iNaturalist Connector for AI agents.
10 live capabilities
Find wildlife observations and species data in the world's largest biodiversity database.
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Why people use iNaturalist
INaturalist : Solving the Biodiversity Data Bottleneck
With this Connector, you just tell your AI agent 'How many oak trees are in this county?' and get the count immediately. You get the data without the tabs.
What Vinkius changes
You get a direct, conversational bridge to millions of real-world biodiversity records.
Use it from Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor or another AI client you already have.
One account · 5,900+ Connectors
- Real-world use case 01
Quickly tally local species for a report
A researcher needs to know how many Monarch butterflies were seen in California last year.
- Real-world use case 02
Finding local examples for a classroom
An educator wants to find 5 examples of native trees in a specific city to show a class.
- Real-world use case 03
Checking sightings at a new park
A hiker wants to see what other people have spotted in a national park they're visiting tomorrow.
Complete set · 10capabilities
The complete iNaturalist capability set.
These are the exact actions your AI can choose when you ask it to work with iNaturalist.
01—04
4 capabilities in this set.
Part of 10 available through iNaturalist.
- 01 Capability
Autocomplete taxa
Get the top 10 matching taxa names and ranks for a quick search. It helps you find the right species ID fast.
- 02 Capability
Get controlled terms
Pull standardized vocabularies like life stage and plant phenology. This is great for understanding annotation options.
- 03 Capability
Get identifications
Filter through community identifications made by specific users or for certain taxa. It shows you what others spotted.
- 04 Capability
Get observation
Pull a specific iNaturalist observation record using its unique ID. Use this when you have a specific record to examine.
05—07
3 capabilities in this set.
Part of 10 available through iNaturalist.
- 05 Capability
Get observations by user
View a specific user's history, including photos and quality grades. It lets you see what a specific observer has found.
- 06 Capability
Get projects
Search for community-curated biodiversity projects filtered by location. Find local nature initiatives quickly.
- 07 Capability
Get species counts
Get observation counts grouped by taxon for specific areas or users. It's perfect for quick biodiversity surveys.
08—10
3 capabilities in this set.
Part of 10 available through iNaturalist.
- 08 Capability
Get taxon
Retrieve the full profile of a species, including its rank and Wikipedia URL. Get all the facts about a taxon in one go.
- 09 Capability
Search observations
Perform deep searches using filters like location, date, and photo requirements. It returns full records with observer info.
- 10 Capability
Search taxa
Search for species, genera, or families with conservation and observation data. This helps you find the right names.
Set up in minutes
One URL. Then ask iNaturalist to work.
Claude and ChatGPT only need the Connector URL. Copy it once, add it in settings, and use iNaturalist from the conversation.
Choose your client
Live previewAdvanced clients IDE · CLI
Claude · Web + desktop
Connector URL · ready to paste
Streamable HTTPhttps://edge.vinkius.com/vk_preview_PM4BDToKuNUD3Iuz43FYIh8dXEkimscUd6YccCTM/mcp - Step 01
Open Connectors
In Claude Web or Claude Desktop, open Settings and choose Connectors.
- Step 02
Add the URL
Choose Add custom connector, name it iNaturalist, and paste the URL above.
- Step 03
Turn it on in chat
Select +, open Connectors, and enable iNaturalist for the conversation.
ChatGPT · Web + desktop
Connector URL · ready to paste
Streamable HTTPhttps://edge.vinkius.com/vk_preview_PM4BDToKuNUD3Iuz43FYIh8dXEkimscUd6YccCTM/mcp - Step 01
Open MCP settings
On desktop, open Settings and MCP servers. On web, open your workspace app or connector settings.
- Step 02
Add the URL
Choose Add server with Streamable HTTP, or create a custom MCP app, then paste the iNaturalist URL.
- Step 03
Save and start
Save the connection and enable iNaturalist in your conversation. Desktop may ask you to restart once.
