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Openzim MCP

Openzim MCP is an MCP server that adds tools to AI assistants such as Claude Desktop, Claude Code and Cursor. Offline MCP access to ZIM knowledge archives — Wikipedia, Wiktionary, Stack Exchange, Kiwix. It has 144 GitHub stars, is released under the MIT license and runs locally with uvx openzim-mcp.

github.com/cameronrye/openzim-mcp (opens in a new tab)

Install Openzim MCP

Generated from the server's MCP registry entry. Replace your-value with your own values.

Claude Desktop

claude_desktop_config.json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "openzim-mcp": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "openzim-mcp"
      ],
      "env": {
        "OPENZIM_MCP_TOOL_MODE": "your-value"
      }
    }
  }
}

Settings > Developer > Edit Config. macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/, Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\. Restart Claude Desktop afterwards.

Claude Code

claude mcp add --env OPENZIM_MCP_TOOL_MODE=your-value --transport stdio openzim-mcp -- uvx openzim-mcp

Cursor

.cursor/mcp.json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "openzim-mcp": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "openzim-mcp"
      ],
      "env": {
        "OPENZIM_MCP_TOOL_MODE": "your-value"
      }
    }
  }
}

Project file; use ~/.cursor/mcp.json to enable it in every project.

VS Code

.vscode/mcp.json
{
  "servers": {
    "openzim-mcp": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "openzim-mcp"
      ],
      "env": {
        "OPENZIM_MCP_TOOL_MODE": "your-value"
      }
    }
  }
}

Config formats checked against the official docs on Oct 7, 2026: modelcontextprotocol.io (opens in a new tab), code.claude.com (opens in a new tab), cursor.com (opens in a new tab), code.visualstudio.com (opens in a new tab).

Environment variables

Variables the server reads at startup.

NameRequiredDescription
OPENZIM_MCP_TOOL_MODENoTool surface: 'advanced' (the default here) registers all 8 tools (zimquery, zimsearch, zimget, zimgetsection, zimbrowse, zimmetadata, zimlinks, zimhealth)…

About Openzim MCP

Transform static ZIM archives into dynamic knowledge engines for AI models ✨ Highlights. A lean 8-tool advanced surface (zimquery, zimsearch, zimget, zimgetsection, zimbrowse, zimmetadata, zimlinks, zimhealth) with a schema small enough for small-model dispatch — or one-tool Simple mode* for natural-language queries.

  • kiwix
  • mcp
  • mcp-server
  • openzim
  • zim

FAQ

Openzim MCP FAQ

Still curious? Email info@appsgit.com.

What is Openzim MCP?

Openzim MCP is an MCP server that adds tools to AI assistants such as Claude Desktop, Claude Code and Cursor. Offline MCP access to ZIM knowledge archives — Wikipedia, Wiktionary, Stack Exchange, Kiwix. It has 144 GitHub stars, is released under the MIT license and runs locally with uvx openzim-mcp. The source code is at github.com/cameronrye/openzim-mcp.

How do I install the Openzim MCP MCP server?

Add the command uvx openzim-mcp to your MCP client: put it in claude_desktop_config.json for Claude Desktop, run claude mcp add for Claude Code, or add it to .cursor/mcp.json (Cursor) or .vscode/mcp.json (VS Code). The snippets on this page are ready to paste.

Is Openzim MCP free?

The server is open source under the MIT license, so running it is free. It does not declare any required API key.

Is Openzim MCP actively maintained?

The most recent commit was on Sep 18, 2026. The latest release is v3.3.4, published Sep 18, 2026. appsgit only lists MCP servers with a commit in the last six months and re-checks every server daily.