How to Use the NIH RePORTER (Research Funding) MCP in Claude Code

Query NIH RePORTER (Research Funding) straight from your terminal with Claude Code.

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Connect NIH RePORTER (Research Funding) MCP to Claude Code

Create your Vinkius account to connect NIH RePORTER (Research Funding) to Claude Code and route execution through our secure gateway. The platform manages server hosting, runtime updates, and security layers. Configuration requires no manual server provisioning.

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Setup NIH RePORTER (Research Funding) with Claude Code

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Perplexity

Headless Grant Queries

The `search_projects` tool executes NIH database queries directly from your command line. You pass a prompt to Claude Code, and it fetches funding amounts, principal investigators, and grant IDs without ever opening a browser. This fits perfectly into automated workflows. You can run a cron job that checks for new grants in your research area every week, pipes the output to jq, and alerts your team via a webhook.

Terminal-Native Publication Search

The `search_publications` tool grabs every paper tied to an NIH project ID. Claude Code handles the API request and returns the raw publication data straight to stdout. Chain this into your existing bash scripts. Grab a list of project IDs from a local text file, feed them to the agent, and have it pull the corresponding publication records to build a plaintext bibliography.

Claude Code MCP Server Automation

Forget writing custom Python wrappers for the NIH API. This server exposes the endpoints as native tools that Claude Code can invoke during a headless session. Run it inside a GitHub Action or a Docker container. The agent manages the query parameters and handles the response parsing, letting you integrate federal funding data directly into your CI/CD pipelines.

Setup guide

Set up NIH RePORTER (Research Funding) MCP in Claude Code

Prerequisites

Claude Code CLI installed (npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code)
Active Vinkius subscription with a valid endpoint token

1

Run the add command

Open your terminal and run the command shown on the right. Replace [YOUR_TOKEN_HERE] with your endpoint token from cloud.vinkius.com. Use --scope user to make it available across all projects.
2

Verify the connection

Start a Claude Code session and type /mcp to list connected servers. You should see nih-reporter-research-funding-mcp with a green status indicator.
3

Start using tools

Ask Claude Code something like "Check my latest NIH RePORTER (Research Funding) transactions." It will automatically discover and invoke the available NIH RePORTER (Research Funding) tools.

Terminal

claude mcp add --transport http nih-reporter-research-funding-mcp https://edge.vinkius.com/[YOUR_TOKEN_HERE]/mcp

Get your connection token →

Prerequisites

Claude Code CLI installed
Active Vinkius subscription with a valid endpoint token

1

Open the config file

Create or edit .mcp.json in your project root for project-level scope, or ~/.claude.json for user-level scope.
2

Add the NIH RePORTER (Research Funding) MCP

Paste the JSON snippet shown on the right into the mcpServers object. Replace [YOUR_TOKEN_HERE] with your endpoint token from cloud.vinkius.com.
3

Restart Claude Code

Start a new Claude Code session. Type /mcp to confirm the server is connected. The tools will be automatically available in your conversation.

.mcp.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "nih-reporter-research-funding-mcp": {
      "type": "url",
      "url": "https://edge.vinkius.com/[YOUR_TOKEN_HERE]/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Get your connection token →

Independent Platform Disclaimer: Vinkius is an independent platform and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, sponsored by, verified by, or otherwise authorized by NIH RePORTER. All third-party trademarks, logos, and brand names are the property of their respective owners. Their use on this website is strictly for informational purposes to identify service compatibility and interoperability.

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Common questions about NIH RePORTER (Research Funding) MCP in Claude Code

Run claude mcp add --transport http -- . Make sure all flags come before the server name. Verify the connection with claude mcp list.

Yes. You can invoke Claude Code in non-interactive mode. Pass your query as a string, and it will fetch the grant data and exit cleanly.

Claude Code supports standard HTTP transports. As long as your terminal can reach the Vinkius endpoint, the agent can execute the search tools.

Tell the agent exactly how you want the data structured. It can output the results as raw JSON, CSV, or formatted markdown tables directly to your terminal.

Only the search terms you provide for NIH grants and academic publications. Vinkius processes these requests in a stateless, ephemeral sandbox. Your local environment variables, files, and command history remain securely on your machine.

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