Ed Stem MCP Server

Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for Ed Discussion platform integration.

Features

This MCP server provides Claude Code with tools to interact with Ed Stem:

• Get user info: View your enrolled courses
• List threads: Browse course discussions with filters (unresolved, unanswered, etc.)
• Get thread: Read full thread with all comments
• Post thread: Create new discussion threads
• Edit thread: Update existing threads
• Search threads: Find threads by keywords
• List users: View course enrollment

Installation

1. Clone the repository:

git clone <repository-url>
cd edstem-mcp

2. Create virtual environment and install dependencies:

python3 -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate  # On Windows: venv\Scripts\activate
pip install -r requirements.txt

3. Get your Ed API token:

   • Go to https://edstem.org/us/settings/api-tokens
   • Create a new token
   • Copy the token value

4. Create .env file:

cp .env.example .env
# Edit .env and add your token

Configuration

Add to your Claude Code MCP settings file:

Linux/Mac: ~/.claude_code/mcp_settings.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "edstem": {
      "command": "/home/jeremy/edstem-mcp/venv/bin/python",
      "args": ["/home/jeremy/edstem-mcp/server.py"],
      "env": {
        "ED_API_TOKEN": "your_token_here"
      }
    }
  }
}

Replace /home/jeremy with your actual home directory path, and add your actual token.

Usage Examples

Once configured, you can use natural language in Claude Code:

• "List recent threads in my CSE 421 course"
• "Show me unanswered questions in course 12345"
• "Create a thread asking about the homework deadline"
• "Search for threads about dynamic programming"
• "Get details for thread #6789"

Available Tools

get_user_info

Get information about authenticated user and enrolled courses.

list_threads

List threads in a course with optional filtering.

• Parameters:
  • course_id (required): Course ID
  • limit (optional): Maximum threads to return (default: 30)
  • offset (optional): Pagination offset (default: 0)
  • sort (optional): Sort order - 'new', 'top', 'trending' (default: 'new')
  • filter (optional): Filter threads - 'unresolved', 'unanswered', 'mine', 'following'

get_thread

Get detailed thread information including all comments.

• Parameters: thread_id

post_thread

Create a new thread.

• Parameters: course_id, title, content, category, subcategory, is_private, is_anonymous

edit_thread

Edit an existing thread.

• Parameters: thread_id, title, content, category

search_threads

Search for threads by keyword.

• Parameters: course_id, query, limit

list_users

List users enrolled in a course.

• Parameters: course_id

Resources

The server exposes:

• edstem://user - Current user information and courses

Improvements & Features

Enhanced Search (v1.1)

• Content search: Search now looks in both thread titles AND content (not just titles)
• Better results: More accurate matching for finding relevant discussions

Thread Filtering

• Unresolved: Show only threads without accepted answers
• Unanswered: Show threads with no responses yet
• Mine: Show only threads you created
• Following: Show threads you're following

Error Handling

• Specific error types: Authentication errors, API errors, and validation errors are handled separately
• Detailed messages: Clear error messages help diagnose issues
• Graceful degradation: Errors don't crash the server

Debugging & Logging

• Log file: All operations logged to /tmp/edstem-mcp.log
• Structured logging: Timestamps, log levels, and detailed messages
• Tool tracking: Every tool call is logged with its parameters
• Error tracing: Full exception tracebacks for debugging

Standardized Output

All tools now return consistent data structures:

• list_threads: Returns {threads: [...], count: N, limit: M, offset: O}
• list_users: Returns {users: [...], count: N}
• search_threads: Returns {threads: [...], count: N, query: "..."}

Security Notes

• Treat your API token as a password - anyone with it can access your Ed account
• Never commit .env or tokens to version control
• The Ed API is in beta and may change without notice

License

MIT

Credits

Uses the unofficial edapi library for Ed Stem API access.