Chroma Embedding Database

chroma-core

Create collections and run semantic, full-text, and metadata search over the Chroma embedding database via the official Chroma MCP server.

Installs: 563
Namespace: chromadb
Version: >=0.2.0 <0.3.0
Last attach: reviewed1 months ago

Add to your mcp.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "chromadb": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "chroma-mcp"
      ]
    }
  }
}

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Attach in a FrootAI play (fai-manifest)

mcp_scope:
  attached:
    - chromadb

Authentication

api-key

default ephemeral/persistent clients need no auth; for Chroma Cloud set CHROMA_CLIENT_TYPE=cloud with CHROMA_API_KEY + CHROMA_TENANT + CHROMA_DATABASE.

No credentials required.

Environment variables

Variable	Required	Auth mode	Description
CHROMA_CLIENT_TYPE	no	any	Client backend: ephemeral (in-memory, default), persistent (file-based), http (self-hosted), or cloud (Chroma Cloud).
CHROMA_DATA_DIR	no	any	Directory for the persistent client's on-disk storage.
CHROMA_API_KEY	no	api-key	API key for Chroma Cloud (api.trychroma.com). Pass via env, never inline in args (doctrine #6).
CHROMA_TENANT	no	any	Chroma Cloud tenant id (cloud client).
CHROMA_DATABASE	no	any	Chroma Cloud database name (cloud client).
CHROMA_HOST	no	any	Host of a self-hosted Chroma instance (http client).
CHROMA_PORT	no	any	Port of a self-hosted Chroma instance (http client).

Sample tools

chromadb.chroma_list_collections
List all collections with pagination support.
chromadb.chroma_create_collection
Create a new collection with optional HNSW configuration.
chromadb.chroma_add_documents
Add documents with optional metadata and custom IDs.
chromadb.chroma_query_documents
Query documents using semantic search with advanced filtering.
chromadb.chroma_get_documents
Retrieve documents by IDs or filters with pagination.
chromadb.chroma_delete_collection
Delete a collection and all of its documents.
chromadb.chroma_delete_documents
Delete specific documents from a collection.

Used in recipes

FAI cookbook recipes that attach chromadb.

Destructive-action audit

2 destructive tools — confirm per call

Each runs only when the trust policy allows it; under allowDestructive: false they prompt per call.

chromadb.chroma_delete_collection
chromadb.chroma_delete_documents

Destructive-action audit (X2.18): chroma_delete_collection and chroma_delete_documents are destructive (declared in destructive_tools) and confirm per call under the verified-publisher policy; chroma_modify_collection / chroma_update_documents mutate in place but are not delete-class.

Known limitations

Runs via `uvx chroma-mcp`, so the host needs uv / Python available on PATH; the package is fetched and installed on first launch.
A client type must be chosen: ephemeral is in-memory and lost on exit; persistent needs CHROMA_DATA_DIR; self-hosted http needs CHROMA_HOST/CHROMA_PORT; Chroma Cloud needs a CHROMA_API_KEY credential plus CHROMA_TENANT + CHROMA_DATABASE.
Each collection persists its embedding function (default local model, or external cohere/openai/jina/voyageai providers requiring a CHROMA_<PROVIDER>_API_KEY); collections created on Chroma <=0.6.3 do not persist the embedding function.

Spec contributors

Maintainers who landed commits onmcp-specs/chromadb.json.

pspsbali

Freshness

When this spec was last reviewed by a maintainer and last machine-validated against the live server.

Spec last reviewed: 1 months ago(2026-06-25)
Auto-validated: never