OpenGov MCP Server

Name: OpenGov MCP Server
Author: srobbin

@srobbin

Repository

About OpenGov MCP Server

No overview available yet

Basic information

Config

Add this server to your MCP-compatible client using the configuration below.

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

Tools

No tools detected

We auto-extract tools from the README. The maintainer can list them under a ## Tools heading to populate this section.

Overview

What is OpenGov MCP Server?

An MCP (Model Context Protocol) server that enables MCP clients like Claude Desktop to access Socrata Open Data APIs, allowing search, retrieval, and analysis of public datasets from government data portals.

How to use OpenGov MCP Server?

Configure the server in Claude Desktop by setting the DATA_PORTAL_URL environment variable to any Socrata-powered portal (e.g., https://data.cityofchicago.org), then run it via npx -y opengov-mcp-server@latest or from source. Once connected, ask natural‑language questions about the data.

Key features of OpenGov MCP Server

Search and discover datasets by keyword, category, or tags
View dataset metadata and column information
Run SQL-like SoQL queries to retrieve and analyze data
Get portal usage statistics
No API key required for basic public data access

Use cases of OpenGov MCP Server

Ask how many cars were towed in Chicago this month
Drill into vehicle make, color, or vanity plates from towing data
Find datasets related to a budget across multiple Socrata portals
Retrieve metadata and column info for a specific dataset
Query public records with filters, ordering, and pagination

FAQ from OpenGov MCP Server

Do I need an API key to use OpenGov MCP Server?

No, an API key is not required for basic usage because the server accesses public data.

Which data portals can I connect to?

Any Socrata‑powered data portal is supported, including those from cities (Chicago, NYC, San Francisco, Los Angeles), states, and federal agencies.

How do I set which data portal to use?

Set the DATA_PORTAL_URL environment variable in your Claude Desktop configuration, in your shell environment, or via the command line.

What tool does OpenGov MCP Server provide?

The server exposes a single get_data tool with operation types such as catalog, categories, tags, dataset-metadata, column-info, data-access, and site-metrics.