Open Archives MCP Server

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Open Archives is listed as active in the registry but did not answer our last check. It exposes 22 tools. Last commit 14 Oct 2026.

MCP server for Open Archives: Dutch genealogical records and historical page transcriptions.

Uptime history 91 days of history · worst day 30%

91 days agonow

41.3%

Uptime 24h

38 of 92 checks

Tools

read from the server

183 ms

Response time

average over 24h

Stars

last commit 14 Oct 2026

What the code does

We read the source, 1 d ago · tools taken from the live server · rules 995398eba69f

Capabilities

What this server is able to do. For an MCP server this is often the job itself — a terminal server runs commands because that is what it is for. Listed so you know what you are plugging in, not as an accusation.

Builds a file path from a variable server.ts:676

    fs.readFile(path.join(WELL_KNOWN_DIR, filename), 'utf8', (err, body) => {

Is this your server and something here is wrong? Tell us — corrections are free and do not require a plan.

This code can reach further than it looks

We found places where it runs commands, builds paths or queries from values it is given. None of that is a flaw by itself — it becomes one when the code changes, and code changes quietly between releases. We re-read it on every one.

Connect this server

Endpoint below is the one we actually reach during checks — not the one copied from a README. Last verified 0 min ago.

Claude Code Claude Desktop Codex Cursor VS Code

run in your terminal

claude mcp add openarchieven-mcp-server --transport http https://mcp.openarchieven.nl/

Settings → Connectors → Add custom connector, then paste this address

https://mcp.openarchieven.nl/

~/.codex/config.toml

[mcp_servers.openarchieven-mcp-server]
url = "https://mcp.openarchieven.nl/"

.cursor/mcp.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "openarchieven-mcp-server": {
      "url": "https://mcp.openarchieven.nl/"
    }
  }
}

.vscode/mcp.json

{
  "servers": {
    "openarchieven-mcp-server": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://mcp.openarchieven.nl/"
    }
  }
}

Available tools 22

Read directly from the server with tools/list, grouped by what they act on. If a tool disappears, we record the date.

births

get_births

Finds birth records

get_births_years_ago

List births that occurred a specified number of years ago Returns a list of birth records for people born exactly the specified number of years ago from today. Note: version 1.1 uses `archive_code` instead of `archive` and includes the archive name and record URL.

show

show_record

Show a single genealogical record Returns one specific genealogical record in JSON format (UTF-8). The response conforms to the Archive 2 All (A2A) model. Also available as XML, GEDCOM, Turtle (TTL) and N-Triples (NT) by changing the file extension in the URL. Note: version 1.1 features improved JSON/XML output and adds N-Triples and Turtle formats.

show_transcription

Retrieve a single transcription Returns the full transcript of a single page along with its source citation. Mirrors `/transcripties/toon/<id>`. AI-generated summaries are deliberately not returned by this endpoint.

archives

get_archives

List all archives with statistics Returns an array of all participating archives including their archive code (used in other API calls), name, homepage URL, Twitter handle, ISIL code and search URL on Open Archives. Note: version 1.1 adds ISIL codes and removes defunct ArchiefWiki links.

breakdown

get_breakdown

Cross-tabulation aggregation grouped by one dimension Returns record counts filtered by any combination of archive, source type, event type, event place and year range, grouped by ONE chosen dimension (archive, sourcetype, eventtype, place or year). Use this endpoint to answer questions such as "how many Bidprentjes per archive?" or "how many marriages per year in Amsterdam?". The response includes the total filtered record count, the total number of distinct groups (capped at 750) and the top-N groups according to the chosen sort.

browse

browse_transcriptions

Browse transcriptions hierarchically Returns a hierarchical browse of available page transcriptions. Mirrors `/transcripties/lijst/`. Three modes, depending on the supplied filters: * No filter — top-level list of source archives ordered by total transcription count (descending). * `archive_code` — list of all archive numbers (archieftoegangen) within that archive, ordered by archive number. * `archive_code` + `archive_number` — list of all inventories within that archive number, ordered by inventory number. The order of items is fixed and cannot be overridden. Results are always returned in full (no paging).

census

get_census_data

Dutch census data for a place and year Retrieves census data for a Dutch place or municipality for the census year nearest to the specified year. Available census years: 1795, 1830, 1840, 1849, 1859, 1869, 1879, 1889, 1899. Data sources: Volkstellingen.nl (DANS) and Gemeentegeschiedenis.nl. Either `place` or `gg_uri` must be provided.

comment

get_comment_stats

Comment count statistics Returns the total number of validated comments made on records. When no archive_code is provided, the global total is returned. When an archive code is provided, the count for that archive is returned. Note: version 1.1 uses `archive_code` instead of `archive`.

