fmadore/iwac-mcp-server

Read-only MCP server for the Islam West Africa Collection (IWAC): 37 tools over 12,000+ francophone newspaper articles, Islamic publications, archives and academic references from six West African countries. Claude Desktop extension, Docker image, or hosted endpoint. # IWAC MCP Server A read-only Model Context Protocol server for the Islam West Africa Collection (IWAC). Ships as a one-click Desktop Extension (`.mcpb`) for Claude Desktop, backed by the IWAC Hugging Face dataset. Also available as a **hosted endpoint** at `islam.zmo.de` for ChatGPT and other MCP clients — see docs/connecting.md for the full connection walkthrough (Claude Desktop and ChatGPT). ## Install Each release ships a server bundle **for your operating system** plus a research-skill `.zip`. The `.mcpb` gives Claude the data and tools; the `.zip` adds a research skill that teaches Claude *how* to use them. Install the server first, then **install the skill too — strongly recommended** for getting the most out of the tools: it makes Claude search and synthesize far more efficiently, with fewer wasted queries. ### 1. The MCP server — pick the bundle for your OS | Your OS | Download | | ---------------------------------- | ------------------------------ | | Windows (Intel/AMD or Snapdragon) | `iwac-mcp-server-windows.mcpb` | | macOS (Apple Silicon or Intel) | `iwac-mcp-server-macos.mcpb` | 1. Download the bundle for your OS from Releases. 2. Double-click the file. Claude Desktop shows an install dialog — click **Install**. 3. On first use the server downloads ~250 MB of parquet data from Hugging Face into `~/.iwac-mcp/cache/` (override in the extension settings). No Python, no `uv`, no venv — the bundle ships a self-contained Node runtime and the DuckDB binaries for your OS (x64 and arm64; Claude Desktop picks the right one). Claude Desktop has no Linux build, so no Linux bundle is published. ### 2. The research skill — `iwac-mcp-skill.zip` (strongly recommended) The `iwac-mcp` skill wraps the raw tools in a structured research workflow: a five-phase methodology, francophone search strategy, source attribution with confidence grading, and bias/coverage caveats. **It makes the ser …