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Developer platforms - official Chroma server

Package Search MCP server

Remote MCP server, hosted by Chroma, that gives coding agents grep, hybrid semantic search and file reads over the source code of thousands of public packages Chroma has indexed, so they can ground code in the real dependency source. Chroma hosts it at https://mcp.trychroma.com/package-search/v1 with API key auth.

Last verified 3 tools4 sources

Install

Claude Code

About Claude Code
Terminal
claude mcp add --transport http package-search https://mcp.trychroma.com/package-search/v1 --header "x-chroma-token: <YOUR_CHROMA_API_KEY>"

Codex

About Codex
TOML
[mcp_servers.package-search]
command = "npx"
args = ["mcp-remote", "https://mcp.trychroma.com/package-search/v1", "--header", "x-chroma-token: ${X_CHROMA_TOKEN}"]
env = { "X_CHROMA_TOKEN" = "<YOUR_CHROMA_API_KEY>" }

Cursor

About Cursor
JSON
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "package-search": {
      "transport": "streamable_http",
      "url": "https://mcp.trychroma.com/package-search/v1",
      "headers": {
        "x-chroma-token": "<YOUR_CHROMA_API_KEY>"
      }
    }
  }
}

VS Code

JSON
{
  "servers": {
    "package-search": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://mcp.trychroma.com/package-search/v1",
      "headers": {
        "x-chroma-token": "<YOUR_CHROMA_API_KEY>"
      }
    }
  }
}

Generic

JSON
{
    "mcpServers": {
      "package-search": {
        "command": "npx",
        "args": ["mcp-remote", "https://mcp.trychroma.com/package-search/v1", "--header", "x-chroma-token: ${X_CHROMA_TOKEN}"],
        "env": {
          "X_CHROMA_TOKEN": "<YOUR_CHROMA_API_KEY>"
        }
      }
    }
}

Tools

package_search_grep
Use regex pattern matching to retrieve relevant lines from source code.
package_search_hybrid
Semantic search with optional regex filtering to explore source code without knowing its structure.
package_search_read_file
Reads specific lines from a single file in the code package.

As documented on October 17, 2026. A running server reports its current list through tools/list.

Notes and caveats

  • Needs a Chroma API key from trychroma.com/package-search, sent in the x-chroma-token header.
  • The Anthropic API path takes the Authorization header instead.
  • It covers only the packages Chroma has indexed (3K+ per the repo, which lists them and accepts requests).
  • It searches package source code, not the web.
  • Launched in the Chroma changelog on 2025-09-10.
  • The GitHub repo holds the package list, not server source, and has no LICENSE file.
  • The VS Code snippet is from the official repo README.
  • The Claude Desktop/generic and Codex configs use the third-party mcp-remote bridge.

More MCP servers for developer platforms

Related reading

FAQ

What does the Package Search MCP server do?

Remote MCP server, hosted by Chroma, that gives coding agents grep, hybrid semantic search and file reads over the source code of thousands of public packages Chroma has indexed, so they can ground code in the real dependency source. The vendor documents 3 tools, including package_search_grep, package_search_hybrid and package_search_read_file.

How do I add the Package Search MCP server to Claude Code?

Run claude mcp add --transport http package-search https://mcp.trychroma.com/package-search/v1 --header "x-chroma-token: <YOUR_CHROMA_API_KEY>", copied from Chroma's docs. This page also has snippets for Codex, Cursor, VS Code and Generic.

Does the Package Search MCP server need authentication?

Yes, API key. Transport: Streamable HTTP. Status: Unlabelled, last checked October 17, 2026.

Sources

Last verified against 4 Chroma pages, then re-checked independently.

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