MCP Server

The Hey Bible MCP server lets AI assistants like Claude Desktop look up Scripture and access your Hey Bible data — verses, favorites, notes, images, chats, and tags — directly from your conversations.

What is MCP?

Model Context Protocol (MCP) is an open standard that allows AI assistants to connect to external data sources and tools. The Hey Bible MCP server exposes your Hey Bible data as tools that Claude can use to answer questions about your saved verses and notes.

Installation

npm install -g @hey-bible/mcp

Usage with Claude Desktop

Add the following to your Claude Desktop configuration file:

• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
• Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "hey-bible": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@hey-bible/mcp"],
      "env": {
        "HEY_BIBLE_API_KEY": "your_api_key_here"
      }
    }
  }
}

Then restart Claude Desktop. You should see Hey Bible listed in the connectors menu.

Available Tools

search_verses

Look up Bible verses by book and chapter. Saves the result to your account. If start_verse and end_verse are omitted, returns the full chapter.

Parameter	Type	Description
book	string	Required. Book name (e.g. "John", "Genesis", "1 Corinthians")
chapter	number	Required. Chapter number
start_verse	number	Optional. Starting verse number
end_verse	number	Optional. Ending verse number
bible_id	string	Optional. Translation ID (defaults to ESV)

get_bibles

List the available Bible translations (id, name, abbreviation, source). Takes no parameters.

get_books

List the 66 books of the Bible with their 3-letter codes and chapter counts. Takes no parameters.

get_favorites

Retrieve your favorited verses with their notes, images, conversations, and tags.

Parameter	Type	Description
tag	string	Optional. Filter favorites by tag name
limit	number	Optional. Number of favorites to return (1-100)
offset	number	Optional. Number of favorites to skip for pagination

get_notes

Retrieve your notes associated with Bible verses.

Parameter	Type	Description
id	number	Optional. Specific note ID to retrieve
limit	number	Optional. Number of notes to return (1-100)
offset	number	Optional. Number of notes to skip for pagination

get_images

Retrieve AI-generated images associated with your verses.

Parameter	Type	Description
id	number	Optional. Specific image ID (returns signed URL with 24hr expiry)
limit	number	Optional. Number of images to return (1-100)
offset	number	Optional. Number of images to skip for pagination

get_chats

Retrieve your chat conversations with verse context. If id is provided, returns a single chat with its messages.

Parameter	Type	Description
id	string	Optional. Specific chat ID (UUID) to retrieve with messages
limit	number	Optional. Number of chats to return (1-100)
offset	number	Optional. Number of chats to skip for pagination

get_tags

List all the tags you've defined. Tags can be used to filter favorites. Takes no parameters.

Example Prompts

Once configured, you can ask Claude things like:

• "What does John 3:16 say?"
• "Read me Psalm 23 in the KJV"
• "Show me my favorite verses tagged 'faith'"
• "What notes have I written recently?"

Troubleshooting

Server not appearing in Claude Desktop

1. Verify your claude_desktop_config.json syntax is valid JSON
2. Ensure your API key is correct
3. Fully quit and restart Claude Desktop (not just close the window)

Tools returning errors

1. Check that your API key is valid and not expired
2. Verify you have saved verses/notes/images in your Hey Bible account

View server logs

On macOS, check the logs at:

~/Library/Logs/Claude/mcp-server-hey-bible.log