Installation¶

This page covers supported BioMCP installation paths and verification checks.

After installation, the biomcp command should be available in your shell.

Option 1: PyPI package¶

uv tool install biomcp-cli
# or, inside an active Python environment:
# pip install biomcp-cli

Install the biomcp-cli package, then use the biomcp command in the rest of this guide.

Verify:

biomcp --version

Option 2: Installer script¶

curl -fsSL https://biomcp.org/install.sh | bash

The installer downloads a prebuilt binary for your platform (Linux x86_64/arm64, macOS x86_64/arm64, Windows x86_64), verifies the SHA256 checksum, and places biomcp in ~/.local/bin.

Pin a specific version:

curl -fsSL https://biomcp.org/install.sh | bash -s -- --version 0.8.0

Verify:

biomcp --version

Option 3: Source build¶

From a local checkout:

make install
"$HOME/.local/bin/biomcp" --version

Post-install smoke checks¶

biomcp list
biomcp health --apis-only
biomcp search gene -q BRAF --limit 1

Environment notes¶

Default output is markdown.
Use --json when a workflow needs structured output.
Optional API keys are documented in API keys.

Troubleshooting quick hits¶

Command not found: ensure install location is on PATH.
Build fails at protobuf step: install protoc.
Network-related health failures: retry and inspect upstream API status.