MCP Setup
Connect any MCP-compatible AI agent to the Open Scripture API in seconds. The MCP server is hosted at https://openscriptureapi.org/api/mcp — no installation or local process required.
No API key is needed. The Open Scripture API and its hosted MCP server are free and publicly available.
Claude Code
Add the server to Claude Code using the CLI, or with a .mcp.json file in your project root.
claude mcp add --transport http open-scripture-api https://openscriptureapi.org/api/mcp
After adding the server, restart Claude Code. The 4 scripture tools will appear automatically.
Claude Desktop
Add the following to your Claude Desktop config file, then restart the app.
{
"mcpServers": {
"open-scripture-api": {
"type": "streamableHttp",
"url": "https://openscriptureapi.org/api/mcp"
}
}
}
The config file is located at:
- macOS:
~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json - Windows:
%APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
Other AI Agents
Any MCP-compatible agent that supports the Streamable HTTP transport can connect using the server URL. Refer to your agent's documentation for how to register an MCP server, then use:
- Transport:
streamableHttp - URL:
https://openscriptureapi.org/api/mcp
Available Tools
Once connected, the following tools are available to your agent:
get_scripture— Fetch verse text for any plain-text reference (e.g."Alma 32:1-5","John 3:16","Mosiah 2-3; James 1:5-6"). Parses the reference, fetches all required chapters, and returns a flat list of matching verses. Supports ranges, multi-chapter references, and multiple references. Hard limit of 500 verses per call.get_chapter— Fetch a full chapter by book ID and chapter number. Returns the chapter summary and all verses with their numbers and text.resolve_reference— Parse and validate a plain-text reference without fetching verse content. Returns the normalized reference string and a structured breakdown of books, chapters, and verse ranges. Useful for validating a reference or previewing its scope before callingget_scripture.search_scripture— Full-text search across all LDS scriptures. Returns matching verses with reference and text, total match count, and supports pagination (limit,offset) and filtering by volume (oldtestament,newtestament,bookofmormon,doctrineandcovenants,pearlofgreatprice).
Valid Identifiers
Use get_scripture with a plain-text reference whenever possible — it handles ID resolution for you. The identifiers below are only needed when calling get_chapter directly.
Volume IDs
There are 5 available volumes. Use these IDs anywhere a volume_id is required: oldtestament, newtestament, bookofmormon, doctrineandcovenants, pearlofgreatprice
Book ID Pattern
Book IDs are lowercase with no spaces or punctuation. Examples: genesis, psalms, matthew, revelation, 1nephi, 2nephi, mosiah, alma, helaman, 3nephi, moroni, doctrineandcovenants, moses, abraham.
Chapter ID Pattern
Chapter IDs follow the pattern {bookId}{chapterNumber}, where the chapter number is 1-indexed. Examples: genesis1, 1nephi1, alma32, doctrineandcovenants89, revelation22.