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Connect iNaturalist to ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini

Set it up once and it works in ChatGPT, Claude, Cursor, and any other client you love. It all runs safely in the background, so you can relax and focus on what really matters. Bring the world's largest wildlife database to your AI agent.

Ask AI about this Connector

Developed, maintained, and hosted by Vinkius.

MCP VERIFIED · PRODUCTION READY · VINKIUS GUARANTEED

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Works with modern AI clients that support MCP, including ChatGPT, Claude, Cursor, and more.

ChatGPTClaudeCursorPerplexityGeminiMicrosoft CopilotRaycastMeta AI

Your AI does the work. We keep it safe and sound.

No other AI tool gives you this. Your workflow runs in the client you already love, your account stays protected, and you decide what the agent can and cannot do. It is the whole reason to make the switch.

Each Connector lives inside our infrastructure, the same place where your workflow runs. The three things below are already part of it, working quietly in the background so you never have to think about them. Nothing to add, nothing to set up, nothing to worry about.

A futuristic MCP client docking bay
V8 Isolate01

Each Connector runs inside its own sealed environment.

Each Connector runs inside its own sealed V8 runtime — no access to your files, your system, or other servers. A Connector never sees past its own request.

Kill Switch02

One switch stops every agent. Instantly.

One action deactivates every Connector, revokes every token, and ends every session at once. AI Governance keeps the record.

FinOps per User03

Spending limits that pause instead of surprise.

Every user keeps their own connections and credentials, isolated from everyone else. Anything that would cross your spending limit is held for your approval, not billed.

Three controls, built into the layer your AI connects through.

Curated set · 10 capabilities

We ship only the actions that matter.

Capability set01 / 03

01-04

4 capabilities in this set.

Part of 10 available through iNaturalist.

  1. 01

    Get controlled terms

    Access standardized vocabularies for biological data. Use this to find specific values for life stages, plant phenology, or sex.

  2. 02

    Get observation

    Retrieve a single iNaturalist observation. Provide a specific ID to get full details on a wildlife sighting.

  3. 03

    Get projects

    Search for community-curated biodiversity projects. You can filter these collections by specific locations.

  4. 04

    Get species counts

    Get counts of species observations. This capability works by filtering for a specific taxon, place, or user.

Capability set02 / 03

05-07

3 capabilities in this set.

Part of 10 available through iNaturalist.

  1. 05

    Get taxon

    Pull detailed information for a specific taxon. It returns scientific names, rank, ancestry, and conservation status.

  2. 06

    Autocomplete taxa

    Find taxon names quickly. This returns the top 10 matching names and ranks to help your agent identify the right ID.

  3. 07

    Get identifications

    Browse community and expert identifications. You can filter these results by a specific taxon or user.

Capability set03 / 03

08-10

3 capabilities in this set.

Part of 10 available through iNaturalist.

  1. 08

    Get observations by user

    View the observation history of a specific user. It returns species, photos, and dates for their sightings.

  2. 09

    Search observations

    Search the entire iNaturalist database. Use filters like location, date range, quality grade, or taxon ID to find specific sightings.

  3. 10

    Search taxa

    Search for species, genera, or families. This capability returns scientific names, ranks, and observation counts.

Real work

What teams actually run

01

Regional Biodiversity Audits

Ask your agent to list all species observed in a specific county within a certain timeframe.

02

Species Research

Have your agent pull the full taxonomic lineage and conservation status for a specific plant or animal.

03

Field Work Support

Use the agent to find community identifications for a species you just encountered.

04

Trend Analysis

Ask the agent to compare species counts between different years or locations.

Automate a task

Put iNaturalist to work on one thing.

Step-by-step automations your AI runs through this Connector: the workflow, the prompts to start with, and the exact capabilities behind each move.

One connector, every AI

iNaturalist works with the most popular AI clients.

These are the most popular clients, each with a step-by-step guide: one link, set up once, with governance and visibility built in. And because everything runs on the MCP standard, the same connection also works in any other compatible client — nothing to rebuild.

ClaudeClaudeChatGPTChatGPTGeminiGeminiPerplexityPerplexityGrokGrokMicrosoft CopilotMicrosoft CopilotCursorCursorVS CodeVS CodeWindsurfWindsurfJetBrainsJetBrainsClineClineLangChainLangChainVercel AI SDKVercel AI SDKLovableLovableZ.aiZ.aiRaycastRaycastQwen CodeQwen CodeKimi CodeKimi CodeLe ChatLe Chat

Building your own app? The connector is yours to use.

You don't need a client to put iNaturalist to work: the same hosted connection plugs into your own applications and agent code, with the same governance on every request. Build with it, chat with it — one connection for both.

Observed, not estimated

1002ms average. Fast in production.

iNaturalist is checked daily against the live service.

Daily averagePeak 1091ms
Oct 3Today
Fastest day
734ms
Slowest day
1091ms
14-day trend
Stable-2%

Connect your client

One URL. Every client.

Activate the Connector, copy your link, and paste it into the client you already use. 10 capabilities arrive ready to run.

Preview access · not provider authentication

The vk_preview_* token belongs to Vinkius preview infrastructure. It lets Claude discover and display the capabilities of iNaturalist, so you can see the experience inside your AI.

It does not authenticate your account with iNaturalist. Actions requiring credentials or live account data may not run until you activate the Connector and authorize the service.

iNaturalist Connector

You're all set. Choose your MCP client and follow the setup instructions.

Connector linkhttps://edge.vinkius.com/vk_preview_PM4BDToKuNUD3Iuz43FYIh8dXEkimscUd6YccCTM/mcp

Claude Desktop

Follow the steps below to connect in seconds.

  1. 1In Claude Desktop, open Settings → Connectors.
  2. 2Click “Add custom connector” and paste the connector link above as the remote MCP server URL.
  3. 3Click Add and start a new chat — iNaturalist capabilities are ready to use.
Configuration · claude_desktop_config.jsonCopy
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "inaturalist-mcp": {
      "url": "https://edge.vinkius.com/vk_preview_PM4BDToKuNUD3Iuz43FYIh8dXEkimscUd6YccCTM/mcp"
    }
  }
}
  • Claude
  • ChatGPT
  • Cursor
  • VS Code
  • Windsurf
  • Claude Code
  • JetBrains
  • Cline

Step-by-step instructions for each client are in the guide. How to connect

Guided setup for Claude? Set up iNaturalist in Claude and other AIs

See all the AI clients this connector works with ↑

Who it's for

Built for the work iNaturalist owners hand off.

This MCP is built for anyone working with biological data or field observations.

  • 01

    Naturalists

    Use the agent to track local biodiversity trends and find nearby observation projects.

  • 02

    Researchers

    Hand off the task of gathering species distribution and taxonomic data to your agent.

  • 03

    Educators

    Use the AI to find real-world species examples and taxonomy data for classroom use.

FAQ

Questions iNaturalist owners ask.

  • 01

    Do I need an iNaturalist API key?

    No. This MCP uses public endpoints, so you don't need to provide your own API credentials to access the data.

  • 02

    Which AI clients can I use this with?

    You can use this with any MCP-compatible client, including Claude, Cursor, and Windsurf.

  • 03

    Can I search for specific locations?

    Yes. The search capabilities allow you to filter observations and projects by specific places or geographic areas.

  • 04

    Is the data real-time?

    Yes. The MCP queries the iNaturalist database directly, providing access to current observations and community identifications.

  • 05

    How does Vinkius handle the connection?

    Vinkius hosts the MCP and manages the connection, so you only have to click once to add it to your AI client.

  • 06

    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.

  • 07

    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.

  • 08

    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.

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