---
type: MCP Server
title: irods-mcp-server
description: The reference Go MCP server for the CyVerse Data Store (iRODS), registered as irods.
tags:
  - irods
  - go
  - data-store
generated:
  by: "claude-code/2.1.294"
  at: "2026-10-08T00:00:00Z"
sources:
  - id: repo
    resource: "https://github.com/idss-mesa/irods-mcp-server"
    title: "irods-mcp-server source repository"
    author: "team:idss-mesa"
status: stable
stale_after: "2027-04-08T00:00:00Z"
---

# irods-mcp-server

**Repo:** [idss-mesa/irods-mcp-server](https://github.com/idss-mesa/irods-mcp-server) · **Language:** Go · **Registered as:** `irods`

The reference MCP server for the CyVerse Data Store (iRODS). It provides the canonical
`ds_*` tool surface that [mesa-mcp](https://idss-mesa.github.io/docs/servers/mesa-mcp/) is compatible with. Use it on its own when
you want a lightweight, dependency-free Go binary for iRODS access.

## How MESA runs it

The installer builds it from source and registers the stdio binary against the repo's
anonymous-access config:

```bash
( cd ~/.mesa/repos/irods-mcp-server && make build )      # -> bin/irods-mcp-server
~/.mesa/bin/irods-mcp-server -c ~/.mesa/repos/irods-mcp-server/config-stdio.yaml
```

It is registered under the name `irods` with every detected client — see
[Claude Code](https://idss-mesa.github.io/docs/claude-code/), [Codex CLI](https://idss-mesa.github.io/docs/codex/),
[Antigravity](https://idss-mesa.github.io/docs/antigravity/), or [OpenCode](https://idss-mesa.github.io/docs/opencode/) for the exact
registration each one gets.

`make build` produces a static (`CGO_ENABLED=0`) binary; Go ≥ 1.25 is required. Pass
`--no-go` to the installer to skip this server.

## Capabilities

Anonymous access to public data under `/iplant/home/shared`, or authenticated access with
iRODS credentials. Supports both **stdio** (local, what MESA uses) and **HTTP/SSE**
(remote) transports. A published Docker image, `cyverse/irods-mcp-server`, is also available
if you'd rather run it in a container than build it.

## Authentication

Edit `config-stdio.yaml` to switch from anonymous to a named account — see
[Credentials](https://idss-mesa.github.io/docs/credentials/#mesa-mcp-irods-native-irods-auth). The config keys are
`irods_host`, `irods_zone_name`, `irods_user_name`, `irods_user_password`.