GovData MCP

U.S. government data all in one place for Claude Code, Codex, and other MCP clients.

GovData MCP is a local Model Context Protocol server for discovering, querying, and downloading public U.S. government data. It wraps government APIs with a consistent MCP interface, source metadata, endpoint examples, local auth handling, and safe downloads.

Quickstart

Prerequisites:

Python 3.11 or newer
uv
Claude Code, Codex, or another MCP client

Install from a clone and register the server with Claude Code and Codex:

git clone https://github.com/Felpix-Studios/govdata-mcp.git
cd govdata-mcp
python3 install.py --all
govdata-auth setup

The installer installs the govdata-mcp and govdata-auth commands, then registers govdata-mcp with the selected MCP client. To configure only one client, use --claude or --codex:

python3 install.py --claude
python3 install.py --codex

After pulling updates, reinstall and refresh client registration:

python3 install.py --all --force-reinstall

Check the installed commands:

command -v govdata-mcp
command -v govdata-auth

Run the server directly only as a smoke check. It uses stdio and will wait for an MCP client:

govdata-mcp

Press Ctrl+C to stop it.

Documentation

Detailed docs live in docs/:

First Prompts

Use these from Claude Code, Codex, or another connected MCP client:

Use the govdata MCP to check auth status.
Use the govdata MCP to search Data.gov for county-level opioid datasets.
Use the govdata MCP to fetch BLS CPI series CUUR0000SA0 for 2020 through 2025.
Use the govdata MCP to fetch FRED GDP observations and cite the request.
Use the govdata MCP to download 2023 ACS5 variables metadata.
Use the govdata MCP to plan an IPUMS extract for ACS or CPS microdata.

Claude Code

Install and register GovData MCP for Claude Code:

python3 install.py --claude

Verify the registration:

claude mcp list
claude mcp get govdata

Start Claude Code from any project:

claude

Inside Claude Code, run:

/mcp

Codex

Install and register GovData MCP for Codex:

python3 install.py --codex

Verify the registration:

codex mcp list
codex mcp get govdata

Start Codex from any project:

codex

Inside Codex, run:

/mcp

MCP Tools

GovData MCP exposes a compact tool profile by default:

govdata_query
govdata_find_dataset
govdata_get_dataset
govdata_guidance
govdata_auth_status

Start with govdata_query for most data questions. It resolves likely agencies and endpoints inside the MCP server, then executes only when the route is confident and complete.

Use govdata_find_dataset for dataset discovery, source comparison, metadata, and extract planning. Use govdata_get_dataset for saved responses, extract creation, status checks, polling, and downloads.

Common resources:

govdata://guide
govdata://auth/status
govdata://agencies
govdata://agency/{agency_id}/docs
govdata://endpoint/{agency_id}/{endpoint_id}/docs
govdata://endpoint/{agency_id}/{endpoint_id}/examples

Set GOVDATA_TOOL_PROFILE=full before starting govdata-mcp to expose direct registry and endpoint tools:

govdata_list_agencies
govdata_describe_agency
govdata_explain_endpoint
govdata_request
govdata_agency_request
govdata_download_plan
govdata_search_catalog

The checked-in .mcp.json uses the installed command:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "govdata": {
      "command": "govdata-mcp"
    }
  }
}

Auth

GovData MCP reads API keys from environment variables or from its local persisted auth store. Configure keys interactively:

govdata-auth setup

Inspect configured key names without exposing values:

govdata-auth list
govdata-auth path

Set or delete a single key:

govdata-auth set API_DATA_GOV_KEY
govdata-auth delete API_DATA_GOV_KEY

Supported key names:

API_DATA_GOV_KEY
CENSUS_API_KEY
BLS_API_KEY
EIA_API_KEY
FDA_API_KEY
FRED_API_KEY
IPUMS_API_KEY
NREL_API_KEY
GOVDATA_ALLOW_DEMO_KEY

Do not put API keys in .mcp.json, prompts, examples, logs, or checked-in files. Environment variables override persisted keyring or file values.

Supported Data Sources

GovData MCP currently covers federal APIs and adjacent public data services commonly used for policy, economics, public health, law, environment, science, and social science research.

Shared api.data.gov Key

Use API_DATA_GOV_KEY for participating federal APIs:

Department of Agriculture - FoodData Central foods, food details, and food search
Department of Commerce - news, blog posts, and image metadata
Department of Education - College Scorecard schools and fields of study
Department of Justice - FBI crime data, BJS NCVS, CrimeSolutions, and FARA
Energy Information Administration - EIA v2 data, metadata, and legacy series lookup
Federal Election Commission - candidates, committees, filings, elections, receipts, and disbursements
Federal Trade Commission - Do Not Call complaints and HSR early termination notices
Food and Drug Administration - openFDA drug, device, and food event/enforcement data
Government Publishing Office - govinfo collections, packages, granules, and search
Library of Congress - Congress.gov bills, members, committees, hearings, and nominations
National Renewable Energy Laboratory - alternative fuel stations and PVWatts

Dedicated Keys

Census - dataset discovery, variables, geography metadata, and tabular data with CENSUS_API_KEY
BLS - labor statistics time series and survey metadata with BLS_API_KEY
FRED - Federal Reserve series, observations, categories, releases, and metadata with FRED_API_KEY
IPUMS - harmonized microdata, aggregate, spatial, metadata, extract, and download workflows with IPUMS_API_KEY

Public Sources

These sources do not require a per-user key for ordinary use:

Data.gov Catalog - dataset search, organizations, and keywords
USAspending.gov - federal award search, agencies, spending categories, and update metadata
Department of Treasury Fiscal Data - public debt and exchange rates
Environmental Protection Agency ECHO - regulated facilities and facility reports
Federal Communications Commission - census block and geographic lookups
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation BankFind - institutions, branches, financials, summaries, and failures
General Services Administration - API directory
National Institutes of Health RePORTER - funded research projects and linked publications
Data USA - aggregated demographic and economic indicators

Saving Data

Responses include source metadata such as agency ID, endpoint ID, URL, docs URL, query or body details, HTTP status, and retrieval time. Use save_to_disk=true with govdata_query or govdata_request to save API responses under:

data/govdata-downloads/responses

IPUMS downloads are saved under:

data/govdata-downloads/ipums

Saved files include byte counts and SHA-256 hashes when available.

Troubleshooting

Check that the package imports:

uv run python -c "import govdata_mcp.server; print('ok')"

Check installed commands:

command -v govdata-mcp
command -v govdata-auth

Check saved keys:

govdata-auth list
govdata-auth path

If Claude Code or Codex cannot see the server, re-register it:

python3 install.py --all --force-reinstall

If an endpoint reports a missing key, add the key with govdata-auth setup and restart the MCP client session.

If an API returns 403, check that the key is valid for that provider and that the request is using the expected auth location. If an API returns 429, wait and retry with a smaller request; some upstream services enforce strict request spacing.

For a dry run of installer changes:

python3 install.py --dry-run --all --no-verify

Development

Install development dependencies and run tests:

uv sync --dev
uv run pytest

Build the package:

uv build

The package name is govdata-mcp, the server command is govdata-mcp, and the registered MCP server name is govdata.

License

Apache License 2.0. See LICENSE.

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