Opengov MCP Server

🚀 OpenGov MCP Server

An MCP (Model Context Protocol) server that enables MCP clients like Claude Desktop to access the Socrata Open Data API. This integration allows Claude Desktop to search, retrieve, and analyze public datasets from government data portals.

🚀 Quick Start

Overview

The MCP server provides access to open data from any Socrata-supported data portal, including those of cities, states, and federal agencies. For example:

• Chicago
• New York City
• San Francisco
• Los Angeles
• And other government agencies

No API key is required for basic use, as the server accesses public data.

✨ Features

Using this MCP server, clients can:

• Search for and discover datasets by keyword, category, or tag.
• View dataset metadata and column information.
• Run SQL-like queries to retrieve and analyze data.
• Obtain portal usage statistics.

📦 Installation on Claude Desktop

Quick Setup with npx (Recommended)

The easiest way to use this MCP server is through npx, which doesn't require any installation:

1. Create or edit your Claude Desktop configuration: Create or edit the claude_desktop_config.json file in your user's home directory:

   {
     "mcpServers": { 
       "opengov": {
         "command": "npx",
         "args": ["-y", "opengov-mcp-server@latest"],
         "env": {
           "DATA_PORTAL_URL": "https://data.cityofchicago.org"
         }
       }
     }
   }
   

   You can replace DATA_PORTAL_URL with any Socrata-supported data portal.
2. Restart Claude Desktop (if it's already running).
3. Start using the MCP server: In Claude Desktop, you can now ask questions like:

   How many cars were towed in Chicago this month?
   

   And you can continue to ask more in - depth questions for further analysis:

   Which brands and colors of cars were towed the most?
   Any more? Are there any interesting license plate numbers?
   

   The first time you run a query, npx will automatically download and run the latest version of the server.

Manual Installation from Source Code (for Development or Customization)

If you want to run from the source code (for development or customization):

1. Clone this repository:

   git clone https://github.com/srobbin/opengov-mcp-server.git
   cd opengov-mcp-server
   

2. Install dependencies and build:

   npm install
   npm run build
   

3. Create the Claude Desktop configuration: Create or edit the claude_desktop_config.json file in your user's home directory:

   {
     "mcpServers": { 
       "opengov": {
         "command": "node",
         "args": [
           "/path/to/your/opengov-mcp-server/dist/index.js"
         ],
         "env": {
           "DATA_PORTAL_URL": "https://data.cityofchicago.org"
         }
       }
     }
   }
   

   Replace /path/to/your/opengov-mcp-server with the actual path where you cloned the repository.
4. Restart Claude Desktop (if it's already running).

📚 Documentation

Available Tool: get_data

This MCP server provides a unified get_data tool, which Claude Desktop uses to access Socrata data.

Parameters

• type (string, required): The type of operation.
  • catalog: Search for and list datasets.
  • metadata: Get the metadata of a specific dataset.
  • data - access: Retrieve dataset records.
• datasetId (string, required): The ID of the dataset to operate on.

Configuration Options

The server requires an environment variable:

• DATA_PORTAL_URL: The Socrata data portal URL (e.g., https://data.cityofchicago.org). This variable can be set:
• In the Claude Desktop configuration (recommended).
• In your environment variables.
• Via the command line: DATA_PORTAL_URL=https://data...