Giphy: Spice Up Chats with Perfect GIFs

What is Giphy: Spice Up Chats with Perfect GIFs?

Giphy’s MCP server is a powerful tool enabling AI models to seamlessly search, retrieve, and integrate GIFs into digital conversations. By leveraging the Giphy API, developers can enhance chat applications, social platforms, and customer service tools with dynamic, contextually relevant visuals that add personality and clarity to text-based interactions.

How to use Giphy: Spice Up Chats with Perfect GIFs?

Start by obtaining a Giphy API key from the Giphy Developer Dashboard. Configure your environment with the API key in a .env file. Use three core methods: search for specific GIFs via keywords, fetch trending content, or get random GIFs filtered by tags. Integrate the server into tools like Claude Desktop by configuring the MCP server settings as outlined in the documentation.

Key Features of Giphy: Spice Up Chats with Perfect GIFs?

• Content Filtering: Control content with ratings (G, PG, PG-13, R) to match audience suitability.
• Optimized Response Formatting: Structured data delivery designed for smooth AI processing.
• Flexible Search Options: Query-based, trending, or random GIF retrieval to suit any use case.
• Comprehensive Metadata: Access dimensions, formats, and attribution details for precise integration.
• Pagination Management: Efficiently handle large result sets with offset and limit parameters.

Use cases of Giphy: Spice Up Chats with Perfect GIFs?

Enliven customer support interactions with relatable GIF responses, boost social media engagement by embedding trending visuals, or create dynamic educational content. Developers can also build recommendation engines for personalized entertainment or integrate real-time reactions into gaming platforms. The API scales for both casual apps and enterprise solutions requiring high-volume GIF access.

FAQ from Giphy: Spice Up Chats with Perfect GIFs?

• How do I get started? Sign up for a free Giphy API key and follow the setup guide in the documentation.
• Can I restrict content for family-friendly apps? Yes—use the rating filter to show only G or PG-rated GIFs.
• What platforms are supported? Works cross-platform via REST API, compatible with web, mobile, and desktop applications.
• Are there usage limits? Free tier includes 10k monthly requests; paid plans offer higher quotas and priority support.
• Can I customize the output format? The API returns standardized JSON responses optimized for AI workflows.

MCP Server Giphy

MCP Server for the Giphy API, enabling AI models to search, retrieve, and utilize GIFs from Giphy.

Features

• Content Filtering : Filter results by rating (G, PG, PG-13, R) to ensure appropriate content
• Optimized Response Format : Response data optimized for AI model consumption
• Multiple Search Methods : Support for query-based, random, and trending GIF retrieval
• Comprehensive Metadata : Each GIF comes with full metadata including dimensions, formats, and attribution
• Pagination Support : Control result size and pagination for efficient API use

Tools

1. search_gifs

* Search for GIFs on Giphy with a query string
* Inputs: 
  * `query` (string): Search query term or phrase
  * `limit` (optional number): Maximum number of objects to return (default: 10, max: 50)
  * `offset` (optional number): Results offset (default: 0)
  * `rating` (optional string): Content rating (g, pg, pg-13, r)
  * `lang` (optional string): Language code (default: en)
* Returns: Array of GIF objects with metadata

2. get_random_gif

* Get a random GIF from Giphy, optionally filtered by tag
* Inputs: 
  * `tag` (optional string): Tag to limit random results
  * `rating` (optional string): Content rating (g, pg, pg-13, r)
* Returns: Random GIF object with metadata

3. get_trending_gifs

* Get currently trending GIFs on Giphy
* Inputs: 
  * `limit` (optional number): Maximum number of objects to return (default: 10, max: 50)
  * `offset` (optional number): Results offset (default: 0)
  * `rating` (optional string): Content rating (g, pg, pg-13, r)
* Returns: Array of trending GIF objects with metadata

Response Format

Each GIF in the response includes:

• id: Unique Giphy identifier
• title: GIF title
• url: URL to the GIF on Giphy website
• images: Object containing various image formats, each with:
  • url: Direct URL to the image file
  • width: Image width
  • height: Image height
• Additional metadata when available

Setup

Giphy API Key

Create a Giphy API Key:

• Sign up for a Giphy Developer account
• Create an app to get an API key
• Choose between the free tier or paid options based on your needs

Environment Configuration

Create a .env file with your API key:

GIPHY_API_KEY=your_api_key_here

Usage with Claude Desktop

To use this with Claude Desktop, add the following to your claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "giphy": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "mcp-server-giphy"],
      "env": {
        "GIPHY_API_KEY": "<YOUR_API_KEY>"
      }
    }
  }
}

Development

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Build the project
npm run build

# Start the server
npm start

# Run in development mode with hot reloading
npm run dev

# Run tests
npm test

# Use with MCP Inspector
npm run inspector

License

This MCP server is licensed under the MIT License. This means you are free to use, modify, and distribute the software, subject to the terms and conditions of the MIT License. For more details, please see the LICENSE file in the project repository.