Bring Biodiversity
to Cursor
Create your Vinkius account to connect iNaturalist to Cursor and start using all 10 AI tools in minutes. Fully managed, enterprise secure, and ready to use without writing a single line of code. No hosting, no server setup — just connect and start using.
GDPR Free for SubscribersCompatible with every major AI agent and IDE
Gemini
What is the iNaturalist MCP Server?
Connect to iNaturalist and explore the world's largest biodiversity database through natural conversation — no API key needed for public data.
What you can do
- Observations — Search millions of wildlife observations with species IDs, photos and locations
- Taxa Search — Find species by name with scientific names, common names and conservation status
- Species Counts — Get species observation counts by area, user or taxon
- Identifications — Browse community identifications and expert species IDs
- Projects — Discover community-curated biodiversity projects
- User Activity — View any user's observation history
How it works
- Subscribe to this server
- No API key needed for public endpoints
- Start exploring nature data from Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-compatible client
Who is this for?
- Naturalists — discover species in your area, track biodiversity trends and find local observation projects
- Researchers — access species observation data, taxonomic information and geographic distributions
- Educators — explore biodiversity with students, find local species examples and teach taxonomy
Built-in capabilities (10)
Returns the top 10 matching taxa with names and ranks. Useful for building search UIs or quickly finding taxon IDs. Autocomplete taxon names
These include standardized values for life stage, plant phenology, sex, evidence of presence and more. Useful for understanding annotation options. Get controlled terms (standardized vocabularies)
Filter by taxon or user. Each identification includes the proposed species, the observation it was made on, and the user who made it. Get identifications made by users
Get a specific iNaturalist observation by ID
Filter by quality grade and set result limit. Returns observations with species, photos and dates. Get observations by a specific user
Projects are community-curated collections of observations. Filter by place and set result limit. Search for iNaturalist projects
Useful for biodiversity surveys and understanding which species are most commonly observed in an area or by a user. Filter by taxon, place or user. Get species observation counts grouped by taxon
Returns scientific name, common names, rank, ancestry, conservation status, establishment means and Wikipedia URL. Get details for a specific taxon
Supports powerful filters: free-text query, taxon ID, user, place/location, quality grade (research/needs_id/casual), date range, and whether photos are required. Returns observations with species names, photos, locations, dates and observer info. Pagination: max 200 per page. Search iNaturalist observations
Returns taxa with scientific names, common names, ranks (species, genus, family, etc.), conservation status and observation counts. Supports filtering by rank. Search for taxa (species, genera, families, etc.)
Why Cursor?
Cursor's Agent mode turns iNaturalist into an in-editor superpower. Ask Cursor to generate code using live data from iNaturalist and it fetches, processes, and writes. all in a single agentic loop. 10 tools appear alongside file editing and terminal access, creating a unified development environment grounded in real-time information.
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Agent mode turns Cursor into an autonomous coding assistant that can read files, run commands, and call MCP tools without switching context
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Cursor's Composer feature can generate entire files using real-time data fetched through MCP. no copy-pasting from external dashboards
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MCP tools appear alongside built-in tools like file reading and terminal access, creating a unified agentic environment
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VS Code extension compatibility means your existing workflow, keybindings, and extensions all work alongside MCP tools
iNaturalist in Cursor
Why run iNaturalist with Vinkius?
The iNaturalist connection runs on our fully managed, secure cloud infrastructure. We handle the hosting, maintenance, and security so you don't have to deal with servers or code. All 10 tools are ready to work instantly without any complex setup.
You stay in complete control of your data. Your AI only accesses the information you approve, keeping your sensitive passwords and private details completely safe. Plus, with automatic optimizations, your AI works faster and more efficiently.
* Every connection is hosted and maintained by Vinkius. We handle the security, updates, and infrastructure so you don't have to write code or manage servers. See our infrastructure
Over 4,000 integrations ready for AI agents
Explore a vast library of pre-built integrations, optimized and ready to deploy.
Connect securely in under 30 seconds
Generate tokens to authenticate and link external services in a single step.
Complete visibility into every agent action
Audit live requests, latency, success rates, and active security compliance policies.
Optimize spending and track token ROI
Analyze real-time token consumption and cost metrics detailed by connection.
Explore our live AI Agents Analytics dashboard to see it all working
This dashboard is included when you connect iNaturalist using Vinkius. You will never be left in the dark about what your AI agents are doing with your tools.
iNaturalist and 4,000+ other AI tools. No hosting, no code, ready to use.
Professionals who connect iNaturalist to Cursor through Vinkius don't need to write code, manage servers, or worry about security. Everything is pre-configured, secure, and runs automatically in the background.
Raw MCP | Vinkius | |
|---|---|---|
| Ready-to-use MCPs | Find and configure each manually | 4,000+ MCPs ready to use |
| Connection Setup | Manual coding & server setup | 1-click instant connection |
| Server Hosting | You host it yourself (needs 24/7 uptime) | 100% hosted & managed by Vinkius |
| Security & Privacy | Stored in plaintext config files | Bank-grade encrypted vault |
| Activity Visibility | Blind execution (no logs or tracking) | Live dashboard with real-time logs |
| Cost Control | Runaway AI token spend risk | Automatic budget limits |
| Revoking Access | Must delete files or code to stop | 1-click disconnect button |
How Vinkius secures
iNaturalist for Cursor
Every request between Cursor and iNaturalist is protected by our secure gateway. We automatically keep your sensitive data private, prevent unauthorized access, and let you disconnect instantly at any time.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need an iNaturalist account?
No! All public endpoints work without authentication. Just start searching. For write operations (creating observations, identifications), you'd need OAuth2 authentication.
What kind of species data is available?
iNaturalist has 150M+ observations of plants, animals, fungi, insects and more. Each observation includes species ID, photos, location, date, observer info and community identifications.
Can I search for species in my area?
Yes! Use search_observations with place_id, or lat/lng/radius parameters to filter by location. You can also use get_species_counts with place_id to see which species are most commonly observed in an area.
What is Agent mode and why does it matter for MCP?
Agent mode is Cursor's autonomous execution mode where the AI can perform multi-step tasks: reading files, editing code, running terminal commands, and calling MCP tools. Without Agent mode, Cursor operates in a simpler ask-and-answer mode that doesn't support tool calling. Always ensure you're in Agent mode when working with MCP servers.
Where does Cursor store MCP configuration?
Cursor looks for MCP server configurations in a mcp.json file. You can configure servers at the project level (.cursor/mcp.json in your project root) or globally (~/.cursor/mcp.json). Project-level configs take precedence.
Can Cursor use MCP tools in inline edits?
No. MCP tools are only available in Agent mode through the chat panel. Inline completions and Tab suggestions do not trigger MCP tool calls. This is by design. tool calls require user visibility and approval.
How do I verify MCP tools are loaded?
Open Settings → Features → MCP and look for your server name. A green indicator means the server is connected. You can also check Agent mode's available tools by clicking the tools dropdown in the chat panel.
Tools not appearing in Cursor
Ensure you are in Agent mode (not Ask mode). MCP tools only work in Agent mode.
Server shows as disconnected
Check Settings → Features → MCP and verify the server status. Try clicking the refresh button.
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