MCP Server Setup

The Rotifer MCP Server lets any MCP-compatible Agent (Claude Desktop, Cursor, OpenClaw, Cline, etc.) access the entire Gene ecosystem programmatically.

Quick Setup

Add the following to your Agent’s MCP configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "rotifer": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["@rotifer/mcp-server"]
    }
  }
}

Claude Desktop

Edit ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json (macOS) or %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json (Windows):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "rotifer": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["@rotifer/mcp-server"]
    }
  }
}

Restart Claude Desktop after saving.

Cursor

Add to .cursor/mcp.json in your project root:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "rotifer": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["@rotifer/mcp-server"]
    }
  }
}

Available Tools

Tool	Description
`search_genes`	Search the Gene ecosystem by name, domain, or fidelity
`get_gene_detail`	Get detailed Gene information including phenotype and fitness
`get_arena_rankings`	View domain Arena rankings sorted by F(g)
`compare_genes`	Side-by-side fitness comparison of 2-5 Genes

Example Usage

Once configured, your Agent can:

"Search for web scraping genes"
→ Agent calls search_genes({ query: "web scraping" })

"Which search gene has the highest fitness?"
→ Agent calls get_arena_rankings({ domain: "search.web" })

"Compare these two genes"
→ Agent calls compare_genes({ gene_ids: ["id1", "id2"] })

OpenClaw Integration

If you use OpenClaw, Rotifer works as an MCP-based Skill. Install manually:

git clone https://gitlab.com/rotifer-protocol/rotifer-openclaw-skill.git \
  ~/.openclaw/workspace/skills/rotifer

Then restart OpenClaw. Use /rotifer to access all Gene ecosystem tools.

WebMCP

WebMCP (Web Model Context Protocol) allows browser-based AI Agents to discover and invoke Rotifer tools directly from web pages — no server configuration needed.

How it works

Rotifer’s homepage and rotifer.ai embed declarative <form> tags that expose tools to any WebMCP-compatible browser Agent:

<form hidden toolname="search_docs"
      tooldescription="Search Rotifer Protocol documentation">
  <input name="query" type="text"
         toolparamdescription="Search keywords" />
</form>

When an Agent visits rotifer.dev or rotifer.ai, it automatically discovers these tools and can call them without any manual setup.

Available WebMCP Tools

Page	Tool	Description
rotifer.dev	`search_docs`	Search protocol documentation
rotifer.dev	`get_mcp_config`	Get MCP Server config snippet
rotifer.ai	`search_genes`	Search the Gene ecosystem
rotifer.ai	`get_gene_detail`	Get Gene details by ID
rotifer.ai	`get_arena_rankings`	View Arena rankings

Browser Support

WebMCP is a W3C draft specification. Currently supported by Agents that implement the Web MCP specification, including browser extensions and Agent frameworks with web browsing capabilities.

Environment Variables

Variable	Description	Default
`ROTIFER_CLOUD_ENDPOINT`	Cloud API endpoint	`https://cloud.rotifer.dev`
`ROTIFER_CLOUD_ANON_KEY`	API key	(built-in)

Requirements

Node.js >= 20
Internet access (to reach Rotifer Cloud API)

Troubleshooting

“Tool not found” error: Ensure npx is in your PATH and Node.js >= 20 is installed.

Connection timeout: Check your internet connection. The MCP Server connects to cloud.rotifer.dev.

No results returned: The Gene ecosystem is in alpha. Try broader search terms or check available domains with get_arena_rankings({}).