Mathematics Server

A comprehensive FastMCP server providing 22 mathematical operations for AI assistants like Claude.

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that provides mathematical operations as tools for AI assistants like Claude. This server enables Claude to perform accurate arithmetic calculations through a standardized interface.

📋 Table of Contents

• What is Mathematics MCP Server?
• Features
• How It Works
• Installation
• Usage
• Integration with Claude Desktop
• Available Tools
• Contributing
• Troubleshooting
• Future Enhancement Ideas
• License

What is Mathematics MCP Server?

Mathematics MCP Server is a lightweight server that exposes mathematical operations through the Model Context Protocol (MCP). It allows AI assistants to perform precise calculations by calling dedicated tools rather than relying on their internal reasoning capabilities.

Why Use This?

• Accuracy: Ensures precise mathematical calculations
• Reliability: Eliminates calculation errors that can occur with AI reasoning
• Extensibility: Easy to add new mathematical operations
• Logging: All operations are logged for debugging and audit purposes

Features

• 22 Mathematical Operations:
  • Basic (8): Addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, modulus, power, square, square root
  • Advanced (2): Factorial, absolute value
  • Logarithms (2): Logarithm (custom base), natural log
  • Trigonometry (3): Sine, cosine, tangent (degree-based)
  • Number Theory (2): GCD, LCM
  • Statistics (3): Mean, median, standard deviation
  • Rounding (2): Ceiling, floor
• Error Handling: Robust error handling for edge cases (division by zero, negative square roots, etc.)
• Comprehensive Logging: All operations logged to both file and stderr
• Type Safety: Built with Pydantic models for input validation
• MCP Compliant: Fully compatible with the Model Context Protocol standard

How It Works

┌─────────────────┐
│  Claude Desktop │
└────────┬────────┘
         │
         │ JSON-RPC over stdio
         │
┌────────▼────────┐
│   FastMCP       │
│   Mathematics   │
│   MCP Server    │
└────────┬────────┘
         │
         │ Python Functions
         │
┌────────▼────────┐
│  Math Operations│
│  (add, subtract,│
│   multiply...)  │
└─────────────────┘

1. Claude sends a tool call request via JSON-RPC
2. FastMCP receives and validates the request
3. Python functions perform the calculation
4. Result is returned to Claude in structured format
5. Logging records the operation for debugging

Installation

Prerequisites

• Python 3.8 or higher
• uv package manager (recommended)

Step 1: Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/tanishra/math-mcp-server.git
cd mathematics-mcp

Step 2: Install uv (if not already installed)

# On macOS/Linux
curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh

# On Windows
powershell -c "irm https://astral.sh/uv/install.ps1 | iex"

# Or using pip
pip install uv

Step 3: Install Dependencies

The project uses pyproject.toml for dependency management:

# Install all dependencies (uv automatically reads pyproject.toml)
uv sync

# Or using pip
pip install -e .

Alternatively, you can install dependencies directly:

uv pip install fastmcp pydantic

Step 4: Test the Server

Using the MCP Inspector (recommended for development):

# This opens an interactive web interface to test your MCP server
uv run fastmcp dev main.py

Or run the server directly:

# This runs the server in production mode
uv run fastmcp run main.py

You should see:

Starting Mathematics MCP Server...

Usage

Testing with MCP Inspector (Recommended)

The MCP Inspector provides a web-based interface to test your server:

uv run fastmcp dev main.py

This will:

1. Start the MCP server
2. Open a web interface in your browser
3. Allow you to test all tools interactively
4. Show request/response details in real-time

Running the Server in Production Mode

uv run fastmcp run main.py

The server will start and listen for MCP protocol messages on stdin/stdout.

Using with Claude Desktop

See the Integration with Claude Desktop section below.

