Use GridIron Data in Claude Code (MCP)

Install the GridIron Data MCP server and ask Claude Code for NFL fantasy data in plain English — "top RB projections for week 5 in half-PPR", "how did Justin Jefferson do in 2023", "any injury news on Malik Nabers". Claude calls the API for you.

What is MCP? The Model Context Protocol lets AI clients use external tools. This server wraps the GridIron Data API as tools, so Claude Code (and Claude Desktop, Cursor, …) can pull live fantasy data mid-conversation.

Before you start

An API key — grab one on the signup page (free tier works).
Claude Code installed.
uv (recommended — runs the server with no manual installs). No uv? See the Python option below.

Install (uv — recommended)

1Download the server (a single file):

curl -o gridiron-mcp.py https://www.gridirondata.com/gridiron-mcp.py

2Register it with Claude Code, passing your API key. -s user makes it available in every project:

claude mcp add gridiron-data -s user \
  -e GRIDIRON_API_KEY=YOUR_KEY \
  -- uv run "$(pwd)/gridiron-mcp.py"

That's it — uv run auto-installs the two dependencies from the file's header the first time it launches.

Install (Python, no uv)

# download + install the two deps into a venv
curl -o gridiron-mcp.py https://www.gridirondata.com/gridiron-mcp.py
python3 -m venv gridiron-mcp-venv
gridiron-mcp-venv/bin/pip install "mcp>=2,<3" httpx

# register it (absolute paths)
claude mcp add gridiron-data -s user \
  -e GRIDIRON_API_KEY=YOUR_KEY \
  -- "$(pwd)/gridiron-mcp-venv/bin/python" "$(pwd)/gridiron-mcp.py"

Verify

claude mcp list

You should see gridiron-data listed as connected. Inside Claude Code, run /mcp to see the server and its tools, then just ask:

> What are the top 10 RB projections for week 5 in half-PPR?
> How did Justin Jefferson do in 2023?
> Any injury news on Malik Nabers this week?

What Claude can pull

get_projections — weekly projections (PPR / half / standard)
get_player_stats — 2020-present weekly + season actuals
search_players / get_player / list_players — find and read player profiles
get_deviations — boom/bust vs. projections
get_matchups — history vs. a given opponent
get_player_news / request_news_scrape — impact-tagged player news

Player names, positions, and ids are matched case-insensitively — say a player however you like.

Troubleshooting

"unauthorized" — the key is missing or wrong. Re-add with the correct -e GRIDIRON_API_KEY=…, or check it on your dashboard.
Server won't start — make sure the path in claude mcp add is absolute (the $(pwd)/… above handles that), and that uv (or your venv Python) is on your PATH.
Remove or re-add — claude mcp remove gridiron-data, then run the add command again.

Next steps

API reference → — every endpoint the tools call
More guides → — draft tools, start/sit, news feeds, and more