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xbbg MCP

Local stdio MCP server for authorized Bloomberg/xbbg users; requires user-supplied Bloomberg runtime and entitlements.

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Documentation

xbbg-mcp

Stdio MCP server for Bloomberg request/response workflows backed by xbbg-async.

This binary is intended for coding agents such as Claude Code and OpenCode that can launch a local MCP server process and call tools over stdio.

What it exposes

The current server exposes request/response tools only:

  • bdp - reference data
  • bdh - historical data
  • bds - bulk data
  • bdib - intraday bars
  • bql - Bloomberg Query Language
  • bsrch - Bloomberg search
  • bflds - field metadata lookup
  • request - generic raw/custom request path

Responses are returned as bounded structured JSON with Arrow schema metadata so an agent can inspect the shape without receiving an unbounded payload.

Install from GitHub Releases

For macOS arm64 and Linux amd64, install the latest wrapper + binary pair with:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/xbbg-org/xbbg/main/scripts/install-xbbg-mcp.sh | sh

To install a specific release:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/xbbg-org/xbbg/main/scripts/install-xbbg-mcp.sh | sh -s -- 1.0.0

The installer places two files in ~/.local/bin/ by default:

  • xbbg-mcp - launcher wrapper
  • xbbg-mcp-real - compiled binary

GitHub release assets include only the launcher wrapper and compiled xbbg binary. They do not include Bloomberg SDK files or the Bloomberg runtime. You must provide those locally from a source you are authorized to use under your Bloomberg agreements and entitlements.

GitHub Release tar/zip assets remain the raw binary channel. The MCPB asset is the directory and one-click local connector channel for MCPB-aware clients and registries.

The wrapper locates the Bloomberg runtime in this order:

  1. XBBG_MCP_LIB_DIR
  2. BLPAPI_LIB_DIR
  3. BLPAPI_ROOT
  4. locally staged authorized SDK under vendor/blpapi-sdk/
  5. the official Python blpapi package

If you install Bloomberg's Python package, the wrapper can usually run without any extra shell configuration:

pip install blpapi --index-url https://blpapi.bloomberg.com/repository/releases/python/simple/

Windows release assets are attached as .zip files, but the convenience installer currently targets macOS/Linux only.

Install MCPB

Claude Desktop and MCPB-aware registries can use the xbbg-mcp-v<VERSION>.mcpb asset attached to GitHub Releases. The MCPB currently supports macOS arm64, Linux amd64, and Windows amd64. The raw platform tar/zip assets remain available for manual installs and troubleshooting.

The MCPB does not include Bloomberg SDK files, Bloomberg runtime libraries, credentials, or market data. Configure XBBG_MCP_LIB_DIR, BLPAPI_LIB_DIR, BLPAPI_ROOT, or install Bloomberg's official Python blpapi package so the launcher can find the authorized Bloomberg runtime locally. On Windows, the MCPB PowerShell launcher prepends the resolved Bloomberg runtime directory to PATH before starting xbbg-mcp.exe.

Build from source

bash ./scripts/sdktool.sh
cargo build --release -p xbbg-mcp --locked
./scripts/xbbg-mcp

Claude Code

claude mcp add --transport stdio xbbg -- ~/.local/bin/xbbg-mcp

OpenCode

{
  "$schema": "https://opencode.ai/config.json",
  "mcp": {
    "xbbg": {
      "type": "local",
      "command": ["/Users/you/.local/bin/xbbg-mcp"],
      "enabled": true
    }
  }
}

Directory and registry publishing

Official MCP Registry: publish the generated server.json after the release contains the .mcpb asset.

GitHub MCP Registry: verify the server appears after official registry ingestion.

Claude Connectors Directory: submit the MCPB as a desktop extension; remote connector submission is not the default for Bloomberg-local workflows.

Smithery: publish the MCPB bundle.

Glama: verify indexing after official registry publication; if automated sandbox build cannot run without Bloomberg runtime, keep the listing metadata-focused.

PulseMCP: wait for official registry ingestion or use the Pulse submit page.

MCP.so: submit the GitHub repo/release after canonical registry metadata is live.

Runtime environment

xbbg-mcp accepts the same engine-oriented connection settings as the Rust core, with MCP-prefixed names taking precedence where available.

Common settings:

  • XBBG_MCP_HOST / XBBG_HOST
  • XBBG_MCP_PORT / XBBG_PORT
  • XBBG_MCP_AUTH_METHOD / XBBG_AUTH_METHOD
  • XBBG_MCP_APP_NAME
  • XBBG_MCP_DIR_PROPERTY
  • XBBG_MCP_USER_ID
  • XBBG_MCP_IP_ADDRESS
  • XBBG_MCP_TOKEN
  • XBBG_MCP_REQUEST_POOL_SIZE
  • XBBG_MCP_MAX_ROWS
  • XBBG_MCP_MAX_STRING_CHARS

Supported auth methods:

  • none
  • user
  • app
  • userapp
  • dir
  • manual
  • token

Privacy Policy

xbbg-mcp runs locally as a stdio MCP server. It does not send telemetry or usage data to xbbg-org, GitHub, Anthropic, Smithery, Glama, or any other third party.

Tool calls are handled on the user's machine and forwarded only to the Bloomberg runtime/API endpoint configured by the user (XBBG_MCP_HOST / XBBG_HOST, default localhost:8194) under that user's Bloomberg agreements and entitlements. Results are returned only to the MCP client process that launched the server.

Bloomberg validates entitlements at request time, including per-security and per-field access. A valid local session can still return empty or partial results when the user's DAPI, SAPI/B-PIPE, or ZFP entitlement set does not cover the requested data.

The server reads configuration from environment variables and does not persist request data, credentials, or Bloomberg responses to disk.

Smoke test

After building locally, verify the stdio handshake and a few live requests with:

uv run python -X utf8 scripts/xbbg_mcp_smoke.py

That script expects a live Bloomberg connection and a locally built target/debug/xbbg-mcp binary, or target/release/xbbg-mcp if no debug build is present.