These changes aim to improve compatibility with MCP clients like Claude Desktop which may require these standard endpoints, though direct testing with Claude Desktop has not yet been performed.

Features

Quick Start (Using npx)

The easiest way to run this server is using npx. This command downloads (if necessary) and runs the server directly.

npx @kunihiros/google-patents-mcp

Note: Replace @kunihiros/google-patents-mcp with the actual published package name if it differs.

The server will start and listen for MCP requests on standard input/output.

Configuration

The server requires your SerpApi API key. You can provide it in one of the following ways:

1. Environment Variable (Recommended for MCP Hosts):
Set the SERPAPI_API_KEY environment variable when running the server. MCP Host configurations often allow setting environment variables for servers.

Example MCP Host configuration snippet (config.json or similar):

    {

      "mcpServers": {

        "google-patents-mcp": {

          "command": "npx",

          "args": [

            "-y", // Skips confirmation if the package isn't installed locally

            "@kunihiros/google-patents-mcp" // Use the correct package name

          ],

          "env": {

            "SERPAPI_API_KEY": "YOUR_ACTUAL_SERPAPI_KEY"

            // Optional: Set log level

            // "LOG_LEVEL": "debug"

          }

        }

      }

    }

    

2. .env File:
Create a .env file in the directory where you run the npx command (for local testing or if not using an MCP Host), or in your home directory (~/.google-patents-mcp.env), with the following content:

    SERPAPI_API_KEY=YOUR_ACTUAL_SERPAPI_KEY
    # Optional: Set log level (e.g., debug, info, warn, error)
    # LOG_LEVEL=debug
    

Provided MCP Tool

search_patents

Searches Google Patents via SerpApi.

Input Schema:

{
  "type": "object",
  "properties": {
    "q": {
      "type": "string",
      "description": "Search query (required). Although optional in SerpApi docs, a non-empty query is practically needed. Use semicolon (;) to separate multiple terms. Advanced syntax like '(Coffee) OR (Tea);(A47J)' is supported. See 'About Google Patents' for details."
    },
    "page": {
      "type": "integer",
      "description": "Page number for pagination (default: 1).",
      "default": 1
    },
    "num": {
      "type": "integer",
      "description": "Number of results per page (default: 10). IMPORTANT: Must be 10 or greater (up to 100).",
      "default": 10,
      "minimum": 10,
      "maximum": 100
    },
    "sort": {
      "type": "string",
      "enum": ["relevance", "new", "old"],
      "description": "Sorting method. 'relevance' (default), 'new' (newest by filing/publication date), 'old' (oldest by filing/publication date).",
      "default": "relevance"
    },
    "before": {
      "type": "string",
      "description": "Maximum date filter (e.g., 'publication:20231231', 'filing:20220101'). Format: type:YYYYMMDD where type is 'priority', 'filing', or 'publication'."
    },
    "after": {
      "type": "string",
      "description": "Minimum date filter (e.g., 'publication:20230101', 'filing:20220601'). Format: type:YYYYMMDD where type is 'priority', 'filing', or 'publication'."
    },
    "inventor": {
      "type": "string",
      "description": "Filter by inventor names. Separate multiple names with a comma (,)."
    },
    "assignee": {
      "type": "string",
      "description": "Filter by assignee names. Separate multiple names with a comma (,)."
    },
    "country": {
      "type": "string",
      "description": "Filter by country codes (e.g., 'US', 'WO,JP'). Separate multiple codes with a comma (,)."
    },
    "language": {
      "type": "string",
      "description": "Filter by language (e.g., 'ENGLISH', 'JAPANESE,GERMAN'). Separate multiple languages with a comma (,). Supported: ENGLISH, GERMAN, CHINESE, FRENCH, SPANISH, ARABIC, JAPANESE, KOREAN, PORTUGUESE, RUSSIAN, ITALIAN, DUTCH, SWEDISH, FINNISH, NORWEGIAN, DANISH."
    },
    "status": {
      "type": "string",
      "enum": ["GRANT", "APPLICATION"],
      "description": "Filter by patent status: 'GRANT' or 'APPLICATION'."
    },
    "type": {
      "type": "string",
      "enum": ["PATENT", "DESIGN"],
      "description": "Filter by patent type: 'PATENT' or 'DESIGN'."
    },
    "scholar": {
      "type": "boolean",
      "description": "Include Google Scholar results (default: false).",
      "default": false
    }
  },
  "required": ["q"]
}

Output:

Returns a JSON object containing the search results from SerpApi. The structure follows the SerpApi response format.

Example Usage (MCP Request):

{
  "mcp_version": "1.0",
  "type": "CallToolRequest",
  "id": "req-123",
  "server_name": "google-patents-mcp",
  "params": {
    "name": "search_patents",
    "arguments": {
      "q": "organic light emitting diode",
      "num": 10,
      "language": "ENGLISH",
      "status": "GRANT",
      "after": "publication:20230101"
    }
  }
}

Development

1. Clone the repository (if needed for development):

    # git clone <repository-url>

    # cd google-patents-mcp

    

    npm install

    

    npm run build

    

    npm start

    

    npm run dev

    

Logging