TakoData-tako-mcp

Tako MCP Server

Tako MCP gives your agent industry-leading live web search plus licensed data that the open web does not have. That includes company financials, macroeconomic indicators, web and app traffic, sports, US government spending, and more.

Full Documentation · Get your API key · MCP Registry

Tako MCP lets an agent:

• Search Tako's knowledge graph and the live web — top result renders inline as a chart, and tako_contents reads the rows behind it
• Discover exactly what proprietary data exists for an entity or metric — free and fast
• Fetch the underlying rows (JSON) or a page's text behind any result URL
• Visualize your own structured data as an embeddable card — public and permanent, readable by anyone with the link (opt-in; on by default on the ChatGPT app)
• Run Tako's Answer Agent for deep, multi-step research (opt-in)

Why a data-native search API? On Tako's VerticalRTK benchmark of real-time domain questions (finance, economics, sports, weather), Tako outperforms the next-best web search API by 21% — while using ~75% fewer tool calls at up to one-tenth the cost, and answering research tasks in 15.5s vs 124.2s for OpenAI web search. It reaches parity with Exa, Parallel, Nimble, and Tavily on standard web benchmarks (SimpleQA, FRAMES) and pulls ahead where structured, real-time data matters. Read the evals →

Installation

Point your MCP client at the hosted endpoint — no install, no local server, no token:

https://mcp.tako.com/mcp

Paste the URL. Sign in when your client prompts you — a per-host key is minted automatically, and new accounts get up to 2,000 free requests. Until you sign in, the connection runs anonymously: tako_search works right away (rate-limited), and every other tool — listed like everything else — asks you to sign in when called. For CI, headless use, or a client without an OAuth flow, connect with an API key instead — see API keys and headless clients.

One-click install

Claude Code installs with one command — the plugin brings the MCP connection plus Tako's bundled research skills:

claude plugin marketplace add TakoData/tako-mcp && claude plugin install tako@tako

Gemini CLI installs as an extension. Same one command, same bundled skills, plus /data, /chart, and /coverage commands:

gemini extensions install https://github.com/TakoData/tako-mcp

Each of these lands on the free tier immediately. Authenticate later to unlock the full toolset — see your client's section below.

Pick your client below.

Claude Code

Plugin (recommended) — installs the MCP connection plus Tako's bundled research skills in one step, and works immediately on the free tier — no API key to mint or manage:

claude plugin marketplace add TakoData/tako-mcp
claude plugin install tako@tako

That's it — tako_search works right away on the anonymous free tier. To unlock the full toolset and your own account limits, authenticate once with OAuth: run /mcp inside Claude Code, select tako, and choose Authenticate. A browser opens to sign you in with your Tako account and a per-host API key is minted for you automatically (visible and revocable at tako.com/console/api-keys). The same OAuth flow powers the plugin on Claude.ai — the plugin's Tako connector connects with a click, no token pasting.

If you previously added the server with claude mcp add, remove it first (claude mcp remove tako-mcp) so you don't end up with two copies of every tool.

Updating from an earlier plugin version? Older releases asked for a Tako API key in the plugin config; that setting is gone, so after updating your connection silently lands on the anonymous tier (tako_search runs; the rest asks you to sign in) — nothing errors, but your account limits are no longer active. Run /mcp → tako → Authenticate once (or use the Connect button on Claude.ai) to restore full authenticated access.

Or add the MCP server directly (then authenticate in place via /mcp → tako → Authenticate):

claude mcp add tako --transport http https://mcp.tako.com/mcp

Verify with claude mcp list (should show tako connected) or /mcp inside a session.

Cursor

Use the one-click badge above, or add to ~/.cursor/mcp.json — Cursor prompts you to sign in on first use:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "tako": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://mcp.tako.com/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Windsurf

Add to your Windsurf MCP config — Windsurf prompts you to sign in on first use:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "tako": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://mcp.tako.com/mcp"
    }
  }
}

VS Code

Add to .vscode/mcp.json (workspace) or your user mcp.json — VS Code prompts you to sign in on first use:

{
  "servers": {
    "tako": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://mcp.tako.com/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Gemini CLI

Extension (recommended) installs in one command, and works immediately on the free tier with no API key to mint or manage:

gemini extensions install https://github.com/TakoData/tako-mcp

That installs the MCP connection, Tako's bundled research skills, and three commands:

To unlock the full toolset and your own account limits, authenticate once: run /mcp auth tako inside Gemini CLI. A browser opens to sign you in with your Tako account, and a per-host API key is minted for you automatically (visible and revocable at tako.com/console/api-keys).

Manual config: if you'd rather not install the extension, or you want to pin a ?tools= allowlist, add to ~/.gemini/settings.json (authenticate later with /mcp auth tako):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "tako": {
      "httpUrl": "https://mcp.tako.com/mcp"
    }
  }
}

To use an API key instead, add a headers block with "Authorization": "Bearer <key>" — but fill it completely: Gemini substitutes unset ${VAR} references literally, and a malformed Authorization header is rejected rather than ignored, so a half-filled token breaks the connection where no token at all would have worked.

