Sefaria MCP
Fetch and read Jewish texts through the API of Sefaria.org
What is Sefaria MCP?
Sefaria MCP is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that allows AI assistants like Claude, Cursor, and VS Code to fetch and read jewish texts through the api of sefaria.org
Fetch and read Jewish texts through the API of Sefaria.org
This server falls under the Search & Data Extraction and APIs categories on MCPgee, the world's largest MCP server directory with 33,000+ servers.
Features
- Fetch and read Jewish texts through the API of Sefaria.org
Use Cases
Maintainer
Works with
Installation
Manual Installation
npx mcp-sefariaConfiguration
Configuration Details
claude_desktop_config.json
Performance
Response Metrics
Resource Usage
How to Set Up and Use Sefaria MCP
The Sefaria MCP Server connects AI assistants to the full Sefaria Jewish text library through the Sefaria.org public API, enabling retrieval of Jewish texts, commentaries, search results, and daily learning schedules without requiring any API key. It exposes tools for fetching specific texts by reference (in English or Hebrew), retrieving commentary collections, performing full-text searches with optional filters, and accessing the Daf Yomi and other daily learning calendars. Rabbis, students, researchers, and anyone studying Torah, Talmud, or other Jewish texts will find this a powerful way to bring the entire Sefaria corpus into their AI-assisted study or research workflow.
Prerequisites
- Python 3.10 or later
- uv package manager (recommended) or pip, for running the server
- Git (to clone the repository)
- An MCP client such as Claude Desktop, Cline, or any agent supporting the Model Context Protocol — no Sefaria API key is required
Clone the repository
Download the mcp-sefaria-server source code to your local machine.
git clone https://github.com/Sivan22/mcp-sefaria-server.git
cd mcp-sefaria-serverInstall dependencies via uv
Use uv to install the project and its dependencies. uv is the recommended package manager for this project.
uv syncTest the server runs correctly
Verify the server starts without errors by running it directly. It will wait for MCP client connections on stdio.
uv run sefaria_jewish_libraryAdd the server to your MCP client configuration
Open your MCP client configuration file (e.g. claude_desktop_config.json for Claude Desktop) and add the sefaria server block using the absolute path to the cloned directory.
{
"mcpServers": {
"sefaria_jewish_library": {
"command": "uv",
"args": [
"--directory",
"/absolute/path/to/mcp-sefaria-server",
"run",
"sefaria_jewish_library"
],
"env": {
"PYTHONIOENCODING": "utf-8"
}
}
}
}Restart your MCP client and verify
Restart Claude Desktop or your MCP client. Ask it to retrieve Genesis 1:1 to confirm the server is connected and fetching text from Sefaria successfully.
Sefaria MCP Examples
Client configuration (Claude Desktop)
Add this block to claude_desktop_config.json (macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json), replacing the directory path with where you cloned the repo.
{
"mcpServers": {
"sefaria_jewish_library": {
"command": "uv",
"args": [
"--directory",
"/Users/yourname/mcp-sefaria-server",
"run",
"sefaria_jewish_library"
],
"env": {
"PYTHONIOENCODING": "utf-8"
}
}
}
}Prompts to try
Use these prompts with your MCP client to study and explore Jewish texts through the Sefaria library.
- "Retrieve the text of Genesis 1:1 from Sefaria."
- "Get the commentaries on Exodus 20:2."
- "Search Sefaria for texts about 'teshuvah' filtered to Talmud Bavli, top 5 results."
- "What is today's Daf Yomi learning according to the Sefaria calendar?"
- "Fetch the text of Pirkei Avot chapter 1, verse 1."
- "Search for references to 'moshiach' in the category Talmud and show me 3 results."Troubleshooting Sefaria MCP
Hebrew text appears as garbled characters or question marks
Set the PYTHONIOENCODING environment variable to 'utf-8' in your MCP client configuration (this is already included in the recommended config above). This ensures Python properly encodes Hebrew Unicode characters when writing to stdio.
Text reference not found or returns an empty result
Sefaria uses specific reference formats. Use the standard English citation format (e.g., 'Genesis 1:1', 'Berakhot 2a', 'Pirkei Avot 1:1'). Hebrew references are also supported. Check https://www.sefaria.org to verify the exact reference format for the text you are looking for.
uv command not found when starting the server
Install uv by running 'pip install uv' or following the instructions at https://github.com/astral-sh/uv. If uv is installed but not in PATH for the MCP client, provide the full path to the uv binary in the command field of your configuration.
Frequently Asked Questions about Sefaria MCP
What is Sefaria MCP?
Sefaria MCP is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that fetch and read jewish texts through the api of sefaria.org It connects AI assistants to external tools and data sources through a standardized interface.
How do I install Sefaria MCP?
Follow the installation instructions on the Sefaria MCP GitHub repository. Clone the repo, install dependencies, and add the server config to your AI client.
Which AI clients work with Sefaria MCP?
Sefaria MCP works with all major MCP-compatible AI clients including Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code (GitHub Copilot), Windsurf, and Cline.
Is Sefaria MCP free to use?
Yes, Sefaria MCP is open source and available under the MIT license. You can use it freely in both personal and commercial projects.
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