Name: Algolia Search
Author: chick-p

LABSCO SUMMARY

One index, one query, archived.

Everything about it is small: a single capability, three environment variables, and a search-only key that cannot change the index. That is genuinely enough if you want an assistant to read one index and nothing else. Worth knowing before you build on it that the repository is archived and the author points at Algolia's own Node MCP server.

What it is

A small MCP server that searches text in one Algolia index. The application, key and index name are fixed in the client config, so the call itself takes a query and nothing else. The repository is archived, and the author points at Algolia's own Node MCP server as the maintained option.

What you get

Search for any text in your Algolia index
One index per server entry — the index name is configuration, not a call parameter
A search-only key rather than an admin key: ALGOLIA_SEARCH_API_KEY is what it asks for, so the server cannot write to the index

Requirements

Installed locally rather than from a registry: clone the repository, pnpm install, pnpm build, then npm install -g ., which puts algolia-search-server on your path (0.0.1 in package.json). Point the client's command at that binary and supply three environment variables — ALGOLIA_APPLICATION_ID, ALGOLIA_SEARCH_API_KEY and ALGOLIA_INDEX_NAME. Config examples are given for cline and for Visual Studio Code.

Setup effort

Build from source — git clone https://github.com/chick-p/algolia-search-mcp-server.git

See installation options

USE CASES

01

Searching one index from a conversation

Pass the query text and read back the matches from the index named in the config.

02

Keeping the key search-only

Supply the search API key rather than an admin key, so writes are not possible at all.

03

Wiring a project's own docs index in

Point one server entry at that index and leave it — the index is configuration, not a parameter.

BEFORE YOU INSTALL

What to know first

Requires

algolia-search-server on PATH
ALGOLIA_APPLICATION_ID in your environment
ALGOLIA_SEARCH_API_KEY in your environment
ALGOLIA_INDEX_NAME in your environment

Where it runs

Both documented clients run the server on your machine.

INSTALLATION

Connect your client

This one is built from source rather than installed with a single command.

Server setup

TERMINAL

git clone https://github.com/chick-p/algolia-search-mcp-server.git
cd algolia-search-mcp-server
pnpm install
pnpm build
npm install -g .

MCP Clients

Cline

CLINE · JSON

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "algolia-search-server": {
      "command": "algolia-search-server",
      "env": {
        "ALGOLIA_APPLICATION_ID": "<YOUR_ALGOLIA_APPLICATION_ID>",
        "ALGOLIA_SEARCH_API_KEY": "<YOUR_ALGOLIA_SEARCH_API_KEY>",
        "ALGOLIA_INDEX_NAME": "<YOUR_ALGOLIA_INDEX_NAME>"
      }
    }
  }
}

VS Code

VS CODE · JSON

{
  "chat.mcp.discovery.enabled": true,
  "mcp": {
    "servers": {
      "algolia-search-server": {
        "command": "algolia-search-server",
        "env": {
          "ALGOLIA_APPLICATION_ID": "<YOUR_ALGOLIA_APPLICATION_ID>",
          "ALGOLIA_SEARCH_API_KEY": "<YOUR_ALGOLIA_SEARCH_API_KEY>",
          "ALGOLIA_INDEX_NAME": "<YOUR_ALGOLIA_INDEX_NAME>"
        }
      }
    }
  }
}