deaths

get_deaths

Finds death records

event

get_event_type_stats

Record count statistics per event type Returns statistics about event types. Without an archive_code all event types across the entire dataset are returned with total counts. With an archive_code, only event types for that archive are returned. Note: version 1.1 uses `archive_code` instead of `archive`.

family

get_family_name_stats

Family name frequency statistics Returns the number of times family names appear in events for the selected source types, place and period. Results are ordered by frequency. Open Archives uses this endpoint to power its family name frequency visualisation.

first

get_first_name_stats

First name frequency statistics for a given place and year Returns the top-X list of first names in the specified place and year. When a person has multiple forenames, only the first is counted. Currently only Amsterdam is available as a place.

historical

get_historical_weather

Historical weather measurements for a date and location Returns historical weather measurements from the nearest Dutch weather station for the specified date and coordinates. Data sources are the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI): measurements 1701–1905 and 1901–2014. Note: this endpoint exposes several types of historical datasets, so measurement types and units can vary between records.

marriages

get_marriages

Finds marriage records of couples (bride or groom)

match

match_record

Match a person to birth and death records Searches the genealogical dataset by exact name and birth year and returns the Open Archives URIs of birth records, death records and registrations in which the person is mentioned.

profession

get_profession_stats

Profession frequency statistics Returns the number of times professions appear in records for the selected period and place. Results are ordered by frequency. Open Archives uses this endpoint to power its profession frequency visualisation.

record

get_record_stats

Record count statistics per archive Returns record count statistics. When no archive is specified, all archives are listed with their total number of records. When an archive code is specified, the source types available for that archive are returned with their individual record counts. Note: version 1.1 uses `archive_code` instead of `archive`.

records

search_records

Search genealogical records Searches the genealogical dataset and returns found persons and records. Supports filtering by archive, source type, event place, birth place, relation type and country. Results are pageable and sortable. Note: version 1.1 uses `archive_code` instead of `archive`.

source

get_source_type_stats

Record count statistics per source type Returns statistics about source types. Without an archive_code all source types across the entire dataset are returned with total record counts. With an archive_code, only source types for that archive are returned. Note: version 1.1 uses `archive_code` instead of `archive`.

transcriptions

search_transcriptions

Full-text search across page transcriptions Performs a full-text search across the page transcriptions of historical documents indexed by Open Archives. Mirrors the search UI at `/transcripties/zoek.php`. Results are ordered by Elasticsearch relevance (the order is fixed and cannot be overridden) and are returned paginated. Each match includes a source citation, page identifier and up to five highlighted text fragments. The set of facets returned depends on the supplied filters.

view

view_transcription

Open one or more transcribed document pages in an interactive deep-zoom viewer with the transcription text alongside. Pass page identifiers returned by search_transcriptions / browse_transcriptions (form <ISIL>_<archive>_<page>, e.g. NL-SdmGA_1504889_11). Optionally highlight a term in the transcript. Hosts without MCP Apps support receive a text summary plus inline preview images.

Endpoints

URL	Transport	State	Latency	Checked
https://mcp.openarchieven.nl/	streamable-http	answering	86 ms	0 min ago

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Open Archives — questions

Answers built from our own checks of this server.

What can Open Archives do?

It exposes 22 tools, read directly from the server on our last check. Among them: browse_transcriptions, get_archives, get_births, get_births_years_ago, get_breakdown, get_census_data and 16 more. The full list with descriptions is on this page — we take it from the server itself via tools/list, not from a README. How MCP servers expose tools in the first place →

What is Open Archives mostly used for?

Its tools cluster around births and show. That is what this server is built to work with — the grouping comes from the actual tool names, not from a category we assigned.

Is Open Archives working right now?

We send a real MCP handshake every 15 minutes. Over the last 24 hours 38 of 92 checks got a reply (41.3%), average response time 183 ms. The bar chart above shows every period we have measured.

The registry lists Open Archives as active — why does it not respond?

The official MCP registry stores what the author submitted; it does not verify that the server still runs. We check the endpoint ourselves, and this one does not answer. Catalogues that copy the registry without checking will show it as working.

How do I connect Open Archives?

Copy the ready config from this page. We generate it for Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Codex, Cursor and VS Code, each in the form that client actually reads. It is a remote server, so there is nothing to install — the client connects to the address.

Does Open Archives need an API key?

No. Open Archives completed a full MCP handshake with us as an anonymous client and listed its tools without asking for anything. All 22 of them are readable on this page. This is what we observed, not what the docs claim.

How fast is Open Archives?

It answers our handshake in 183 ms on average, which is faster than 73% of all working MCP servers we measure. The comparison comes from our own checks across the whole registry, every 15 minutes.

Is Open Archives open source?

We cannot say either way: written in TypeScript and 4 stars on GitHub, but we could not determine the licence, and without one the code is not open source by default.