What Do They Know
FreeNot checkedMCP server for UK Freedom of Information research. Connects AI assistants to WhatDoTheyKnow — the UK's largest FOI request platform to search requests, read res
About
MCP server for UK Freedom of Information research. Connects AI assistants to WhatDoTheyKnow — the UK's largest FOI request platform to search requests, read responses, look up public authorities, and draft new requests.
README
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A Model Context Protocol server for UK Freedom of Information research. Connects AI assistants to WhatDoTheyKnow — the UK's largest FOI request platform — to search requests, read responses, look up public authorities, and draft new requests.
Tools
| Tool | Description |
|---|---|
search_request_events |
Full-text search of FOI requests and responses via WhatDoTheyKnow's Atom feed. Supports structured expressions (status:successful, body:"Liverpool City Council"). |
search_authorities |
Search UK public authorities by name. Returns slug for use with other tools. |
get_request_feed_items |
Fetch the event timeline (sent, response, clarification) for a specific FOI request. |
get_request_detail |
Fetch full public request JSON, including status, authority, requester, correspondence events, and attachment metadata where exposed. |
get_user_requests |
List a user's visible requests with title, slug, status, authority, dates, and snippets. |
get_user_feed_items |
Fetch a user's activity Atom feed as structured entries with readable content text. |
get_authority_detail |
Fetch full public authority JSON, including contact/profile fields and request statistics. |
build_request_url |
Build a prefilled WhatDoTheyKnow request URL for a given authority and topic. |
create_request_record |
Create a request via the write API (requires WDTK_API_KEY). |
update_request_state |
Update user-assessed state of a request (requires WDTK_API_KEY). |
Resources
| URI template | Returns |
|---|---|
wdtk://authorities/{authority_slug} |
Authority profile JSON |
wdtk://requests/{request_slug} |
FOI request detail JSON |
wdtk://users/{user_slug} |
User profile JSON |
wdtk://requests/{request_slug}/feed |
Request event Atom feed |
wdtk://users/{user_slug}/feed |
User activity Atom feed |
wdtk://authorities/all.csv |
Full CSV of all UK public authorities |
Prompts
| Prompt | Description |
|---|---|
draft_foi_request |
Draft a narrow, specific FOI request for a given authority and topic. |
Connect
Hosted (no install)
{
"mcpServers": {
"whatdotheyknow": {
"type": "http",
"url": "https://whatdotheyknow-mcp.fly.dev/mcp"
}
}
}
Local (uvx)
{
"mcpServers": {
"whatdotheyknow": {
"type": "stdio",
"command": "uvx",
"args": ["whatdotheyknow-mcp"]
}
}
}
Environment variables
| Variable | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
WDTK_API_KEY |
Optional | Enables create_request_record and update_request_state write tools |
Upstream API and Licence
| Source | API | Licence | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|
| WhatDoTheyKnow | www.whatdotheyknow.com |
OGL v3 | None (read) / API key (write) |
Data is sourced directly from the WhatDoTheyKnow public API. The platform is operated by mySociety.
Install What Do They Know in Claude Desktop, Claude Code & Cursor
unyly install what-do-they-knowInstalls into Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor & VS Code — handles npx, uvx and build-from-source repos for you.
First time? Get the CLI: curl -fsSL https://unyly.org/install | sh
Or configure manually
Run in your terminal:
claude mcp add what-do-they-know -- uvx whatdotheyknow-mcpStep-by-step: how to install What Do They Know
FAQ
Is What Do They Know MCP free?
Yes, What Do They Know MCP is free — one-click install via Unyly at no cost.
Does What Do They Know need an API key?
No, What Do They Know runs without API keys or environment variables.
Is What Do They Know hosted or self-hosted?
A hosted option is available: Unyly runs the server in the cloud, no local setup required.
How do I install What Do They Know in Claude Desktop, Claude Code or Cursor?
Open What Do They Know on unyly.org, pick your client tab (Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor) and press Install — the config is generated automatically, no JSON editing.
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