nexus-mcp

A local MCP server for Nexus Mods mod discovery, research, and downloading, backed by the v2 GraphQL API (api.nexusmods.com/v2/graphql) and the website's DownloadPopUp widget.

Tools

Tool	Purpose
search_games	Resolve game titles to domain names; browse most-modded games
search_mods	Search mods by name/game/author/tag, sorted by endorsements etc.
get_mod	Full mod details: description, requirements, tags, stats
get_mod_files	A mod's downloadable files with versions and changelogs
get_download_url	Get a pre-signed CDN download URL (needs API key or cookies)
download_mod	Download a mod file to disk (needs API key or cookies)
search_collections	Search curated mod lists
get_collection	Collection metadata + full mod list (by slug, optional revision)
get_user	User profile + their most-endorsed mods
run_graphql	Escape hatch: any read-only GraphQL query (mutations rejected)

Adult content is always included — there is no filtering toggle.

Setup

npm install
npm run build

Register with Claude Code (local checkout):

claude mcp add nexus-mods -e NEXUS_MODS_API_KEY=<your key> -- node dist/index.js

Or run directly via npx (no checkout needed — the repo is public):

claude mcp add nexus-mods -e NEXUS_MODS_API_KEY=<your key> -- npx github:mbj733/nexus-mcp

Or in Claude Desktop's claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "nexus-mods": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["dist/index.js"],
      "env": { "NEXUS_MODS_API_KEY": "<your key>" }
    }
  }
}

Authentication

Three options:

Option A: Personal API Key

NEXUS_MODS_API_KEY — from nexusmods.com/users/myaccount?tab=api. Enables v1 REST download API + viewer-relative GraphQL fields.

Option B: Browser Cookies (no API key needed)

Run the helper script once to log in:

node scripts/login.mjs

This launches Chrome, you log in, cookies are saved to ~/.nexus-mcp-cookies.json. The MCP server reads this file automatically.

Option C: Standalone CLI (no Claude Code needed)

The nexus-cli.mjs tool works completely independently:

node scripts/nexus-cli.mjs login                           # one-time login
node scripts/nexus-cli.mjs search skyrim "unofficial patch" # search mods
node scripts/nexus-cli.mjs download skyrim 266              # download mod
node scripts/nexus-cli.mjs download baldursgate3 1234 --dir ./mods

Cookies stored at ~/.nexus-mcp-cookies.json, auto-refreshed when expired.

Development

npm run dev               # run from source via tsx
node scripts/smoke.mjs    # end-to-end smoke test (needs build)
node scripts/login.mjs    # extract Nexus Mods cookies from Chrome
node scripts/nexus-cli.mjs login  # standalone login

Domain terminology lives in CONTEXT.md.