OpenStax MCP Server

An AI-powered Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that connects LLMs (like Claude and Cursor) directly to the high-quality, peer-reviewed educational content from OpenStax.

Live Endpoint: https://openstax-mcp-server.svillalobos-gonzalez.workers.dev

Quick Connect

Option A: Connect with Cursor (Recommended)

1. Open Cursor Settings (Cmd + ,)

2. Navigate to Features > MCP Servers

3. Click + Add New MCP Server

4. Enter the following details:

   • Name: openstax
   • Type: command
   • Command:

   npx -y openstax-mcp-bridge https://openstax-mcp-server.svillalobos-gonzalez.workers.dev

Option B: Connect with Claude Desktop

Add the following configuration to your Claude config file:

• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

• Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

  { "mcpServers": { "openstax": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "-y", "openstax-mcp-bridge", "https://openstax-mcp-server.svillalobos-gonzalez.workers.dev" ] } } }

Features

• Textbook Access: Instant access to 40+ OpenStax textbooks (Physics, Calculus, Biology, Economics, etc.) fetched directly from the OpenStax GitHub.
• Semantic Search: Find concepts not just by keywords, but by meaning (e.g., "How do markets reach equilibrium?" vs "supply and demand").
• Jupyter Notebook Generation: Automatically generate .ipynb Python notebooks for any module, complete with code examples, visualizations, and practice data.
• Practice Problems: Generate easy, medium, or hard practice problems with detailed step-by-step solutions.
• Cloudflare Edge: Hosted on Cloudflare Workers for low-latency access and high availability.

How to Build the "Best Notebooks on the Web"

Once connected to Cursor or Claude, try these prompts to create interactive learning materials:

1. The "Feynman Technique" Generator

"Search the College Physics textbook for 'Thermodynamics'. Then, generate a Jupyter Notebook for that module. Include 3 code cells that visualize the Laws of Thermodynamics using Python (matplotlib), and add markdown cells explaining the concepts as if teaching a freshman student."

2. The Semantic Study Guide

"I am struggling with the concept of 'Elasticity' in Economics. Search the Microeconomics textbook for this concept using semantic search, and then generate 5 'Hard' difficulty practice problems based on that text to test my understanding."

3. Instant Course Structure

"List all textbooks available in Spanish. Then, get the table of contents for 'Física Universitaria' and outline a 4-week study plan based on the first 5 chapters."

Architecture

This project uses:

• Cloudflare Workers: For serverless execution.
• Workers KV: To cache parsed XML content and generated problems.
• Vectorize: For storing embeddings and enabling semantic search.
• Cloudflare AI: To run embedding models and LLMs for problem generation.
• OpenStax MCP Bridge: A custom CLI tool to bridge stdio to the remote server.

License & Attribution

Software License

The code for this MCP server is licensed under the MIT License.

Content Attribution

This tool accesses educational content owned by OpenStax.

• License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
• Source: OpenStax GitHub Organization and OpenStax.org.

This project is an independent tool built to facilitate access to OpenStax resources via LLMs and is not directly affiliated with Rice University.

Contact & Support

For questions, concerns, or collaboration:

• Email: svillalobos-gonzalez@my.campus.edu
• Secondary: prefrontalcorporate@gmail.com

If you have questions specifically regarding the textbook content, please refer to the official OpenStax FAQ.