bitcoin

The Bitcoin MCP server exposes a Model Context Protocol interface for interacting with Bitcoin and Lightning Network data. It can generate keys, validate addresses, decode transactions, perform blockchain queries (latest block, transaction details), and work with Lightning invoices and payments. You can integrate it with clients like Claude Desktop or Goose, allowing AI models to query blockchain data through the MCP tools rather than raw web requests. To use it, run the MCP server via your preferred package manager (the recommended approach shown in the config uses npx to fetch and run bitcoin-mcp@latest). Once running, send MCP requests to the server to perform operations such as creating a new key pair, validating a Bitcoin address, decoding a raw transaction, querying the latest block, or decoding a Lightning invoice and paying a Lightning invoice from a connected LN wallet.

In Claude Desktop integration, configure the MCP server under the mcpServers section so Claude can start and communicate with the Bitcoin MCP server automatically. For Goose, you can add the server as a local STDIO extension or connect remotely via SSE, enabling Goose agents to call the same set of Bitcoin and Lightning tools from within their workflows.

Prerequisites:

• Node.js (recommended version matching your environment) and npm installed on your system.
• Internet access to fetch the bitcoin-mcp package during setup.

Install options:

1. Run via npx (no local install required):

   • Ensure you have npm and Node.js installed.
   • The MCP config suggests using: npx -y bitcoin-mcp@latest
   • Example: npx -y bitcoin-mcp@latest

2. Local install (optional, if you want a persistent binary):

   • npm install -g bitcoin-mcp@latest
   • Then run with: bitcoin-mcp

3. Verify installation:

   • After starting, check logs for startup messages indicating the MCP server is listening for requests.

4. Integrate with clients:

   • For Claude Desktop: ensure the config.json includes an entry with command: "npx" and args: ["-y", "bitcoin-mcp@latest"] as shown in the mcp_config section.
   • For Goose: configure either STDIO (local extension) or SSE (remote) as described in the repository documentation.

Notes and tips:

• The server exposes tools for Key Generation, Address Validation, Transaction Decoding, Blockchain Queries (latest block, transaction details), and Lightning Network operations (invoice decoding and payments).
• When using npx, the server version is fetched at runtime; for reproducible environments, prefer a pinned version via a local install or a package.json script.
• If Claude Desktop or Goose cannot connect, verify network access, firewall rules, and that the MCP service is running and reachable at the expected IPC or HTTP endpoint per the integration guide.
• Environment variables are not required by default, but you may need to set API endpoints or wallet keys in your own deployment environment depending on how you extend or customize the server. Check the documentation for any additional options related to Lightning network providers or blockchain explorers.
• If you encounter issues with dependencies, run with verbose logging or consult the MCP logs referenced in the client integration docs for troubleshooting.