MANNA MCP Server

MANNA - MCP Architecture for NOIRLab, NRAO, and Additional Archives. An MCP server exposing IVOA-compliant astronomical archives (NOIRLab Astro Data Lab, NRAO/ALMA, CADC, ESO, Gaia, …) to LLM clients. This MCP entry surfaces a curated ranking/list from the project README rather than a classic multi-tool integration surface. It still exposes 15 documented tools (including list_archives, describe_table, resolve_target_name) for browsing or selecting items from that list.

People who work with target, async and job and want it reachable from Claude, Cursor, VS Code, or another MCP client. The project is written in Python.

VERIFIED ACTIVE

LAST COMMIT 2026-09-16 · ★ 2 · #27 OF 55 MAINTAINED WEB FRAMEWORK · VERIFIED 2026-09-18

MIT · Python servers · how we verify → /methodology

01 · Install MANNA

Claude Code

claude mcp add nsf-simons-cosmicai-institute-manna -- uvx manna-mcp

Claude Desktop / Cursor / VS Code - add to config

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "nsf-simons-cosmicai-institute-manna": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "manna-mcp"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Same JSON for Cursor. For VS Code, rename the top-level key from `mcpServers` to `servers`.

Using another client? Same JSON, different key

Claude Desktop · mcpServers

Cursor · mcpServers

VS Code · servers

Windsurf · mcpServers

Zed · context_servers

Cline · mcpServers

Roo Code · mcpServers

Continue · mcpServers

LibreChat · mcpServers

Gemini CLI · mcpServers

Codex CLI · mcp_servers

Full setup guides: every client.

02 · Evidence

Security posture

What to check before giving this server access to your agent - from the registry, GitHub, and our own probes. We don't score safety; we show what's verifiable.

runs as local process (stdio) - runs on your machine with your user's permissions

repo age created 2026-08-12 - young repo, little track record yet

license MIT - declared in the repository

pypi package manna-mcp - check the name against the project README before installing (PyPI has no namespace ownership)

registry namespace io.github.NSF-Simons-CosmicAI-Institute is GitHub-verified and matches the repo owner

03 · What MANNA can do

Prose above is summarized from the project's README and registry record - no invented capabilities.

What you can build

With this server connected, an agent can list known archives with endpoint URLs and usage notes, resolve an object name (e.g. "M87", "Cygnus A") to RA/Dec coordinates, read a completed async job's result URL + pyvo fetch recipe (client fetches the data), and search the IVOA registry by keyword or service type.

Capability map

Tools grouped from the project's README - what MANNA lets an agent do.

read & search

5 tools - e.g. List known archives with endpoint URLs and usage notes; Curated per-table schema facts (missing columns, enum values, spatial index hints); Simple Cone Search for legacy SCS-only archives

list_archives · describe_table · search_catalog_by_position · search_images_by_position · find_observations_of_target

Async

3 tools - e.g. Poll an async job by ID; Return a completed async job's result URL + pyvo fetch recipe (client fetches the data); Abort a running async job

get_async_job_status · get_async_job_results · abort_async_job

Ivoa

2 tools - e.g. Search the IVOA registry by keyword or service type; Describe a specific registry resource (columns, capabilities)

search_ivoa_registry · describe_ivoa_service

Resolve

1 tool - e.g. Resolve an object name (e.g. "M87", "Cygnus A") to RA/Dec coordinates

resolve_target_name

run & execute

1 tool - e.g. Submit sync or async ADQL queries; returns inline or promoted results

run_adql_query

Count

1 tool - e.g. Count observations/sources near a target in one call (resolve → select archive → COUNT)

count_observations_near_target

Survey

1 tool - e.g. Survey which archives hold data for a target, with per-archive counts

survey_archives_for_target

Preview

1 tool - e.g. Columns + curated enums/notes + a sample of rows for one table, in one call

preview_table

Latest releases

v0.9.0 · 2026-09-16

Breaking · Tool names dropped the vo_ prefix for verb-first, descriptive names (list_archives, run_adql_query, find_observations_of_target, …). Clients pinned to the old names must update; the full rename table is in…

v0.7.2 · 2026-09-10

exact GitHub owner casing in the server name (v0.7.2) · promote v0.7.2 - registry namespace casing fix

v0.7.1 · 2026-09-10

build+ci: MCP Registry listing - uvx-resolvable entrypoint, server.json, OIDC publish (v0.7.1) · promote v0.7.1 - MCP Registry listing

04 · Who maintains MANNA

MANNA is maintained by nsf-simons-cosmicai-institute. It's the only MCP server we track from this author; the repo dates to Aug 2026.

05 · Facts

repository: github.com/nsf-simons-cosmicai-institute/manna
category: web framework - ranked #27 of 55 actively-maintained web framework servers as of 2026-09-18.
release cadence: 4 releases in the last 90 days (latest 2026-09-16)
registry: io.github.NSF-Simons-CosmicAI-Institute/manna (active, first published 2026-09-10 · 2 versions)
packages: pypi:manna-mcp

06 · MANNA FAQ

Is MANNA still maintained?

Yes - as of 2026-09-18, its last commit was 2026-09-16 and it shipped 4 releases in the last 90 days. We re-verify nightly.

What can MANNA do?

How do I install MANNA?

Run `uvx manna-mcp`. You can also paste the ready-made client config above.

Does MANNA run locally?

Yes - it's a stdio server: it runs on your machine (via uvx) with your user's permissions. Your data stays local unless the server itself calls external APIs.

07 · Alternatives to MANNA

Alternatives to MANNA

Maintained web framework servers if MANNA isn't the fit.

More web framework MCP servers · Open QR (open-qr) · I1n · Hmr · Taste Bank

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