mcp-civic-data
Access free government and open data APIs through Claude
Quick Start | Tool Catalog | Configuration | Examples
🌐 What is this?
An MCP (Model Context Protocol) server that gives Claude access to 7 free government and open data APIs - weather forecasts, census demographics, NASA imagery, economic indicators, and more. No API keys required for most features.
Part of the Claude Code Plugin Marketplace ecosystem.
🚀 Quick Start
Add to Claude Desktop:
{
"mcpServers": {
"civic-data": {
"command": "python",
"args": ["-m", "mcp_govt_api"],
"env": {
"OPENWEATHER_API_KEY": "optional-for-global-weather",
"NASA_API_KEY": "optional-for-higher-limits"
}
}
}
}
Or install manually:
pip install mcp-civic-data
📡 Included APIs
| API | Coverage | Key Required |
|---|
| NOAA Weather | US forecasts, alerts, radar | No |
| OpenWeather | Global weather conditions | Yes |
| US Census | Population, demographics, housing | No |
| NASA | APOD, Mars rovers, image library | No (optional) |
| World Bank | GDP, poverty, country indicators | No |
| Data.gov | 300,000+ US government datasets | No |
| EU Open Data | European Union datasets | No |
💡 Why Use This?
| Feature | Description |
|---|
| Zero config | Works immediately - most APIs need no keys |
| Graceful fallback | Missing keys? Those tools just won't appear |
| Real data | Live government sources, not cached or stale |
| 22 tools | From quick lookups to raw API access |
| Well-documented | Every tool has clear parameters and examples |
| Category | Tools | What You Can Do |
|---|
| Weather | 5 | US forecasts, alerts, global conditions |
| Census | 4 | Population, demographics, housing stats |
| NASA | 4 | Astronomy photos, Mars rovers, image search |
| Economics | 3 | Country GDP, poverty, comparisons |
| Data.gov | 3 | Search/explore US government datasets |
| EU Data | 3 | Search/explore European datasets |
Weather (NOAA + OpenWeather)
| Tool | Description |
|---|
get_weather_forecast | 7-day forecast for US coordinates |
get_weather_alerts | Active alerts by state (CA, TX, NY...) |
get_global_weather | Current weather for any city worldwide |
query_noaa | Raw NOAA API access |
query_openweather | Raw OpenWeather API access |
US Census
| Tool | Description |
|---|
get_population | Population by state or county |
get_demographics | Age, race, income breakdown |
get_housing_stats | Home values, rent, vacancy rates |
query_census | Raw Census API with custom variables |
NASA
| Tool | Description |
|---|
get_astronomy_photo | Astronomy Picture of the Day |
get_mars_rover_photos | Curiosity, Perseverance photos |
search_nasa_images | Search NASA's image/video library |
query_nasa | Raw NASA API access |
World Bank Economics
| Tool | Description |
|---|
get_country_indicators | GDP, population, poverty for any country |
compare_countries | Compare indicators across countries |
query_worldbank | Raw World Bank API access |
Data.gov
| Tool | Description |
|---|
search_datasets | Search 300,000+ US government datasets |
get_dataset_info | Metadata and download links |
query_datagov | Raw CKAN API access |
EU Open Data
| Tool | Description |
|---|
search_eu_datasets | Search European Union datasets |
get_eu_dataset_info | Dataset details and distributions |
query_eu_data | Raw EU Data Portal API access |
⚙️ Configuration
Environment Variables
| Variable | Required | Description |
|---|
OPENWEATHER_API_KEY | For global weather | Get free key |
NASA_API_KEY | Optional | Higher rate limits (1000/hr vs 30/hr) |
API_TIMEOUT | Optional | Request timeout in seconds (default: 30) |
API Availability on Startup
API Availability:
✓ NOAA (no key required)
✓ Census (no key required)
✓ NASA (no key, limited to 30 req/hour)
✗ OpenWeather (OPENWEATHER_API_KEY not set)
✓ World Bank (no key required)
✓ Data.gov (no key required)
✓ EU Open Data (no key required)
📝 Examples
Get weather forecast
"What's the weather forecast for Washington DC?"
→ Uses get_weather_forecast(38.8894, -77.0352)
Check demographics
"What's the population and median income in California?"
→ Uses get_demographics("CA")
Explore Mars
"Show me recent photos from the Perseverance rover"
→ Uses get_mars_rover_photos(rover="perseverance")
Compare economies
"Compare GDP between USA, China, and India"
→ Uses compare_countries(["USA", "CHN", "IND"])
Find government data
"Find datasets about climate change on Data.gov"
→ Uses search_datasets("climate change")
🏗️ Development
git clone https://github.com/EricGrill/mcp-civic-data.git
cd mcp-civic-data
pip install -e .
python -m mcp_govt_api
🤝 Contributing
- Fork the repository
- Create your feature branch (
git checkout -b feature/amazing)
- Commit changes (
git commit -m 'Add amazing feature')
- Push to branch (
git push origin feature/amazing)
- Open a Pull Request
📜 License
MIT License - see LICENSE for details.
