MSDS Chain MCP Server

Chemical safety intelligence for AI-assisted experiment design.

An MCP server that gives AI agents (Claude Code, Cursor, Copilot, etc.) access to chemical safety reasoning — compatibility checks, hazard analysis, regulatory compliance, PPE recommendations, storage guidance, and more.

Built for researchers who design experiments with AI and need safety verification integrated into their workflow.

Why This Exists

When you use Claude to plan a synthesis route or set up an Opentrons protocol, safety validation shouldn't be a separate step. This MCP server lets your AI assistant automatically:

• Check if chemicals on the same deck are compatible
• Flag dangerous mixing orders
• Recommend PPE for the specific chemicals you're handling
• Verify compliance with EU REACH, US OSHA/TSCA, and 6 other jurisdictions
• Generate signed audit reports for GLP/GMP compliance

Tools (18)

Quick Start

1. Get an API key

Sign up at msdschain.lagentbot.com → API Keys tab → create a key.

2. Install

git clone https://github.com/littleblakew/msds-chain-mcp.git
cd msds-chain-mcp
pip install -r requirements.txt

3. Add to your AI coding agent

Claude Code:

claude mcp add msds-chain -- python /path/to/msds-chain-mcp/server.py

OpenAI Codex:

codex marketplace add https://github.com/littleblakew/msds-chain-mcp

Manual config (Claude Code ~/.claude.json or Codex .agents/):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "msds-chain": {
      "command": "python",
      "args": ["/absolute/path/to/msds-chain-mcp/server.py"],
      "env": {
        "MSDS_API_KEY": "sk-msds-your-key-here"
      }
    }
  }
}

Restart Claude Code. You should see msds-chain in the MCP tools list.

Claude Code Skill

For a guided experience with auto-detection and workflow orchestration, install the MSDS Safety Check skill:

Option A: From GitHub

# 1. Add MCP server (if not already configured)
claude mcp add msds-chain --transport sse --url https://mcp.lagentbot.com/sse

# 2. Clone skill files
git clone https://github.com/littleblakew/msds-chain-mcp.git /tmp/msds-chain-mcp
cp -r /tmp/msds-chain-mcp/skill .agents/skills/msds-safety-check
ln -s ../../.agents/skills/msds-safety-check .claude/skills/msds-safety-check

Option B: Manual setup

Copy the skill/ directory from this repo into your project's .agents/skills/msds-safety-check/ and create a symlink in .claude/skills/.

What the Skill Does

• Auto-detects chemicals in your conversations and offers safety checks
• /msds-safety-check — guided audit for lab protocols or EHS compliance
• Freemium — basic queries work without API key, audit reports require free registration

Usage Examples

Experiment Protocol Review

User: I'm planning a Grignard reaction with magnesium turnings, diethyl ether,
      and bromobenzene. Check if this setup is safe.

Claude:
  → calls batch_safety_check(["magnesium", "diethyl ether", "bromobenzene"])
  → Returns: compatibility matrix, PPE requirements, storage grouping

Opentrons Deck Safety Audit

User: My Opentrons deck has these in different slots:
      Slot 1: Acetone, Slot 3: Concentrated H2SO4, Slot 5: Methanol,
      Slot 7: Sodium borohydride. Any safety issues?

Claude:
  → calls check_chemical_compatibility(["acetone", "sulfuric acid", "methanol", "sodium borohydride"])
  → ⚠️ INCOMPATIBLE: Sodium borohydride + sulfuric acid (violent reaction, H2 gas evolution)
  → ⚠️ CAUTION: Acetone + sulfuric acid (exothermic)
  → Recommendation: Move sodium borohydride to maximum distance from acids

Compliance Check Before Shipping

User: We need to ship toluene and dichloromethane to our Japan lab.
      What transport regulations apply?

Claude:
  → calls get_transport_classification(["toluene", "dichloromethane"])
  → calls check_regulatory_compliance(["toluene", "dichloromethane"], regions=["JP"])
  → Returns: UN numbers, IATA packing instructions, Japan-specific regulations

Generate Signed Audit Report

User: Create a safety audit report for our quarterly review.
      Chemicals: acetone, methanol, ethanol, isopropanol, hexane.

Claude:
  → calls create_audit_session("Q2 2026 Solvent Cabinet Review", ["acetone", "methanol", "ethanol", "isopropanol", "hexane"])
  → calls get_audit_report("SESSION-ID")
  → Returns: Signed PDF URL (Ed25519 signature, suitable for GLP/GMP compliance)

Remote Mode (HTTP)

For cloud deployment or shared team access, run as an HTTP server:

# Streamable HTTP (recommended for Claude Code 2026+)
MSDS_API_KEY=sk-msds-xxx python server_remote.py

# Or SSE mode
MSDS_MCP_TRANSPORT=sse MSDS_API_KEY=sk-msds-xxx python server_remote.py

Connect from Claude Code:

claude mcp add msds-chain --transport http https://your-server.example.com/mcp

Docker

docker build -t msds-chain-mcp .
docker run -p 8080:8080 -e MSDS_API_KEY=sk-msds-xxx msds-chain-mcp

Configuration

Use Cases

Lab Automation (Opentrons / Hamilton / Tecan)

• Pre-run protocol safety audit
• Deck layout compatibility verification
• Automated run compliance reports

Electronic Lab Notebooks (Benchling / LabArchives)

• Safety annotations on experiment entries
• Chemical registration with auto-flagging

Pharmaceutical R&D

• Synthesis route safety screening
• Multi-region regulatory pre-checks for new compounds
• GMP-ready audit trail with signed receipts

Data Coverage

• 4,200+ chemicals with multi-language aliases (EN/ZH/JA)
• NFPA/GHS classification for compatibility rules
• 8 regulatory jurisdictions (EU, US, CN, JP, KR, CA, AU, TW)
• Occupational exposure limits from 5 standards (OSHA PEL, ACGIH TLV, EU IOELV, JP OEL, CN GBZ)
• UN transport data for 16+ common lab chemicals

Architecture

Your AI Agent (Brain)          MSDS Chain MCP (Hands)
┌──────────────────┐           ┌─────────────────────────┐
│ Claude Code      │──MCP────▶│ server.py (stdio/SSE)   │
│ Cursor           │           │   ↓                     │
│ Any MCP client   │           │ MSDS Chain Backend API  │
└──────────────────┘           │   ↓                     │
                               │ Safety Reasoning Engine │
                               │ (Rules + LLM fallback)  │
                               └─────────────────────────┘

The MCP server is a thin client — all safety reasoning happens on the MSDS Chain backend (rule engine + Azure OpenAI GPT-4o fallback for edge cases).

Development

Test locally with the MCP inspector:

export MSDS_API_KEY=sk-msds-your-key
npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector python server.py

Roadmap

• get_waste_disposal — waste classification and disposal guidance
• check_mixing_order — safe addition sequence for reagent pairs
• get_chemical_alternatives — safer substitutes for restricted chemicals
• Remote MCP (HTTP SSE / Streamable HTTP) for cloud-hosted access
• OAuth 2.1 for Claude Marketplace integration (skeleton — needs Redis/DB for production)

License

MIT

About

Built by LAgentBot — AI-powered chemical safety infrastructure.

Part of the MSDS Chain platform: the world's first AI Agent-driven chemical safety data trust network.