ALT/FNDATA

ALT/FNDATA MCP Server

Connect your AI assistant to luxury and collectibles auction data. Query watches, jewelry, loose gemstones, handbags, cars, motorcycles, aircraft, wine and whisky, fine art, works of art, design, fashion, shoes, automobilia, books, coins, perfume, accessories, musical instruments and other vehicles from 100+ global auction houses, in plain language.

It uses the open Model Context Protocol (MCP), so it works with Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and other assistants and developer tools that support MCP servers.

Quick Start

1. Get an API Key

Get your key from API Key & MCP in the ALT/FNDATA app.

2a. Connect the hosted server (no install)

In any assistant that supports remote MCP servers (often called custom connectors), add a connector with this URL:

https://mcp.altfndata.com/mcp

Choose OAuth if you are asked for an authentication method. A sign-in page then asks for your ALT/FNDATA API key.

• Claude: Settings → Connectors → add a custom connector.
• ChatGPT: add it as a custom connector (developer mode). ChatGPT only connects to hosted servers, so use this option.
• Perplexity: Settings → Connectors → add a custom connector with the URL above.
• Gemini app: Settings → Connected Apps → add a custom app with the URL above (personal Google accounts).
• Gemini Enterprise: an admin adds ALT/FNDATA once for the organisation. See Gemini Enterprise set-up below.

Menu names and plan availability are set by each assistant and change over time; check its help pages if the steps differ.

Gemini Enterprise (admin set-up)

Gemini Enterprise connects through a Custom MCP Server data store, which an admin sets up once for the organisation.

1. Register a client. The response contains a client_id and a client_secret. The secret is shown only once, so store it safely.

    curl -X POST https://mcp.altfndata.com/register \
      -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
      -d '{"client_name": "Gemini Enterprise (your organisation)",
           "redirect_uris": ["https://vertexaisearch.cloud.google.com/oauth-redirect"],
           "token_endpoint_auth_method": "client_secret_post",
           "grant_types": ["authorization_code", "refresh_token"],
           "response_types": ["code"],
           "scope": "read"}'

2. In the Gemini Enterprise console, add a Custom MCP Server data store with these values:

   Field	Value
   MCP Server URL	https://mcp.altfndata.com/mcp
   Authorization URL	https://mcp.altfndata.com/authorize
   Token URL	https://mcp.altfndata.com/token
   Client ID	client_id from step 1
   Client Secret	client_secret from step 1
   Scopes	read
   Enable PKCE	ticked

3. Each user then connects from Gemini and signs in with their own ALT/FNDATA API key. The client ID and secret only identify your organisation's Gemini Enterprise; they give no access to data on their own.

Google's guide to setting up a custom MCP server describes the console screens.

2b. Or run it locally

For desktop apps and developer tools that launch MCP servers on your machine, either install it with pip:

pip install altfinance-mcp

or run it with no install using uv — point the client's command at uvx with altfinance-mcp as the argument (see the uvx config example below):

uvx altfinance-mcp

Most tools take a configuration in this shape; add it to the tool's MCP settings and restart it.

Example, Claude Desktop: the config file is %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json on Windows and ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json on macOS.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "altfinance": {
      "command": "altfinance-mcp",
      "env": {
        "ALTFINANCE_API_KEY": "your-api-key-here"
      }
    }
  }
}

With uvx (no pip install needed), use "command": "uvx" and pass the package as an argument:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "altfinance": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["altfinance-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "ALTFINANCE_API_KEY": "your-api-key-here"
      }
    }
  }
}

Example, Claude Code:

claude mcp add altfinance -- altfinance-mcp

Set the env var before launching:

export ALTFINANCE_API_KEY="your-api-key-here"

What You Can Ask

Once connected, ask your assistant questions like:

• "What tables are available in the ALT/FNDATA database?"
• "Show me the schema for the watches table"
• "Find the top 10 most expensive Rolex watches sold after 2020"
• "How many Hermes handbags were sold by Christie's?"
• "Give me market stats for Patek Philippe watches sold at Phillips"
• "How have Hermes Birkin prices moved over the last five years?"
• "Price-check a Rolex Daytona 116500 white dial"
• "Search the whole market for a Burma ruby ring over $50k"
• "What loose sapphires have sold at auction?" (uses gems, not jewelry)

Available Tools

All 9 tools are read-only and annotated with readOnlyHint: true. No data is modified by any tool.

