About Quickgo
Quickgo is an MCP server for browsing Gene Ontology data from QuickGO (EBI). It supports keyword searches, term lookups, and gene or protein annotations, without requiring an API key for these tools.
Key features
- 01Search GO terms by keyword
- 02Retrieve a GO term by ID
- 03List gene and protein annotations
- 04Return annotation evidence and taxon
Use cases
- 01Find GO terms for a biological concept
- 02Review a term's definition and synonyms
- 03Explore annotations for a UniProt accession
MCP support
Exposes QuickGO search, term, and annotation tools to MCP clients through Pipeworx or a local stdio server. The gateway connection includes shared Pipeworx meta-tools, while standalone mode exposes only this pack's tools.
Configuration
Remote servers need no local install. Pick your client, then copy the config or install in one click.
https://gateway.pipeworx.io/quickgo/mcpclaude mcp add --transport http pipeworx-io-quickgo https://gateway.pipeworx.io/quickgo/mcp{"mcpServers":{"pipeworx-io-quickgo":{"type":"http","url":"https://gateway.pipeworx.io/quickgo/mcp"}}}Open in Cursor{"servers":{"pipeworx-io-quickgo":{"type":"http","url":"https://gateway.pipeworx.io/quickgo/mcp"}}}Open in VS Code{"mcpServers":{"pipeworx-io-quickgo":{"type":"http","url":"https://gateway.pipeworx.io/quickgo/mcp"}}}{"mcpServers":{"pipeworx-io-quickgo":{"serverUrl":"https://gateway.pipeworx.io/quickgo/mcp"}}}Run commands in a terminal; paste JSON into the client’s MCP config and restart. Servers that need sign-in will prompt on first connect.
Tools
Details
From the project READMEmcp-quickgo
QuickGO (EBI) MCP — Gene Ontology browser.
Part of Pipeworx — an MCP gateway connecting AI agents to 1683+ live data sources.
Tools
| Tool | Description |
|---|---|
search_terms | QuickGO (EBI) — search Gene Ontology (GO) terms by keyword. Returns matching GO terms (id + name) for a free-text query like "apoptosis". Keyless. |
get_term | QuickGO (EBI) — get a single Gene Ontology (GO) term by id. Returns its name, aspect (biological_process|molecular_function|cellular_component), definition, synonyms, and obsolete flag. Keyless. |
gene_annotations | QuickGO (EBI) — list the Gene Ontology (GO) annotations for a gene/protein, identified by UniProt accession (e.g. "P04637"). Returns GO ids, names, aspect, evidence, and taxon. Keyless. |
Quick Start
Add to your MCP client (Claude Desktop, Cursor, Windsurf, etc.):
{
"mcpServers": {
"quickgo": {
"url": "https://gateway.pipeworx.io/quickgo/mcp"
}
}
}
What this endpoint actually serves
tools/list at https://gateway.pipeworx.io/quickgo/mcp returns the tools in the table
above plus the shared Pipeworx meta-tools — ask_pipeworx,
discover_tools, search_within, remember/recall and the rest of the
gateway-wide set. So the tool count you see is larger than this table: a
single-pack endpoint currently lists roughly 30 shared tools alongside the
pack's own. The connection's initialize response states its exact scope, and
is the authoritative answer for a given day.
This is deliberate, not multiplexing by accident. The meta-tools are what let a
scoped connection answer a question this pack does not cover — via
ask_pipeworx, which routes across the whole catalog — without you adding a
second MCP server. There is currently no way to mount a pack endpoint without
them; if the extra schemas cost you more context than the routing is worth,
connect to the full gateway once rather than to several pack endpoints.
Or connect to the full Pipeworx gateway to get every pack's tools listed directly, instead of just this one's:
{
"mcpServers": {
"pipeworx": {
"url": "https://gateway.pipeworx.io/mcp"
}
}
}
Both URLs reach the same gateway and the same 1683+ data sources. The
only difference is which pack's tools are listed directly; ask_pipeworx
reaches all of them from either one.
No MCP client? Call it over HTTP
curl -X POST https://gateway.pipeworx.io/v1/tools/search_terms \
-H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
-d '{"query":"apoptosis"}'
No account needed for the first calls. Inspect any tool: GET https://gateway.pipeworx.io/v1/tools/search_terms. Find one: POST https://gateway.pipeworx.io/v1/tools/search_packs with {"query":"..."}.
Standalone (no gateway account)
This package also runs as a local stdio MCP server — no Pipeworx account, no gateway round-trip:
{
"mcpServers": {
"quickgo": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "@pipeworx/mcp-quickgo"]
}
}
}
Or run it directly to confirm it starts:
npx -y @pipeworx/mcp-quickgo
It speaks MCP over stdin/stdout and answers initialize/tools/list/tools/call
for only this pack's tools — none of the shared meta-tools the gateway
connection above adds. Same source, same tools, no ask_pipeworx routing.
Using with ask_pipeworx
Instead of calling tools directly, you can ask questions in plain English — this works on the pack endpoint above as well as on the full gateway:
ask_pipeworx({ question: "your question about Quickgo data" })
The gateway picks the right tool and fills the arguments automatically.
More
License
MIT
Comments
New to MCP?
From what the protocol is to installing your first server, these answers cover most first questions.
An open protocol that defines how AI applications connect to external tools and data in a uniform way. Clients talk to the model; MCP servers provide tools, resources and prompt templates. They exchange standard messages, so one server can be reused by many clients.