msstate-policies

msstate-mcp

Ask Claude or ChatGPT about Mississippi State University. Get answers grounded in MSU's own pages and PDFs — with verbatim quotes and clickable citations.

Covers three domains, all sourced exclusively from *.msstate.edu:

• Operating Policies — 217 current OPs (the full policies.msstate.edu/current index)
• Academic dates & deadlines — 897 rows across six calendars (registrar, exams, holidays, grad school, financial aid, housing)
• Course catalog — 3,723 undergraduate + graduate courses with prereqs, descriptions, and a walkable prerequisite graph

⚠️ Unofficial. Not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Mississippi State University. Always verify against the official source before acting on any answer.

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What you can ask

Policies:

• "What is MSU's hazing policy?"
• "What sanctions apply to alcohol offenses for MSU students?"
• "What's the grade-appeal process?"

Academic dates:

• "When does spring break start?"
• "When are finals in fall 2026?"
• "What day is MSU closed for Thanksgiving?"

Courses (v0.6.0):

• "What's MSU's networking course?" → finds CSE 4153
• "What do I need to take before CSE 4733 (Operating Systems)?" → walks the prereq chain
• "What does Calc I unlock?" → reverse-walks the DAG to show downstream courses

The model refuses when no MSU source covers the question ("What's the weather?", "Football scores?") rather than guessing.

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Install — pick your client

Client	Path	Time
claude.ai (paid)	Custom connector	30 sec
ChatGPT (Plus/Pro)	Custom connector	30 sec
Claude Code	Plugin command	30 sec
Claude Desktop, Cursor, Windsurf, Zed	JSON snippet	1 min
OpenAI API (any plan)	Python sample	1 min
Free claude.ai	Starter zip	1 min

claude.ai web + mobile

Fastest path. Works in the browser and the Claude iOS/Android apps. Requires a paid Claude plan to add custom connectors.

1. Sign in at https://claude.ai
2. Settings → Connectors → Add custom connector
3. Name: MSU    URL: https://msstate-policies-mcp.mminsub90.workers.dev/mcp
4. Save. You should see 10 tools appear
5. New chat, enable the connector, ask a question

Mobile apps pick up the connector automatically once you set it up on web.

ChatGPT Plus / Pro

Same flow as claude.ai. Free-tier ChatGPT can't add connectors — use the OpenAI API path instead.

1. Sign in at https://chatgpt.com
2. Settings → Connectors → Add custom connector
3. Name: MSU    URL: https://msstate-policies-mcp.mminsub90.workers.dev/mcp
4. Save → 10 tools available

Claude Code

/plugin marketplace add 3uLLd0gs/msstate-mcp
/plugin install msstate-policies@msstate-mcp

Two commands, no JSON. Restart Claude Code if tools don't appear.

Claude Desktop, Cursor, Windsurf, Zed

You need Node.js 18+.

1. Find your client's MCP config:

Client	Path
Claude Desktop (macOS)	~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
Claude Desktop (Windows)	%APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
Claude Desktop (Linux)	~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
Cursor	Settings → MCP → Add server
Windsurf	Settings → MCP servers
Zed	~/.config/zed/settings.json under context_servers

2. Add this entry (inside "mcpServers" if other servers already live there):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "msstate-policies": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "msstate-policies-mcp"]
    }
  }
}

3. Fully quit the client (Cmd+Q / right-click tray → Quit) and reopen.

4. Verify the msstate-policies server shows 10 tools. First call takes ~5 seconds (cold fetch); later calls reuse cached data.

Ready-to-paste snippet at examples/claude_desktop_config.json.

OpenAI API

Independent of your ChatGPT subscription tier. Add credit at https://platform.openai.com; queries cost a few cents each.

pip install openai
export OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-...

from openai import OpenAI

INSTRUCTIONS = """You answer questions about Mississippi State University using the
msstate-policies MCP server, which covers Operating Policies, six academic
calendars, and the course catalog.