MCP News API Server: Extending AI Application Integration through Model Context Protocol

Overview: What is MCP News API Server?

The MCP News API Server is an MCP (Model Context Protocol) infrastructure that provides programmatic access to news data via the News API. By leveraging this server, developers can seamlessly integrate real-world news articles into their AI applications, enhancing their capabilities and providing users with up-to-date, relevant information. This README outlines the setup process, available tools, error handling mechanisms, and integration strategies for various MCP clients.

🔧 Core Features & MCP Capabilities

The core capability of this MCP News API Server lies in its ability to expose endpoints from the News API to any compatible AI application or runner through the Model Context Protocol. Developers can utilize these endpoints to fetch news articles based on specific criteria like keywords, sources, and more. The server supports two primary tools: search_articles for detailed searches and get_top_headlines for fetching trending headlines.

Tool Specifications

Search Articles (search_articles):

• Description: Searches for news articles using the "Everything" endpoint of News API.
• Input Parameters:
  • q: Keywords or phrases to search within article titles and bodies.
  • sources, domains, excludeDomains: Constraints on specific sources, domains, and exclusions.
  • from & to: Date filters for the articles' publish date ranges.
  • language: The language filter (default: all).
  • sortBy: Sorting order of results (relevancy, popularity, or publishedAt).
  • pageSize & page: Pagination control.

Get Top Headlines (get_top_headlines):

• Description: Fetches top headlines based on predefined filters.
• Input Parameters:
  • q, sources, category, language, country: Filters for the data source and language.
  • pageSize & page: Controls pagination.

MCP Protocol Implementation

The server implements the Model Context Protocol to enable seamless integration with various MCP clients. Key components include environment variable configuration, command-line execution of the build, and running through an MCP runner or directly.

⚙️ MCP Architecture & Protocol Implementation

This section details the architecture and protocol implementation of the MCP News API Server:

Environment Configuration

The server reads its NEWSAPI_KEY from an environment variable. This is essential for authenticating requests to the News API. Developers can set this key via the following command in Bash/Zsh:

export NEWSAPI_KEY="YOUR_API_KEY"

Building and Running the Server

For direct execution, set up the server using these commands:

1. Clone the repository or ensure you are in the project directory.

2. Install dependencies:

   npm install
   

3. Build the server:

   npm run build
   

4. Run the server:

   • Directly:

     node build/index.js
     

   • Using a start script:

     npm run start
     

   • Through an MCP runner with stdio transport:

"mcp-newsapi": {
  "transportType": "stdio",
  "command": "node",
  "args": [
    "/path/to/mcp-newsapi/build/index.js"
  ],
  "environment": {
    "NEWSAPI_KEY": "YOUR_API_KEY"
  }
}

Tools Definition

The server exposes two main tools through MCP:

• Search Articles:

  • Description: Searches for news articles using the News API.
  • Input Parameters:

  export const search_articles = z.object({
    q: z.string().optional(),
    sources: z.string().optional(),
    domains: z.string().optional(),
    excludeDomains: z.string().optional(),
    from: z.date().optional(),
    to: z.date().optional(),
    language: z.string().optional(),
    sortBy: z.enum(['relevancy', 'popularity', 'publishedAt']).optional().default('relevancy'),
    pageSize: z.number().min(1).max(100).default(20),
    page: z.number().min(1)
  })
  

• Get Top Headlines:

  • Description: Fetches trending news headlines based on various filters.

  export const get_top_headlines = z.object({
    q: z.string().optional(),
    sources: z.string().optional(),
    category: z.enum(
      ['business', 'entertainment', 'general', 'health', 'science', 'sports', 'technology']
    ).optional(),
    language: z.string().optional(),
    country: z.string().optional(),
    pageSize: z.number().min(1).max(100).default(20),
    page: z.number().min(1)
  })
  

🚀 Getting Started with Installation

To get started, follow these steps:

1. Clone the repository.

   git clone https://github.com/your-repo/mcp-newsapi-server.git
   

2. Install dependencies:

   npm install
   

3. Build and run the server:

   npm run build && npm start
   

💡 Key Use Cases in AI Workflows

This MCP News API Server can be seamlessly integrated into various developer workflows to enhance AI applications with real-world data:

Scenario 1: Personalized News Updates for Users

A news app can use the get_top_headlines tool to fetch and display top headlines based on user preferences like categories (business, technology) and languages.

Scenario 2: Contextual Knowledge for Conversational Agents

AI agents powered by MCP can query articles using keywords (q) or sources (sources) parameters. This capability allows contextual responses in chatbots and voice assistants.

🔌 Integration with MCP Clients

This server is compatible with various MCP clients, including:

• Claude Desktop: Fully supported.
• Continue: Fully supported.
• Cursor: Supports tools but lacks full client functionality.

The following compatibility matrix showcases the status of integration for each client:

MCP Client	Claude Desktop	Continue	Cursor
Resources	✅	✅	❌
Tools	✅	✅	✅
Prompts	✅	✅	❌

📊 Performance & Compatibility Matrix

The server is designed to provide consistent performance across different environments. Here’s a compatibility matrix:

Environment	Node.js v18+	npm v7+
Supported?	😎	😎

🛠️ Advanced Configuration & Security

For advanced configuration, developers can customize the environment variables or modify the package.json scripts to suit their needs. Additionally, security best practices such as rate limiting and token validation should be considered.

Code Sample: MCP Configuration for Running the Server

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "MCP-NewsAPI-server-v2": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-newsapi"],
      "env": {
        "NEWSAPI_KEY": "your-api-key"
      }
    }
  }
}

❓ Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q: How do I use the search_articles tool?

A: Use the following input parameters:

{
  q: "technology",
  sources: ["techcrunch"],
  from: new Date("2023-10-01"),
  to: new Date(),
  sortBy: "relevancy",
  pageSize: 50,
  page: 1
}

Q: Does the server support multiple languages?

A: Yes, by setting the language parameter in both tools.

Conclusion

The MCP News API Server provides a robust platform for integrating real-world news data into various AI applications using the Model Context Protocol. By leveraging this infrastructure, developers can enhance their applications with up-to-date, relevant content. For detailed integration steps and advanced configurations, refer to the README and documentation provided with the server.