STRING Database

MCP server by STRING Consortium

Query protein-protein interactions, functional enrichment, annotations, homology and networks from the STRING database.

No sign-in (No account or key needed)Streamable HTTP

Connect to STRING Database

No sign-in needed. Connect with STRING Database’s own URL:

https://mcp.string-db.org/

Paste it into any client that supports remote MCP servers. Your client talks to STRING Consortium directly, not through mcp.tc.

Share this server

Opens this page, with the URL and setup steps.

mcp.tc/i/string-db

About

Connects an assistant to the STRING database of protein-protein interactions. You can resolve protein identifiers, list interaction partners, build and cluster networks, run functional and PPI enrichment, fetch curated annotations, find homologs across species and get links to interaction evidence pages.

It runs as a hosted streamable HTTP endpoint at mcp.string-db.org, and no sign-in or API key is needed. The source is MIT licensed and can also be run locally with Python 3.11 or newer, over HTTP or stdio, or in Docker.

What you can do

  • Resolve gene and protein names to STRING IDs and metadata
  • List interaction partners and interactions within a protein set
  • Generate network images and interactive STRING network links
  • Cluster interaction networks and describe each cluster
  • Run functional enrichment and PPI enrichment tests
  • Retrieve GO, KEGG and other functional annotations
  • Find homologs and search proteins by amino acid sequence
  • Export results as downloadable files

Tools 17

  • string_resolve_proteins

    Map protein identifiers to STRING metadata such as gene symbol, species and STRING ID.

  • string_interactions_query_set

    Get interactions between the proteins in the query set.

  • string_all_interaction_partners

    Get all interaction partners of the query proteins across STRING.

  • string_visual_network

    Get a URL to a STRING network image, optionally with per-protein values.

  • string_network_clustering

    Cluster a STRING network and return images, links and cluster details.

  • string_network_link

    Get a stable URL to an interactive STRING network.

  • string_homology

    Get pairwise homology bit scores within or across species.

  • string_interaction_evidence

    Get links to STRING evidence pages for protein pairs.

  • string_enrichment

    Run functional enrichment analysis on a protein set.

  • string_functional_annotation

    Retrieve curated annotations such as GO, KEGG and UniProt keywords.

  • string_enrichment_image_url

    Get an enrichment figure URL for a chosen category.

  • string_ppi_enrichment

    Test whether a network has more interactions than expected by chance.

Show 5 more tools
  • string_proteins_for_term

    Find proteins annotated with a tissue, disease, process, pathway or domain term.

  • string_sequence_search

    Find matching STRING proteins from amino acid sequences.

  • string_query_species

    Search species and clades in STRING and get NCBI taxon IDs.

  • string_create_file

    Create a downloadable file with STRING-derived results.

  • string_help

    Explain STRING features, edge legends and limitations.

Read from the live server on 3 Oct 2026.

Example prompts

  • What does TP53 interact with in human? Show only high-confidence partners.

  • Run functional enrichment on BRCA1, BRCA2, ATM and CHEK2.

  • Cluster the network for these proteins and describe each cluster.

  • Find yeast homologs of human SMO and give the taxon IDs.

Set up

Every client connects to mcp.string-db.org. Pick yours; the page remembers your choice.

Claude Code

  1. Run this in a terminal, in your project folder:
claude mcp add --transport http string-db https://mcp.string-db.org/
  1. Start Claude Code and type /mcp. string-db should show as connected.

Add --scope user to make it available in every project, not just this one.

Claude Desktop

  1. Open Settings → Connectors and click Add custom connector.
  2. Name it STRING Database and paste this URL:
https://mcp.string-db.org/
  1. Click Add. Its tools appear in the chat’s tools menu.

Claude Desktop’s JSON config file only starts local servers. Remote servers go through Connectors, and connectors you add on claude.ai show up here too.

claude.ai

  1. Open the connector form on claude.ai. This button fills in the name and URL for you:
  1. Check that the URL reads https://mcp.string-db.org/ and click Add.
  2. Turn it on in a chat from the tools menu.

