Giphy
Enables AI models to search, retrieve, and utilize GIFs from Giphy with features like content filtering, multiple search methods, and comprehensive metadata.
What is Giphy?
Giphy is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that allows AI assistants like Claude, Cursor, and VS Code to enables ai models to search, retrieve, and utilize gifs from giphy with features like content filtering, multiple search methods, and comprehensive metadata.
Enables AI models to search, retrieve, and utilize GIFs from Giphy with features like content filtering, multiple search methods, and comprehensive metadata.
This server falls under the Search & Data Extraction category on MCPgee, the world's largest MCP server directory with 33,000+ servers.
Features
- Enables AI models to search, retrieve, and utilize GIFs from
Use Cases
Maintainer
Works with
Installation
Manual Installation
npx mcp-server-giphyConfiguration
Configuration Details
claude_desktop_config.json
Performance
Response Metrics
Resource Usage
How to Set Up and Use Giphy
MCP Server Giphy connects AI assistants to the Giphy platform, enabling them to search for GIFs by keyword, fetch a random GIF optionally constrained by tag, and retrieve currently trending GIFs — all with content rating filters (G, PG, PG-13, R). Each response includes the GIF's URL, title, and a full images object with multiple format variants and dimensions, making it easy for agents to select and embed the right GIF in documents, chat messages, or web content. It is useful for any AI-assisted workflow that needs to incorporate visual media from Giphy's extensive library.
Prerequisites
- Node.js 18 or later installed
- A Giphy Developer account and an API key — sign up at developers.giphy.com and create an app to obtain a key
- An MCP-compatible client such as Claude Desktop, Cursor, or VS Code with MCP support
Obtain a Giphy API key
Sign up at developers.giphy.com, log in, click 'Create an App', choose SDK or API, and copy the API key displayed on the app page.
Run the server via npx
The server package is available on npm as mcp-server-giphy. Run it directly with npx — no global install needed.
npx -y mcp-server-giphyAdd the server to your MCP client configuration
Edit your MCP client config and add the Giphy server entry with the GIPHY_API_KEY environment variable. For Claude Desktop on macOS the config file is ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json.
{
"mcpServers": {
"giphy": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "mcp-server-giphy"],
"env": {
"GIPHY_API_KEY": "<your-giphy-api-key>"
}
}
}
}Restart your MCP client
Restart Claude Desktop or your chosen MCP client to load the new server configuration.
Test the connection
Ask your AI assistant to search for a GIF or fetch trending GIFs to confirm the server is connected and the API key is valid.
Giphy Examples
Client configuration
Claude Desktop configuration for the Giphy MCP server with your API key.
{
"mcpServers": {
"giphy": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "mcp-server-giphy"],
"env": {
"GIPHY_API_KEY": "<your-giphy-api-key>"
}
}
}
}Prompts to try
Example prompts for searching and retrieving GIFs through the Giphy MCP server.
- "Search Giphy for a funny cat GIF and give me the URL"
- "Find me a G-rated congratulations GIF from Giphy"
- "What GIFs are trending on Giphy right now?"
- "Get a random GIF tagged 'coding' from Giphy"
- "Search Giphy for 'celebration' GIFs and return the top 5 with their titles and URLs"Troubleshooting Giphy
API requests fail with 'Invalid authentication credentials'
Verify GIPHY_API_KEY in your MCP config matches the key shown on your Giphy app dashboard at developers.giphy.com. Make sure you copied the key from the correct app and that it has not been revoked.
search_gifs returns no results for a valid query
Check that the rating filter (if used) is not too restrictive. Try removing rating constraints and retrying. Ensure the query string does not contain special characters that need URL encoding.
The MCP client does not list the Giphy tools after restart
Confirm that npx can run mcp-server-giphy by running 'npx -y mcp-server-giphy' in your terminal and checking for errors. Ensure Node.js 18+ is installed and the GIPHY_API_KEY env var is correctly placed inside the 'env' object in your config.
Frequently Asked Questions about Giphy
What is Giphy?
Giphy is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that enables ai models to search, retrieve, and utilize gifs from giphy with features like content filtering, multiple search methods, and comprehensive metadata. It connects AI assistants to external tools and data sources through a standardized interface.
How do I install Giphy?
Follow the installation instructions on the Giphy GitHub repository. Clone the repo, install dependencies, and add the server config to your AI client.
Which AI clients work with Giphy?
Giphy works with all major MCP-compatible AI clients including Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code (GitHub Copilot), Windsurf, and Cline.
Is Giphy free to use?
Yes, Giphy is open source and available under the MIT License license. You can use it freely in both personal and commercial projects.
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Browse More Search & Data Extraction MCP Servers
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Set Up Giphy in Your Editor
Choose your AI client for step-by-step setup instructions.
Quick Config Preview
Add this to your claude_desktop_config.json or .cursor/mcp.json
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