Rowan

An MCP server for the Rowan computational chemistry platform.

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Rowan MCP Server

MCP server for making it easy to run Rowan's molecular design and simulation tools.

Quick Install - Desktop Extension

For Claude Desktop users - this is the easiest way:

  1. Download the extension: rowan-dxt.dxt
  2. Drag and drop the file into Claude Desktop > Settings > Extensions
  3. Enter your API key from labs.rowansci.com
  4. Enable the MCP tool in the extension settings
  5. Start chatting Try: "Using the Rowan MCP tool, calculate the pKa of aspirin"

That's it - no command line setup needed!

Package Installation

Option 1: Auto-Install (No manual installation needed!)

Just add this to your MCP configuration and it will automatically install and run:

HTTP/SSE configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "rowan": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "http://127.0.0.1:6276/sse"
    }
  }
}

Then start the server:

# Set your API key
export ROWAN_API_KEY="your_api_key_here"

# Start the HTTP server
uvx --from rowan-mcp rowan-mcp

Option 2: Manual Installation

If you prefer to install the package first:

Using uv:

uv add rowan-mcp

Using pip:

pip install rowan-mcp

Then configure and start:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "rowan": {
      "type": "http", 
      "url": "http://127.0.0.1:6276/sse"
    }
  }
}

# Set API key and start server
export ROWAN_API_KEY="your_api_key_here"
rowan-mcp

Get API Key

Visit labs.rowansci.com → Create account → Generate API key

Start Using

Ask your AI: "Calculate the pKa of aspirin" or "Optimize the geometry of caffeine"

What You Can Do

Ask the LLM to:

  • Calculate drug properties: "Predict drug-likeness of aspirin"
  • Optimize molecular structures: "Optimize the geometry of aspirin"
  • Predict chemical behavior: "What's the pKa of acetic acid?"
  • Run calculations: "Calculate the HOMO and LUMO of benzene"

System Requirements

  • Python 3.11+
  • Package manager: uv (recommended) or pip
  • Rowan API key (free at labs.rowansci.com)
  • MCP-compatible client (Claude Desktop, etc.)

Development commands (if you cloned the repo):

# Run from source
export ROWAN_API_KEY="your_api_key_here"
uv run python -m rowan_mcp

Available Tools

Chemistry Calculations

  • submit_basic_calculation_workflow - Energy, optimization, frequencies with multiple engines (omol25, xtb, psi4)
  • submit_conformer_search_workflow - Conformational search with multiple search modes (rapid/careful/meticulous)
  • submit_scan_workflow - Molecular scans (dihedral, bond, angle) with wavefront propagation
  • submit_irc_workflow - Intrinsic reaction coordinate calculations for transition states

Molecular Properties

  • submit_pka_workflow - Microscopic pKa calculations with customizable pH ranges and elements
  • submit_macropka_workflow - Macroscopic pKa calculations across pH and charge ranges
  • submit_solubility_workflow - Solubility predictions across multiple solvents and temperatures
  • submit_redox_potential_workflow - Electrochemical reduction/oxidation potentials
  • submit_descriptors_workflow - ML-ready molecular descriptors and features
  • submit_tautomer_search_workflow - Tautomer enumeration with reckless/rapid/careful modes

Reactivity Analysis

  • submit_fukui_workflow - Fukui indices for electrophilic/nucleophilic reactivity sites

Protein & Drug Discovery

  • submit_docking_workflow - Protein-ligand docking with conformer search and optimization
  • submit_protein_cofolding_workflow - Multi-protein and protein-ligand cofolding predictions

Molecule Management

  • molecule_lookup - Convert molecule names, CAS numbers, IUPAC names to SMILES
  • batch_molecule_lookup - Bulk molecule name to SMILES conversion
  • validate_smiles - Validate and standardize SMILES strings

Protein Management

  • create_protein_from_pdb_id - Create protein from PDB ID (e.g., '1HCK')
  • retrieve_protein - Get protein data by UUID
  • list_proteins - List all available proteins
  • upload_protein - Upload custom protein structures
  • delete_protein - Remove protein from workspace
  • sanitize_protein - Clean and validate protein structures

Workflow Management

  • workflow_get_status - Check workflow status with detailed progress information
  • workflow_stop - Stop running workflows
  • workflow_delete - Remove workflows from workspace
  • retrieve_workflow - Get complete workflow data and results
  • retrieve_calculation_molecules - Extract molecular structures from calculations
  • list_workflows - List all workflows with filtering options
  • workflow_update - Modify workflow parameters
  • workflow_is_finished - Check if workflow is complete
  • workflow_delete_data - Remove workflow data while keeping metadata
  • workflow_fetch_latest - Get most recent workflow results

Requirements

  • Python 3.11+
  • Rowan API key
  • MCP-compatible AI assistant (Claude Desktop, etc.)

Getting Help

Citation

If you use this MCP tool in your research, please cite the underlying Rowan platform:

Rowan Scientific. https://www.rowansci.com (accessed 2025-07-01).

For complete citation information including specific computational engines, methods, and workflows used in your calculations, please refer to Rowan's citation guidelines.

Publishing (Maintainer Notes)

To publish a new version to PyPI:

# Update version in pyproject.toml and rowan_mcp/__init__.py
# Build the package
uv build

# Publish to PyPI (requires API token)
uv publish

# Or publish to TestPyPI first
uv publish --index-url https://test.pypi.org/simple/

To update the dxt file:

# After updating the PyPI package, update all changed tools/functions

# Then update the desktop extension
dxt pack rowan-dxt

MCP inspector

# Start the server first
export ROWAN_API_KEY="your_api_key_here" 
uv run python -m rowan_mcp &

# Then inspect
npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector http://127.0.0.1:6276/sse

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