Integration with Claude Desktop

Quick Installation (Recommended)

The easiest way to integrate with Claude Desktop is using the FastMCP installer:

uv run fastmcp install claude-desktop main.py

This command will:

• Automatically locate your Claude Desktop configuration file
• Add the Mathematics MCP server configuration
• Use the correct paths for your system
• Restart Claude Desktop if needed

Manual Installation (Alternative)

If you prefer to configure manually or the automatic installation doesn't work:

Step 1: Locate Claude Desktop Configuration

The configuration file location depends on your operating system:

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

Step 2: Update Configuration

Open the configuration file and add the Mathematics MCP server:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mathematics": {
      "command": "uv",
      "args": [
        "--directory",
        "/absolute/path/to/mathematics-mcp",
        "run",
        "fastmcp",
        "run",
        "main.py"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Important: Replace /absolute/path/to/mathematics-mcp with the actual path to your project directory.

Example for macOS/Linux:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mathematics": {
      "command": "uv",
      "args": [
        "--directory",
        "/Users/yourusername/projects/mathematics-mcp",
        "run",
        "fastmcp",
        "run",
        "main.py"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Example for Windows:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mathematics": {
      "command": "uv",
      "args": [
        "--directory",
        "C:\\Users\\YourUsername\\projects\\mathematics-mcp",
        "run",
        "fastmcp",
        "run",
        "main.py"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Step 3: Restart Claude Desktop

1. Quit Claude Desktop completely (Cmd+Q on Mac, Alt+F4 on Windows)
2. Relaunch Claude Desktop
3. Look for the 🔌 icon in the bottom right indicating MCP servers are connected
4. Click the icon to see "mathematics" server listed

Step 4: Verify Installation

In Claude, try asking:

• "What's 12345 + 67890?"
• "Calculate the square root of 144"
• "What's 25 to the power of 3?"
• "Calculate the factorial of 10"
• "What's the sine of 30 degrees?"
• "Find the GCD of 48 and 18"
• "Calculate the mean of these numbers: 10, 20, 30, 40, 50"

Claude should use the Mathematics MCP tools to provide accurate answers.

Troubleshooting Installation

If the automatic installation fails:

# Check if uv is installed correctly
uv --version

# Verify the server works
uv run fastmcp dev main.py

# Try manual configuration following the steps above

Available Tools

1. Addition (add)

Input: {"a": 10, "b": 5}
Output: {"status": "success", "operation": "add", "result": 15}

2. Subtraction (subtract)

Input: {"a": 10, "b": 5}
Output: {"status": "success", "operation": "subtract", "result": 5}

3. Multiplication (multiply)

Input: {"a": 10, "b": 5}
Output: {"status": "success", "operation": "multiply", "result": 50}

4. Division (divide)

Input: {"a": 10, "b": 5}
Output: {"status": "success", "operation": "divide", "result": 2.0}

Note: Throws error on division by zero

5. Modulus (modulus)

Input: {"a": 10, "b": 3}
Output: {"status": "success", "operation": "modulus", "result": 1}

Note: Throws error on modulus by zero

6. Power (power)

Input: {"base": 2, "exponent": 8}
Output: {"status": "success", "operation": "power", "result": 256}

7. Square (square)

Input: {"a": 5}
Output: {"status": "success", "operation": "square", "result": 25}

8. Square Root (sqrt)

Input: {"a": 144}
Output: {"status": "success", "operation": "sqrt", "result": 12.0}

Note: Throws error on negative numbers

9. Factorial (factorial)

Input: {"a": 5}
Output: {"status": "success", "operation": "factorial", "result": 120}

Note: Only works with non-negative integers

10. Absolute Value (absolute)

Input: {"a": -15}
Output: {"status": "success", "operation": "absolute", "result": 15}

11. Logarithm (logarithm)

Input: {"value": 100, "base": 10}
Output: {"status": "success", "operation": "logarithm", "result": 2.0}

Note: Default base is 10 if not specified

12. Natural Logarithm (natural_log)

Input: {"a": 2.718281828}
Output: {"status": "success", "operation": "natural_log", "result": 1.0}

Note: Uses base e (approximately 2.718)

13. Sine (sine)

Input: {"angle": 90}
Output: {"status": "success", "operation": "sine", "result": 1.0}

Note: Input angle in degrees

14. Cosine (cosine)

Input: {"angle": 0}
Output: {"status": "success", "operation": "cosine", "result": 1.0}

Note: Input angle in degrees

15. Tangent (tangent)

Input: {"angle": 45}
Output: {"status": "success", "operation": "tangent", "result": 1.0}

Note: Input angle in degrees, undefined at 90°, 270°, etc.