Free plans allow one custom connector. On Team and Enterprise plans an owner adds it under Organization settings → Connectors.

ChatGPT

  1. On chatgpt.com, open Settings → Security and login and turn on Developer mode.
  2. Go to chatgpt.com/plugins and click + to create an app for a remote MCP server.
  3. Paste https://mcp.string-db.org/ as the server URL and choose No authentication.

Developer mode is available on the web for Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise and Education accounts.

Cursor

Or add it by hand to ~/.cursor/mcp.json (all projects) or .cursor/mcp.json (this project):

mcp.json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "string-db": {
      "url": "https://mcp.string-db.org/"
    }
  }
}

VS Code

Or from a terminal:

code --add-mcp '{"name":"string-db","type":"http","url":"https://mcp.string-db.org/"}'

Or commit it to the repo in .vscode/mcp.json:

.vscode/mcp.json
{
  "servers": {
    "string-db": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://mcp.string-db.org/"
    }
  }
}

Devin Desktop

  1. Add it to ~/.config/devin/mcp_config.json (macOS and Linux) or %APPDATA%\devin\mcp_config.json (Windows):
mcp_config.json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "string-db": {
      "serverUrl": "https://mcp.string-db.org/"
    }
  }
}
  1. Refresh the MCP server list in Cascade.

Devin Desktop is the new name for Windsurf. It reads serverUrl (or url) for remote servers.

Codex

codex mcp add string-db --url https://mcp.string-db.org/

Or edit ~/.codex/config.toml directly:

config.toml
[mcp_servers.string-db]
url = "https://mcp.string-db.org/"

Gemini CLI

gemini mcp add --transport http string-db https://mcp.string-db.org/

This adds it to the current project. Add -s user to use it everywhere.

Any client

Most clients accept this shape. Some name the URL field differently: serverUrl in Devin Desktop, httpUrl in Gemini CLI’s settings file.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "string-db": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://mcp.string-db.org/"
    }
  }
}

Zed puts servers under context_servers in its settings. Cline needs "type": "streamableHttp", or it assumes SSE.

Client only starts local servers? Bridge it with npx -y mcp-remote https://mcp.string-db.org/.

FAQ

Can I paste mcp.tc/i/string-db into my MCP client?

No. mcp.tc links are pages, not server addresses. Connect with https://mcp.string-db.org/, so your client talks to STRING Database directly. The quick link is for sharing: it opens this page, with setup steps for every client.

Does STRING Database need an API key or a sign-in?

No. STRING Database doesn’t ask for an account or key.

Is STRING Database a remote or a local server?

Remote. STRING Consortium hosts it at https://mcp.string-db.org/, and it speaks Streamable HTTP. There’s nothing to install.

What can STRING Database do?

It has 17 tools, including string_resolve_proteins, string_interactions_query_set and string_all_interaction_partners. You can resolve gene and protein names to STRING IDs and metadata, list interaction partners and interactions within a protein set and generate network images and interactive STRING network links.

Which clients can use it?

Any client that supports remote MCP servers: Claude Code, Claude Desktop, claude.ai, ChatGPT in developer mode, Cursor, VS Code, Devin Desktop, Codex, Gemini CLI, Zed and others. The setup steps cover each one.

Who wrote this page?

mcp.tc’s robot read STRING Database’s own metadata (its MCP handshake, tool list and public pages), and an AI model drafted the text from it. A person reviews anything the checks can’t confirm. The text can still be wrong, so if you spot a mistake, use Report this listing on this page.

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mcp.tc isn’t affiliated with STRING Consortium. This page was built from STRING Database’s public metadata, last checked on 3 Oct 2026, and an AI model wrote the description, so it can be wrong. Names and marks belong to their owners. Something off? Report this listing.