thisispaper

Search 2,500+ architecture, design, photography and art projects from Thisispaper, an independent publication running since 2011, every project selected by a…

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What it can do

  • Search: Search 2,500+ hand-curated architecture, design, photography and art projects from Thisispaper. Returns a list of results with id, title and url.
  • Fetch: Retrieve the full record for one Thisispaper project by id (the id returned by search). Returns title, text and the public url.
  • Search Projects: Search 2,500+ hand-curated architecture, design, photography and art projects from Thisispaper. Returns ranked summaries (name, studio, city, year, category, intro, thumbnail, url, ci

What data it sees

Do you need an account

No: the server works without sign-in

Search 2,500+ architecture, design, photography and art projects from Thisispaper, an independent publication running since 2011, every project selected by a human editor. Search by taste metadata (material, light, colour, mood, composition), find visually similar work, browse the hand-built city guides.

How to connect

How to connect thisispaper to Claude

The server address to paste into Claude settings:

https://thisispaper.run.tools

  1. Open Claude (claude.ai or the desktop app).
  2. Go to Settings → Connectors.
  3. Click Add custom connector.
  4. Paste the server address copied below into Remote MCP server URL and click Add.
  5. In a chat, click + → Connectors and switch the new connector on.

Custom connectors are available on Free, Pro, Max, Team and Enterprise plans (Free is limited to one). On Team and Enterprise an organization Owner adds the connector first under Organization settings → Connectors.

Authorization

After you click Add, a sign-in window for the service opens. Sign in with your own account and approve access. Claude never sees your password.

How to connect thisispaper to ChatGPT

The server address to paste into ChatGPT settings:

https://thisispaper.run.tools

  1. Open ChatGPT in a browser (chatgpt.com). A Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise or Edu plan is required.
  2. Turn on developer mode once: Settings → Apps → Advanced settings → Developer mode.
  3. Open Settings → Connectors and click Create.
  4. Fill in the form: Name (anything), Description (one line about what the service does), MCP server URL (copy it below).
  5. Under Authentication choose OAuth if the service requires sign-in, otherwise None. Click Create.
  6. In a new chat open + → Apps/Connectors and enable the connector.

OpenAI has renamed this section before (Connectors → Apps/Plugins). If the label differs, search settings for "developer mode". On Business/Enterprise workspaces an admin must allow custom connectors first.

Authorization

On first use ChatGPT opens the service's sign-in window. Sign in and approve access.

How to connect thisispaper to Cursor

The server address to paste into Cursor settings:

https://thisispaper.run.tools

Fastest: click Open in Cursor below and confirm the prompt.

Manually:

  1. In Cursor open Settings → Cursor Settings → MCP and click Add new global MCP server.
  2. Paste the JSON copied below into ~/.cursor/mcp.json (per project: .cursor/mcp.json in the repo root).
  3. Save the file. The server appears in the MCP list; authorize it there if asked.

Authorization

If the service needs sign-in, an authorize button appears next to the server in the MCP list.

Server tool list (10)

Raw names from tools/list. Only developers need these.

searchSearch 2,500+ hand-curated architecture, design, photography and art projects from Thisispaper. Returns a list of results with id, title and url.
fetchRetrieve the full record for one Thisispaper project by id (the id returned by search). Returns title, text and the public url.
search_projectsSearch 2,500+ hand-curated architecture, design, photography and art projects from Thisispaper. Returns ranked summaries (name, studio, city, year, category, intro, thumbnail, url, citation_url, provenance). Without an API key, results are capped at 5; pass Authorization: Bearer tip_live_... for full results.
similar_projectsNearest projects to a given slug by visual + semantic similarity (precomputed SigLIP neighbours). Use the slug from search_projects results.
get_projectFull metadata for one project: machine-written description, design language, details and dimensions, plus the public URL.
search_by_tasteSearch by taste metadata: material, light, color, mood, composition, subject. Unique to Thisispaper: these tags were written during human curation. Provide at least one dimension; results are ranked by how many dimensions match, then by recency.
browseNewest projects in the archive first, optionally filtered by category: architecture, interiors, design, photography or art.
discoverOne project chosen at random from the archive. Editorial serendipity: the way a reader opens a magazine to an unplanned spread.
list_guidesEvery hand-curated Thisispaper guide and edition. Guides are places: Tokyo, Kyoto, Lisbon, Copenhagen. Editions are themes: Black Matter (black as a way of handling light), Jutaku (Japanese houses on narrow plots), Icons, Off-the-Grid, Monographs on single architects. Returns each one's title, type, one-line description, cover image and public URL. Filter by city or by type. The full guides and editions are reserved for Thisispaper+ members.
get_api_keyMint a FREE Thisispaper Intelligence API key (200 calls/month) for an email address. The key is shown once; use it as Authorization: Bearer tip_live_... on this MCP endpoint and on the REST API. Max 3 keys per email.