retroachievements-mcp

A Model Context Protocol server that exposes the RetroAchievements public API to MCP-compatible clients like Claude Code, Claude Desktop, and Cursor.

Built on top of the official @retroachievements/api TypeScript SDK.

What you can do with it

• "What achievements did I unlock in the last hour?"
• "Summarize my RetroAchievements activity this month."
• "Show me the achievement list for Super Mario 64."
• "Who are the top-ten ranked players right now?"
• "How rare is each achievement in The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past?"

Requirements

• Node.js 18+
• A RetroAchievements account and Web API key (Settings → Keys)

Install

git clone https://github.com/Zach-Houston/retroachievements-mcp.git
cd retroachievements-mcp
npm install
npm run build

First-time setup

You have three ways to get the server credentials in place. Pick whichever fits.

Just start asking your MCP client questions like "Show me my RetroAchievements profile." The first call will fail with a structured "credentials not configured" message that gives the assistant two choices to offer you.

1A. In-chat paste (fastest)

You paste your username and Web API key into the chat. The assistant calls ra_save_credentials, which validates the key against the live API and saves it. Downside: the key is in your chat transcript.

1B. Edit a file the assistant scaffolds (key never touches chat)

The assistant calls ra_prepare_credentials_file, which writes a placeholder credentials.env in your user config dir and returns a file:// link. You click the link, paste your key in the file, save. The server picks it up on the next tool call. Upside: key never appears in the transcript.

Either way, credentials end up at:

• Windows: %APPDATA%\retroachievements-mcp\credentials.env
• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/retroachievements-mcp/credentials.env
• Linux: $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/retroachievements-mcp/credentials.env

The assistant can call ra_status at any time to see whether setup is done, half-done (placeholder file waiting for a key), or not started.

2. Interactive CLI

npm run setup

Walks you through getting an account (if needed), prompts for your Web API key, verifies against the API, and saves to the same user config dir.

3. Env vars in your MCP client config

Set RA_USERNAME and RA_API_KEY as env entries in your MCP client's server config (see Use with Claude Code). The server reads env vars first, then falls back to the stored file. Env vars never touch the chat history.

Configure

The server reads two environment variables at startup:

Variable	Value
RA_USERNAME	Your RetroAchievements username.
RA_API_KEY	Your Web API key (find it at https://retroachievements.org/controlpanel.php).

A .env.example is included as a template — copy it to .env for local dev, or pass the values as env entries in your MCP client config (see below).

If you launch the server without these set, it will still start and respond to MCP clients — but every tool call returns a friendly error explaining how to finish setup. This means a missing key never silently bricks the connection.

Use with Claude Code

Add this to your Claude Code MCP config (~/.claude.json or via claude mcp add):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "retroachievements": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["C:/Users/Z/projects/retroachievements-mcp/dist/index.js"],
      "env": {
        "RA_USERNAME": "YourUserName",
        "RA_API_KEY": "your-web-api-key"
      }
    }
  }
}

Or, after npm link, you can use the retroachievements-mcp binary directly.

Use with Claude Desktop

Add to claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "retroachievements": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["C:/Users/Z/projects/retroachievements-mcp/dist/index.js"],
      "env": {
        "RA_USERNAME": "YourUserName",
        "RA_API_KEY": "your-web-api-key"
      }
    }
  }
}

Tools

Setup

Tool	Description
ra_status	Reports configured / source (env, file, file-pending, none) / username / file path.
ra_save_credentials	In-chat flow: validates a username + key the user typed, then writes them to the user config.
ra_prepare_credentials_file	Out-of-chat flow: writes a placeholder file the user opens locally, pastes their key, and saves.

User

Tool	Description
ra_user_profile	Basic profile (points, rank, motto, avatar).
ra_user_summary	Profile + recent games + recent achievements + awards.
ra_user_recent_achievements	Achievements unlocked in the last N minutes.
ra_user_recently_played_games	Recently played games with progress.
ra_user_completion_progress	All started games with completion %, hardcore status, award level.
ra_user_awards	Site awards earned (mastery, beaten, events).
ra_user_achievements_between	Achievements earned between two ISO dates.

Game

Tool	Description
ra_game	Basic game metadata (title, console, developer, box art).
ra_game_extended	Full game info with the achievement list and unlock counts.

Feed

Tool	Description
ra_achievement_of_the_week	Currently featured achievement-of-the-week + leaderboard.
ra_top_ten_users	Site's top-ten ranked users by hardcore points.

More tools (leaderboards, console game lists, comments, tickets, claims, hashes, distribution) are planned — see src/tools/ to add your own.

Develop

npm run dev     # tsx, no build step
npm run build   # compile to dist/
npm start       # run the compiled server

License

MIT