OpenCode

Add to opencode.json — OpenCode prompts you to sign in on first use:

{
  "mcp": {
    "tako": {
      "type": "remote",
      "url": "https://mcp.tako.com/mcp",
      "enabled": true
    }
  }
}

Codex CLI

Codex connects to remote servers through the mcp-remote bridge, which runs the sign-in flow in your browser on first connect:

[mcp_servers.tako]
command = "npx"
args = ["-y", "mcp-remote", "https://mcp.tako.com/mcp"]

Zed

Add to Zed settings.json (via the mcp-remote bridge, which runs the sign-in flow in your browser on first connect):

{
  "context_servers": {
    "tako": {
      "source": "custom",
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "mcp-remote", "https://mcp.tako.com/mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Claude.ai, Claude Desktop & ChatGPT (OAuth — no token needed)

The consumer chat hosts don't accept Bearer tokens. claude_desktop_config.json only validates stdio servers, so a remote "type": "http" entry there is silently dropped — Claude Desktop connects through Connectors like Claude.ai. The hosted endpoint runs an OAuth 2.1 flow that signs you in with your Tako account and mints a per-host key for you automatically.

Prerequisites: just sign in at tako.com with the identity you'll authorize. You do not mint a token yourself — the consent flow creates a per-host key (named MCP: <client>, visible and revocable at tako.com/console/api-keys). Connecting a new host never rotates another host's key; Tako trims your oldest MCP key past ten.

Claude.ai (requires Pro, Max, Team, or Enterprise)

1. Open Claude.ai → Settings → Connectors
2. Click Add custom connector
3. Paste https://mcp.tako.com/mcp and click Connect
4. Complete the Tako sign-in flow; Tako then appears as connected

Claude Desktop (same plan requirement as Claude.ai)

1. Open Claude Desktop → Settings → Connectors
2. Click Add custom connector
3. Paste https://mcp.tako.com/mcp and click Connect
4. Complete the Tako sign-in flow; Tako then appears as connected

ChatGPT — install the Tako app from ChatGPT's app directory (it connects via OAuth and uses the app surface at https://mcp.tako.com/mcp/chatgpt). To hand-add it as a custom connector instead (requires Pro, Business, or Enterprise; Developer Mode enabled):

1. Open ChatGPT → Settings → Connectors → Developer Mode and toggle it on
2. Click Create custom connector
3. Paste https://mcp.tako.com/mcp/chatgpt and click Connect
4. Complete the Tako sign-in flow; the connector is then listed and ready

The /mcp/chatgpt surface is OAuth-only and tuned for ChatGPT (interactive chart widget, a fixed five-tool listing; ?tools= is ignored there). The generic /mcp URL also works there — you get chart images instead of the interactive widget.

During connect you'll see three Tako-hosted screens regardless of host: a sign-in page (Google, or your Tako email and password), a consent page ("Connect [host] to Tako — Allow / Cancel"), then a bounce back to the host. The host may show its own consent prompt too — that's normal.

Disconnecting. A per-host disconnect (remove the connector in host settings) stops that host only; other hosts and Bearer-auth clients keep working. To hard-kill everything, rotate your key at tako.com/console/api-keys — every previously-issued grant across every host stops authenticating immediately.

Endpoints:

Tools are discovered automatically via the MCP tools/list handshake, so your client always sees the live surface. Auth is connection-level — once connected, tool inputs need no api_token argument.

API keys and headless clients

Sign-in is the default path, but some setups need a key in config: CI and other headless runs, Roo Code, Warp, and mcp-remote pinned to a specific identity. Get your API key and send it as a Bearer header on the same URL:

// any config-file client
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "tako": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://mcp.tako.com/mcp",
      "headers": { "Authorization": "Bearer <your-tako-api-key>" }
    }
  }
}

A key connects exactly like OAuth — same tools, same account limits. Rotating the key at the console kills every connection using it.

Available Tools

The full reference — every description and parameter exactly as the model sees them, per surface — is generated into docs/TOOLS.md. Summary:

Listed by default on /mcp:

Anonymous connections (no credentials): the tool list is the same — it never changes with auth state. tako_search runs anonymously (rate-limited, on shared capacity); the others answer with sign-in instructions.

On connect, the server also advertises MCP server instructions that hosts like Claude.ai, Claude Desktop, and Claude Code place in the model's system prompt. They steer data and metric questions to tako_search ahead of the host's built-in web search, and note that tako_search covers the live web too, so one call can stand in for a separate web search on mixed questions. Built-in web search remains the fallback for queries outside Tako's coverage.

Opt-in on /mcp — name them in ?tools=:

?tools= is an allowlist that replaces the defaults. ?tools=search,contents lists exactly those two; ?tools=agent lists only tako_agent. Tokens are tool names with the tako_ prefix optional. Unknown tokens are ignored, and a param that names nothing yields the defaults, so a typo never breaks the connection. Include the defaults you rely on:

claude mcp add tako --transport http "https://mcp.tako.com/mcp?tools=search,available_data,contents,graph_related,agent"

• Claude.ai, Claude Desktop, ChatGPT developer-mode connectors: put the param on the URL you paste. OAuth is unaffected (the server canonicalizes the resource, query string included).
• Claude Code plugin: the plugin pins the default surface (its URL isn't user-editable). For a different set, add the server yourself with claude mcp add as above, and keep only one Tako connection active so you don't get two copies of every tool.
• /mcp/chatgpt ignores ?tools=: its listing is fixed at submission — tako_search, tako_available_data, tako_contents, tako_visualize, tako_graph_related.

Getting values vs. getting pointers

Two tools, one step apart — tako_search finds, tako_contents fetches:

• Broad or multi-part questions → parallel narrow searches. Decompose into single entity+metric queries fired concurrently — e.g. "US CPI inflation", "US core CPI inflation", "US PCE inflation" — then synthesize yourself.
• Unsure what Tako covers → tako_available_data first. It is free, returns the metric's exact name