TMDB MCP Server

An MCP server for The Movie Database (TMDB) API. It provides movie and TV search, streaming availability, cast and crew details, and recommendations for assistants such as Codex and Claude Desktop.

For the architecture split between the reusable MCP server and higher-level feature workflows, see USERGUIDE.md.

Tools

Movie Discovery

• get_weekend_watchlist — Ranked weekend shortlist by mood, country, language, runtime, rating, and services
• plan_watch_party — Group movie-night plan with a primary pick, backup, wildcard, party-fit reasons, provider availability, and avoided-title filtering
• build_franchise_watch_order — Franchise/universe guide with release order, suggested order, total runtime, and provider-aware notes
• build_collection_gap_plan — Franchise completion plan with watched/missing entries, remaining runtime, provider availability, and completion path
• recommend_from_taste_profile — Recommendations from liked/disliked titles with provider-aware scoring, match reasons, and cautions
• search_movies — Search by title/keywords → titles, IDs, ratings, overviews
• get_trending — Top 10 trending movies (timeWindow: "day" | "week")
• get_weekly_trending_by_language — Weekly trending movies grouped by original language into English, Hindi, and Telugu
• search_by_genre — Movies by genre name, optional year filter
• advanced_search — Filter by genre, year, min rating, sort, language
• search_by_keyword — Find movies by theme/keyword (e.g. "zombie", "heist")

Movie Details

• get_movie_details — Full details: cast, crew, runtime, genres, reviews (by movieId)
• compare_movies — Side-by-side comparison for 2-5 movie IDs with ratings, runtime, cast, director, providers, and best-fit notes
• get_recommendations — Top 5 recommendations based on a movie ID
• get_similar_movies — Similar movies via TMDB's similarity algorithm
• get_watch_providers — Streaming/rental/purchase availability by country (default: IN)
• find_where_to_watch — Search 1-5 movie titles and return streaming/rental/purchase availability with preferred-service matches

TV Shows

• search_tv_shows — Search TV series by title
• get_trending_tv — Top 10 trending TV shows (timeWindow: "day" | "week")

People

• search_person — Find actors, directors, crew by name → ID + known works
• get_person_details — Full bio + filmography (movies + TV) by personId
• build_person_watch_path — Actor/director watch path with best-rated, available-now, recent, and starter picks

Resources

• tmdb:///movie/<id> — Full movie details in JSON (title, cast, director, reviews, poster URL)

Quick Start

1. Get a TMDB API key at themoviedb.org → Account Settings → API

2. Clone, install, and build:

   git clone https://github.com/Laksh-star/mcp-server-tmdb.git
   cd mcp-server-tmdb
   npm install
   

3. Create a local env file and add your TMDB key:

   cp .env.example .env
   

4. Install the local Codex and Claude Desktop integration:

   npm run install:local
   

5. Restart Codex or Claude Desktop if already open.

6. Verify with a prompt like:

   What movies are trending this week?
   

In Codex, a fresh session should show TMDB in the plugin list and expose the mcp__tmdb__ namespace.

Tool Surface Smoke

Use this smoke test after adding or merging tools. It verifies the expected MCP tool contract and calls the main workflow tools: compare_movies, find_where_to_watch, get_weekend_watchlist, plan_watch_party, build_franchise_watch_order, build_collection_gap_plan, recommend_from_taste_profile, and build_person_watch_path.

Local stdio MCP:

npm run build
set -a && source ./.env && set +a && npm run smoke:tools

Cloudflare-hosted MCP:

TMDB_MCP_ACCESS_TOKEN=<your-access-token> node scripts/tool-surface-s

... [View full README on GitHub](https://github.com/Laksh-star/mcp-server-tmdb#readme)