valid JSON (use a JSON validator)
2. Check the config file location is correct for your platform
3. Restart Claude Desktop completely (quit and reopen)
4. Check Claude Desktop logs for error messages

Next Steps

• Learn about available servers
• View on GitHub