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Features

• 562 tools across 114 government data modules — federal agencies, state portals, transit systems, energy grids, and international sources
• All 50 states + DC — generic Socrata + ArcGIS tools across 47 states, 15-state real-time 511 traffic, 12 transit systems, and state-specific APIs
• Cross-referencing — built-in routing table guides the LLM to combine data from multiple agencies automatically
• Code mode — WASM-sandboxed JavaScript execution reduces context window usage by 98–100% for large responses
• Selective loading — load only what you need: --modules fred,treasury,state-data,mbta
• Dual transport — stdio for desktop clients, HTTP Stream for web/remote
• TypeScript SDK — every API is importable as a standalone typed client, no MCP required
• Disk-backed caching — responses cached to disk, survives restarts
• Rate limiting + retry — token-bucket rate limiter with exponential backoff on 429/503

Quick Start

MCP Server

npx gov-data-mcp

Add to Claude Desktop (claude_desktop_config.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "gov-data": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "gov-data-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "FRED_API_KEY": "your_key",
        "DATA_GOV_API_KEY": "your_key"
      }
    }
  }
}

Add to VS Code / Copilot (.vscode/mcp.json):

{
  "servers": {
    "gov-data": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "gov-data-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "FRED_API_KEY": "your_key",
        "DATA_GOV_API_KEY": "your_key"
      }
    }
  }
}

Load Only Specific Modules

# Federal economic data only
npx gov-data-mcp --modules fred,treasury,bls,bea,eia

# State data only
npx gov-data-mcp --modules state-data,state-511,md-traffic,mbta,bart

# Everything (default)
npx gov-data-mcp

HTTP Stream (for remote/web clients)

npx gov-data-mcp --transport httpStream --port 8080

Example Prompts

Economic: "What's the current state of the U.S. economy? Show me GDP, unemployment, inflation, and interest rates."

Health: "Show me the adverse event profile for Ozempic including clinical trials, FDA reports, and pharma payments to doctors."

Legislative: "What happened with the Inflation Reduction Act? Who sponsored it, how did the vote break down by party?"

State data: "Compare Maryland and Virginia crime rates over the last 10 years."

Transit: "What are the current MBTA delays in Boston? Any service alerts?"

Traffic: "Show me current traffic incidents on Ohio highways."

Energy: "What's the current fuel mix on the Texas ERCOT grid? How much is wind vs natural gas?"

Environment: "What are the current reservoir levels in California? Any drought concerns?"

Cross-reference: "How has federal spending on healthcare changed over the last 5 years, and what health outcomes has it produced?"

TypeScript SDK

npm install gov-data-mcp

import { getObservations } from "gov-data-mcp/sdk/fred";
import { searchBills } from "gov-data-mcp/sdk/congress";
import { queryStateDataset } from "gov-data-mcp/sdk/state-data";

const gdp = await getObservations("GDP", { sort: "desc", limit: 5 });
const mdCrime = await queryStateDataset("MD", "jwfa-fdxs", { where: "year = '2023'" });

No MCP server required. All functions include caching, retry, and rate limiting.

Data Sources (114 Modules, 562 Tools)

See TOOLS.md for complete tool reference with parameters and descriptions.

Federal — Economic (12 modules)

Module	Tools	Auth	Data
treasury	4	—	Fiscal data, debt, interest rates
fred	4	Key	Federal Reserve economic time series
bls	4	Key	Employment, CPI, labor statistics
bea	13	Key	GDP, personal income, trade, I/O tables
eia	5	Key	Energy production, consumption, prices
census	3	Key	Population, demographics, ACS data
dol	7	Key	OSHA inspections, wage enforcement, UI claims
usajobs	2	Key	Federal job listings
fcc	2	—	Broadband coverage and providers
uspto	10	Key	Patents, applications, PTAB decisions
sbir	1	—	Small business innovation research awards
gsa-calc	3	—	GSA contract ceiling rates

Federal — Health (8 modules)

Module	Tools	Auth	Data
fda	25	Key	Drugs, devices, food, tobacco (OpenFDA)
cdc	13	—	Mortality, disease, COVID, obesity, PLACES
clinical-trials	10	—	ClinicalTrials.gov studies
cms	4	—	Hospital/nursing home quality, Medicare
open-payments	10	—	Pharma payments to doctors (Sunshine Act)
pubmed	8	Key	Biomedical literature search
nih	4	—	NIH research projects and funding
va	1	Key	VA facilities (hospitals, clinics, cemeteries)

Federal — Legislative (6 modules)

Module	Tools	Auth	Data
congress	71	Key	Bills, votes, members, committees, CRS reports
federal-register	5	—	Rules, executive orders, presidential docs
govinfo	3	Key	Congressional record, CBO reports
regulations	6	Key	Regulations.gov dockets and comments
senate-lobbying	5	—	Lobbying disclosures, registrants
ecfr	3	—	Code of Federal Regulations full text

Federal — Financial (7 modules)

Module	Tools	Auth	Data
fec	6	Key	Campaign finance, candidates, committees
sec	3	—	EDGAR company filings and financials
fdic	6	—	Bank data, failures, financials
cfpb	6	—	Consumer complaints
cfpb-hmda	6	—	Home mortgage disclosure data
cftc	5	—	Futures trading positions
ofac	5	—	Sanctions and blocked persons

Federal — Spending & Procurement (3 modules)

Module	Tools	Auth	Data
usaspending	6	—	Federal awards, recipients, agency budgets
sam-gov	3	Key	Contract opportunities, entities, exclusions
gsa-calc	3	—	GSA contract ceiling rates

Federal — Environment & Science (16 modules)

