MCP Dashboards: interactive charts in chat
MCP Dashboards
32 tools draw interactive charts, KPI widgets and dashboards right inside the chat in Claude Desktop, VS Code and other clients
- 53 ★ on the repository
- Last commit
Extended access
Why this level
- poll_http and render_from_url fetch addresses taken from the request, and presets keep API keys in environment variables
- Numbers behind the charts pass through the model context
Install
- Works in
In your terminal, with SkillFoxx CLI
npx skillfoxx add mcp/mcp-dashboardsDetects the agents on your machine, shows the access level and pins the version.
Other ways to install
Access and checks
How we reviewExtended accessThe tool runs code or makes network calls and only reads external data.
- poll_http and render_from_url fetch addresses taken from the request, and presets keep API keys in environment variables
- Numbers behind the charts pass through the model context
This is third-party code. Review the repository files before installing.
What it does
The server draws charts inside the AI conversation: you describe the data in plain words, the agent picks a tool, and the chart appears as an embedded interactive block. There are 32 tools and more than 45 chart subtypes: bars, lines, pies, scatter, candlestick, radar, treemaps, Sankey, funnels, waterfalls, heatmaps and geographic maps, plus editable flowcharts, KPI widgets in eleven variants and full dashboards. You explore a chart in place: hover tooltips, point selection that goes back to the agent, drill-down by level and wheel zoom up to 12 times on maps. Live charts poll an API on a timer through poll_http, with secret headers kept in the server's environment variables. Results export to PPT, A4, PNG and CSV. Clients without MCP Apps support, such as Claude Code, get a link to the same chart in the browser. There are 21 themes, 8 typography options and 5 effect presets.
Who it is for. Analysts, product managers and business owners who work through data in an AI chat and want to see a chart at once without copying numbers into a spreadsheet.
Good fit when
- Quarterly revenue by region should be compared with bars and the dip questioned with the agent at once
- A planning meeting needs a dashboard with KPI cards and a trend line exported to PPT
- A funnel from signup to purchase must be shown with percentages at each step
- A rate or metric from a public API should be watched live, refreshing every 30 seconds
- A multi-agent pipeline is easier to build as a flowchart and step through
Not a fit when
- You need scheduled reports with no conversation: the server draws on request within a session and sends nothing itself
- The client lacks MCP Apps and no browser is available: there will be no inline view
- The data is confidential and must not reach the model: the numbers pass through the agent's context
- You need a full BI platform with a data model, permissions and warehouse refresh
Example request
Compare Q1 and Q2 revenue by region as a bar chart and build a dashboard with monthly KPIs.MCP
- Transport
- stdio, http
- Authentication
- not required
Environment variables
MCP_DASHBOARDS_RETAIN_DAYS- How many days to keep HTML previews, 7 by default
POLL_PRESET_<имя>_HEADERSsecret- JSON with authorization headers for a live polling preset
Limitations
Inline rendering works in clients with MCP Apps: Claude Desktop, claude.ai, VS Code with Copilot, Goose and Postman. In Claude Code charts open in a browser tab through a link. claude.ai and ChatGPT need a remote server in Streamable HTTP mode. Node.js 18 or newer is required.
Chart files stay on disk for seven days, adjustable with MCP_DASHBOARDS_RETAIN_DAYS. The server binds to 127.0.0.1, and exposing it to the network is advisable only in a trusted environment. The only genuine package is mcp-dashboards, while the similarly named mcp-dashboards-shared was flagged as malware.
How to disable. Remove the dashboard block from claude_desktop_config.json or run claude mcp remove dashboard. The delete_chart_files tool or the seven-day auto-cleanup erases chart files.
FAQ
Where are charts shown inside the chat?
In clients with MCP Apps support: Claude Desktop, claude.ai, VS Code with GitHub Copilot, Goose, Postman and MCPJam. In Claude Code the reply carries a link to a local page with the same chart.
How do I install MCP Dashboards in Claude Code?
With claude mcp add dashboard -- npx -y mcp-dashboards --stdio. For Claude Desktop the same npx call goes into claude_desktop_config.json. Remote mode starts with npx mcp-dashboards and listens on 127.0.0.1:3001/mcp.
How do I connect live data that needs an API key?
Define a preset with POLL_PRESET_<name>_URL and POLL_PRESET_<name>_HEADERS, with headers as a JSON object. The key stays on the server side and never appears in the chat. For public APIs the URL is passed directly.
Which export formats exist?
The download button on a chart saves PNG, 16:9 PPT slides, paginated A4 pages and CSV. The export is what lasts, since preview HTML files are deleted after seven days by default.
What is the warning about a fake package?
The author says the only official npm package is mcp-dashboards, while the similarly named mcp-dashboards-shared turned out to be malware with an OSSF advisory. Check the name before installing.
Discussion
No questions or reviews yet.
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Comparison with similar tools
Cards that share the main search query, and how they differ.
| Tool | Official | Authentication | Repository stars | Main difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MCP Dashboards: interactive charts in chat (this card) | no | not required | 53 | |
| AntV Chart Visualization Skills | no | 534 | a skill set that builds charts through code, without embedded interactive display | |
| evident-charts | no | 62 | charts following report conventions, without a choice of 32 ready tools |
README in short
The README opens with the problem of copying numbers into a spreadsheet, then gives a client table, a quick start, sample requests and a reference of all tools. Separate sections cover choosing a chart for a question, the 21 themes, live charts, how it works on MCP Apps, configuration and a privacy policy.