Cursor · IDE configuration
Advanced setup
{
"mcpServers": {
"inaturalist": {
"url": "https://edge.vinkius.com/vk_preview_PM4BDToKuNUD3Iuz43FYIh8dXEkimscUd6YccCTM/mcp"
}
}
}- Step 01
Open MCP Settings
Press Cmd+Shift+P (macOS) or Ctrl+Shift+P (Windows/Linux) → search "MCP Settings"
- Step 02
Add the server config
Paste the JSON configuration above into the mcp.json file that opens
- Step 03
Save the file
Cursor will automatically detect the new Connector
- Step 04
Start using iNaturalist
Open Agent mode in chat and ask: "Using iNaturalist, help me...". 10 tools available
VS Code Copilot · IDE configuration
Advanced setup
{
"mcpServers": {
"inaturalist": {
"url": "https://edge.vinkius.com/vk_preview_PM4BDToKuNUD3Iuz43FYIh8dXEkimscUd6YccCTM/mcp"
}
}
}- Step 01
Create MCP config
Create a .vscode/mcp.json file in your project root
- Step 02
Add the server config
Paste the JSON configuration above
- Step 03
Enable Agent mode
Open GitHub Copilot Chat and switch to Agent mode using the dropdown
- Step 04
Start using iNaturalist
Ask Copilot: "Using iNaturalist, help me...". 10 tools available
Windsurf · IDE configuration
Advanced setup
{
"mcpServers": {
"inaturalist": {
"url": "https://edge.vinkius.com/vk_preview_PM4BDToKuNUD3Iuz43FYIh8dXEkimscUd6YccCTM/mcp"
}
}
}- Step 01
Open MCP Settings
Go to Settings → MCP Configuration or press Cmd+Shift+P and search "MCP"
- Step 02
Add the server
Paste the JSON configuration above into mcp_config.json
- Step 03
Save and reload
Windsurf will detect the new server automatically
- Step 04
Start using iNaturalist
Open Cascade and ask: "Using iNaturalist, help me...". 10 tools available
Cline · IDE configuration
Advanced setup
{
"mcpServers": {
"inaturalist": {
"url": "https://edge.vinkius.com/vk_preview_PM4BDToKuNUD3Iuz43FYIh8dXEkimscUd6YccCTM/mcp"
}
}
}- Step 01
Open Cline MCP Settings
Click the Connectors icon in the Cline sidebar panel
- Step 02
Add remote server
Click "Add Connector" and paste the configuration above
- Step 03
Enable the server
Toggle the server switch to ON
- Step 04
Start using iNaturalist
Ask Cline: "Using iNaturalist, help me...". 10 tools available
Claude Code · Terminal command
Advanced setup
claude mcp add inaturalist --transport http "https://edge.vinkius.com/vk_preview_PM4BDToKuNUD3Iuz43FYIh8dXEkimscUd6YccCTM/mcp"- Step 01
Install Claude Code
Run npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code if not already installed
- Step 02
Add the Connector
Run the command above in your terminal
- Step 03
Verify the connection
Run claude mcp to list connected servers, or type /mcp inside a session
- Step 04
Start using iNaturalist
Ask Claude: "Using iNaturalist, show me...". 10 tools are ready
Where the request belongs
Work iNaturalist can move forward.
This is for the people who spend their weekends in the woods or their days in a lab. It's for anyone who needs to move past searching and into actually analyzing nature data.
Field Biologist
Identifying species during surveys and checking conservation status on the fly without leaving the field.
Nature Educator
Finding local examples of flora and fauna to show students in a classroom or on a field trip.
Citizen Scientist
Tracking personal observations and finding local biodiversity projects to join or contribute to.
Build the capability set
Add more capabilities.
Each Connector adds new actions and data without changing how you work.
Browse ConnectorsGBIF
Search 2.4 billion biodiversity records. find any species on Earth with full taxonomy, observation locations, and geographic distribution from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.
eBird
Access real-time bird sightings, hotspots, and taxonomic data from the global eBird database directly from your AI agent.
Species
Access the GBIF Backbone Taxonomy to search, match, and explore species data, hierarchies, and biological media directly from your AI agent.
Trefle
Access the world's largest botanical database. search for plants, species, and genera, and explore distribution data directly from your AI agent.
Plants
Access a massive botanical database. search for plants, species, and distributions directly from any AI agent.
Macaulay Library
Access the world's largest archive of animal sounds and videos. Search for species media, browse recent uploads, and retrieve detailed metadata for bird and wildlife assets.
Bring your own AI
Change the model, client or framework. Keep iNaturalist connected.
-
Claude -
ChatGPT -
Gemini -
Cursor -
VS Code -
Windsurf -
ZCode -
Cline -
Zed -
Continue -
Kiro -
Roo Code -
Zencoder -
Goose -
Void -
Augment Code -
Amp -
Qodo -
Tabnine -
Pieces -
Sourcegraph Cody -
JetBrains -
Warp -
Amazon Q -
Antigravity -
BoltAI -
Raycast -
Jan -
LM Studio -
AnythingLLM -
Open WebUI -
Msty -
Cherry Studio -
LibreChat -
TypingMind -
Chorus -
5ire -
n8n -
LangChain -
LlamaIndex -
CrewAI -
Vercel AI SDK
Before you connect
Questions about iNaturalist.
The practical details behind the request, access and result.
Can I use the iNaturalist MCP to find local plants?
Yes. You can ask your agent to find specific plants or flora in any region, and it will pull records including common names, scientific names, and photos.
Does the iNaturalist MCP require an API key?
No, this Connector allows you to access public biodiversity data without needing to set up or manage a personal API key.
Can my AI agent find specific wildlife photos?
Yes. When you search for observations, the agent can retrieve records that include photos, helping you see what others have spotted in the wild.
How does the iNaturalist MCP help with research?
It speeds up data collection by allowing you to query species counts, conservation statuses, and taxonomic ranks through a simple conversation.
Can I find conservation statuses with the iNaturalist MCP?
Absolutely. The Connector can retrieve the conservation status and other key details for specific taxa directly from the database.
Is the iNaturalist MCP good for school projects?
It's a great capability for education. Students can use it to find local species examples, explore biodiversity projects, and learn about taxonomy.
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.
One connection away
Give your agent a direct line to iNaturalist.
Connect iNaturalist once. Keep it beside 5,900+ managed Connectors when the next task needs more.
Explore every Connector No credit card required · Free tier available