Module	Tools	Auth	Data
epa	9	—	Facilities, enforcement, Superfund, TRI, GHG
epa-aqs	3	Key	Air quality monitoring stations
noaa	4	Key	Climate data, stations, weather history
noaa-coops	10	—	Tides, currents, water levels
noaa-swpc	12	—	Space weather, solar storms
nws	15	—	Forecasts, alerts, radar
usgs	6	—	Earthquakes, water data, stream gauges
nrel	3	Key	Solar, fuel stations, utility rates
fws	2	—	Endangered species listings
nps	4	Key	National parks, alerts, campgrounds
recreation	3	Key	Federal recreation facilities, campsites
usace-cwms	3	—	Corps dam/reservoir/river water levels
nasa-images	2	—	NASA image library
nasa-science	5	Key	NEO, DONKI, Mars Rover, EONET
jpl	3	—	Asteroid orbits, close approaches, fireballs
nsf	2	—	Research awards and funding

Federal — Safety (5 modules)

Module	Tools	Auth	Data
nhtsa	11	—	Vehicle recalls, complaints, safety ratings
fema	5	—	Disaster declarations, assistance
cpsc	4	—	Product safety recalls
ftc	2	Key	FTC enforcement actions
nvd	2	Key	CVE vulnerabilities, CVSS scores

Federal — Other (9 modules)

Module	Tools	Auth	Data
ntsb	2	—	Transportation accident investigations
bts	2	—	Border crossings, transport statistics
faa-weather	4	—	METARs, TAFs, SIGMETs, PIREPs
smithsonian	2	Key	11M+ museum collection records
doe-osti	1	—	DOE scientific publications
naep	9	—	Nation's Report Card education scores
college-scorecard	4	Key	College costs, outcomes, earnings
usda-fooddata	3	Key	Food nutrition data
usda-nass	4	Key	Agricultural statistics
world-bank	4	—	International development indicators

State & Local — Open Data (1 module, 30 states)

Module	Tools	Coverage
state-data	15	All 50 states + DC via Socrata SODA API + ArcGIS REST. Crime, health, education, economy, property, environment, transportation. MD fully populated (21 datasets), NY (13), CT (12), WA (8), TX (7), PA (7), NJ (4), + 40 more with GIS and/or Socrata portals.

State & Local — Real-Time Traffic (2 modules, 15+ states)

Module	Tools	Coverage
state-511	6	15 states: AZ, NV, UT, AK, ID, NY, CT, GA, WI, LA, AR, OH, NC, WA. Incidents, cameras, signs, weather, conditions.
md-traffic	7	Maryland CHART: incidents, closures, cameras, speeds, weather, DMS, travel times

State & Local — Transit (12 modules)

Module	Tools	Auth	City/Region
mbta	4	Key	Boston (subway, bus, commuter rail, ferry)
septa	4	—	Philadelphia (regional rail, bus, trolley)
cta	2	Key	Chicago (L trains, buses)
bart	3	Key	San Francisco Bay Area (BART rail)
la-metro	3	—	Los Angeles (bus, rail)
trimet	1	Key	Portland (bus, MAX light rail, streetcar)
onebusaway	2	Key	Seattle / Puget Sound (bus, light rail)
wsdot-ferries	3	Key	Washington State Ferries (schedules, vessels, terminals)
marta	1	Key	Atlanta (rail)
path-train	1	—	NYC/NJ PATH train
wmata	4	Key	Washington DC Metro & Bus
md-transit	3	Key	Maryland MTA (bus, light rail, metro, MARC)

State & Local — Energy Grids (3 modules)

Module	Tools	Auth	Coverage
caiso	1	Token	California ISO (rates, GHG, Flex Alerts)
ercot	2	Key	Texas grid (load, prices)
iso-ne	2	Auth	New England (CT, MA, ME, NH, RI, VT)

State & Local — Water & Environment (5 modules)

Module	Tools	Auth	Data
cdec	2	—	California reservoirs, rivers, snowpack
calfire	1	—	Active CA wildfire incidents (GeoJSON)
co-water	3	Key	Colorado water rights, streamflow, diversions
md-bay	3	Key	Chesapeake Bay buoy water quality (CBIBS)
mn-lakes	3	—	Minnesota 4,500+ lakes, fish surveys

State & Local — Other (1 module)

Module	Tools	Auth	Data
nc-linc	2	—	NC 900+ demographic/economic data items

API Keys

Most tools work without any API key. For those that need one, keys are free:

Key	Used By	Get It
DATA_GOV_API_KEY	FDA, Congress, FBI, FEC, GovInfo, Regulations, NREL, College Scorecard, USDA FoodData, FTC	api.data.gov/signup
FRED_API_KEY	FRED	fredaccount.stlouisfed.org/apikeys
SOCRATA_APP_TOKEN	State open data (all Socrata states)	Register on any state portal
CENSUS_API_KEY	Census	api.census.gov/data/key_signup.html
BEA_API_KEY	BEA	apps.bea.gov/API/signup
NASA_API_KEY	NASA Science	api.nasa.gov (DEMO_KEY works without signup)
NPS_API_KEY	National Park Service	nps.gov/subjects/developer

See the full list with npx gov-data-mcp --list-modules.

Disclaimer

This project integrates a significant number of government APIs, many of which have large, complex, or inconsistently documented schemas. AI is used as a tool throughout this project to help parse API documentation, generate type definitions, and scaffold tool implementations — making it possible to cover this much surface area and get people access to government data faster than would otherwise be feasible. While every effort has been made to ensure accuracy, some endpoints may return unexpected results, have incomplete parameter coverage, or behave differently than documented.

This is a community-driven effort — if you find something that's broken or could be improved, please open an issue or submit a PR. The goal is to make government data as accessible and reliable as possible, together.

All data is sourced from official U.S. government, state, and international APIs — the server does not generate, modify, or editorialize any data.

License

MIT