16. Greatest Common Divisor (gcd)

Input: {"a": 48, "b": 18}
Output: {"status": "success", "operation": "gcd", "result": 6}

Note: Both numbers must be integers

17. Least Common Multiple (lcm)

Input: {"a": 12, "b": 18}
Output: {"status": "success", "operation": "lcm", "result": 36}

Note: Both numbers must be integers

18. Mean (mean)

Input: {"numbers": [10, 20, 30, 40, 50]}
Output: {"status": "success", "operation": "mean", "result": 30.0}

Note: Calculates average of all numbers in the list

19. Median (median)

Input: {"numbers": [1, 3, 5, 7, 9]}
Output: {"status": "success", "operation": "median", "result": 5}

Note: Middle value when sorted; average of two middle values for even-length lists

20. Standard Deviation (standard_deviation)

Input: {"numbers": [2, 4, 4, 4, 5, 5, 7, 9]}
Output: {"status": "success", "operation": "standard_deviation", "result": 2.138}

Note: Uses sample standard deviation (n-1); requires at least 2 numbers

21. Ceiling (ceiling)

Input: {"a": 3.2}
Output: {"status": "success", "operation": "ceiling", "result": 4}

Note: Always rounds up

22. Floor (floor)

Input: {"a": 3.8}
Output: {"status": "success", "operation": "floor", "result": 3}

Note: Always rounds down

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Here's how you can help:

Reporting Bugs

1. Check if the issue already exists
2. Create a new issue with:
   • Clear description
   • Steps to reproduce
   • Expected vs actual behavior
   • Log output from math_mcp.log

Suggesting Features

1. Open an issue describing the feature
2. Explain the use case
3. Provide examples if possible

Pull Requests

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch:

   git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature

3. Make your changes
4. Add tests if applicable
5. Commit with clear messages:

   git commit -m "Add: New trigonometric functions"

6. Push to your fork:

   git push origin feature/amazing-feature

7. Open a Pull Request

Troubleshooting

Server Not Appearing in Claude Desktop

Problem: MCP server doesn't show up in Claude Desktop

Solutions:

1. Check the configuration file path is correct
2. Verify JSON syntax in claude_desktop_config.json
3. Ensure absolute paths are used (not relative paths)
4. Restart Claude Desktop completely
5. Check math_mcp.log for startup errors

"Unexpected non-whitespace character after JSON" Error

Problem: Claude Desktop shows JSON parsing errors

Solutions:

1. Ensure logging is NOT writing to sys.stdout
2. Use sys.stderr or file logging only
3. Remove any print() statements from the code

Import Errors

Problem: ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'fastmcp'

Solutions:

1. Activate your virtual environment
2. Install dependencies: pip install fastmcp pydantic
3. If using venv, point to venv Python in config

Permission Errors

Problem: Cannot write to log file

Solutions:

1. Check write permissions on the directory
2. Use a different log location:

   LOG_FILE = Path.home() / "math_mcp.log"

Testing Connection

To test if the server is working:

# Run the server
python main.py

# In another terminal, send a test message (requires jq)
echo '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"method":"tools/list","params":{}}' | python main.py

Future Enhancement Ideas

• Add complex number support
• Implement matrix operations
• Add unit conversion tools
• Support for symbolic math (using SymPy)
• Inverse trigonometric functions (arcsin, arccos, arctan)
• Hyperbolic functions (sinh, cosh, tanh)

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

Star ⭐ this repo if you find it helpful!