Every tool carries readOnlyHint and openWorldHint.

Price alerts are read-only

Price alerts belong to a signed-in ALT/FNDATA account (Cognito login), not to an API key. The MCP authenticates with an API key only, so it cannot create or enable alerts, and the alerts feed itself is not reachable for an API-key caller. list_alerts therefore either reports fired alerts (when a session makes the feed reachable) or returns guidance on setting alerts up in the app at app.altfndata.com. Alert allowance by plan: free 0, registered 1, collector 10, pro 100, included with Membership.

Feature and plan suggestions

Some tool responses may append a single short "💡" line suggesting a complementary ALT/FNDATA product or a plan upgrade. This happens at most once per response, only at a genuine tier boundary (a table your plan does not include, or an exhausted row quota) or as a relevant feature tip, and never for unlimited or comp accounts. It never changes the data returned.

Query Capabilities

• Filter by any column using operators: eq, neq, gt, gte, lt, lte, like, in, not_in, is_null, is_not_null
• Sort by any column, ascending or descending
• Select specific fields to return
• Paginate with limit/offset (max 500 rows per request)

Data Coverage

The database spans 20 tables. Call list_tables for the live set with current column counts.

gems vs jewelry: gems holds LOOSE, unmounted stones (the right table for a gemstone valuation); jewelry holds FINISHED, mounted pieces set with stones. If one returns nothing, try the other.

Data sources include Christie's, Sotheby's, Phillips, Bonhams, Artcurial, Dorotheum, Heritage Auctions, and 100+ other auction houses worldwide.

Hosted Server

The hosted server at https://mcp.altfndata.com/mcp (Quick Start 2a) is this package running in HTTP mode. Any MCP client that supports remote servers with OAuth can connect to it; the sign-in page asks for your ALT/FNDATA API key, so no local installation is needed.

Self-Hosting the Remote Server

To run the MCP server in remote (HTTP) mode:

export ALTFINANCE_TRANSPORT=streamable-http
export ALTFINANCE_ISSUER_URL=https://mcp.altfndata.com
export ALTFINANCE_RESOURCE_URL=https://mcp.altfndata.com
python -m altfinance_mcp

Or with Docker:

docker build -t altfinance-mcp .
docker run -p 8000:8000 \
  -e ALTFINANCE_TRANSPORT=streamable-http \
  -e ALTFINANCE_ISSUER_URL=https://mcp.altfndata.com \
  -e ALTFINANCE_RESOURCE_URL=https://mcp.altfndata.com \
  altfinance-mcp

The remote server exposes:

• POST/GET/DELETE /mcp — MCP Streamable HTTP endpoint (authenticated)
• GET /.well-known/oauth-authorization-server — OAuth metadata
• POST /register — Dynamic Client Registration
• GET /authorize — OAuth authorization
• POST /token — Token exchange
• GET/POST /login — API key entry form

Environment Variables

Local (stdio) mode

Remote (HTTP) mode

Privacy Policy

This MCP server connects to the ALT/FNDATA API (api.altfndata.com) to retrieve auction data. The following outlines our data practices:

• Data collection: The server sends your API key and query parameters (table names, filters, sort options) to the ALT/FNDATA API. No personal user data is collected beyond what is required for API authentication and query execution.
• Usage and storage: Query data is processed in real-time and returned to the MCP client. The server does not persist, cache, or store any query results or user data locally.
• Third-party sharing: Data is exchanged only between the MCP client and the ALT/FNDATA API (api.altfndata.com). No data is shared with any other third parties.
• Data retention: The server is stateless. No user data or query history is retained after a session ends.
• Contact: For privacy inquiries, contact support@altfndata.com.

Full privacy policy: https://altfndata.com/privacy-policy/

Support

• Documentation: https://docs.altfndata.com
• Email: support@altfndata.com

Requirements

• Python 3.10+
• An ALT/FNDATA API key

License

MIT