geonames-mcp-server

GeoNames country facts

geonames_get_countries

Read-onlyIdempotent

Get GeoNames country facts — ISO alpha-2, alpha-3, and numeric codes, FIPS code, geonameId, capital, population, area in km², continent, languages, currency, postal-code format, and mainland bounding box — for the countries named, a continent, or all 250. The geonameId anchors geonames_get_children (a country's first-level divisions) and geonames_get_hierarchy. The full table is fetched once a day (1 GeoNames credit) and cached.

Input Schema

TableJSON Schema

Name	Required	Description
`limit`	No	Maximum entries to return, 1 to 1,000. This tool returns at most 250 per call: a larger limit is held to 250, and the notice says so when more entries remain. Default 50.
`offset`	No	Entries to skip before the first one returned, for paging. Default 0.
`continent`	No	Keep only countries on this continent: AF Africa, AN Antarctica, AS Asia, EU Europe, NA North America, OC Oceania, SA South America.
`countries`	No	Countries to return by ISO 3166-1 code: alpha-2 (US), alpha-3 (USA), or three-digit numeric (840), up to 250, as a list. UK is accepted for GB and FL for LI. Match country names with nameContains instead.
`nameContains`	No	Keep only countries whose English name contains every word of this text as a substring (niger also matches Nigeria), ignoring case, accents, and punctuation.
`geonamesUsername`	No	Your own GeoNames username, spent only when the country table is not already cached, so the call uses that account's credit instead of the server's. The account needs free web services enabled on its geonames.org account page.

Output Schema

TableJSON Schema

Name	Required	Description
`cap`	No	The limit applied: limit as given, or 250 when it asked for more.
`error`	No	Present when the call failed. Absent on success.
`shown`	No	Countries returned on this page.
`notice`	No	Guidance when nothing matched, the offset is past the end, or more pages remain (naming a limit held to 250).
`notFound`	No	Requested codes that match no GeoNames country; empty when every code matched.
`countries`	No	Countries on this page, in GeoNames order (by alpha-2 code).
`truncated`	No	True when more countries remain past this page.
`nextOffset`	No	Offset of the next page; absent on the last page.
`totalCount`	No	Countries matching the filters, before paging.

Schema Changelog

Changes observed during successful MCP inspections.

Changed7 schema fields changedOct 18, 2026

changedInput schema / properties / continent / description

Previous value: -"Keep only countries on this continent: AF Africa, AN Antarctica, AS Asia, EU Europe, NA North America, OC Oceania, SA South America. Case-insensitive."New value: +"Keep only countries on this continent: AF Africa, AN Antarctica, AS Asia, EU Europe, NA North America, OC Oceania, SA South America."

changedInput schema / properties / countries / description

Previous value: -"Countries to return by ISO 3166-1 code: alpha-2 (US), alpha-3 (USA), or three-digit numeric (840), up to 50, as a list or a comma-separated string. Case-insensitive; UK is accepted for GB. Match country names with nameContains instead."New value: +"Countries to return by ISO 3166-1 code: alpha-2 (US), alpha-3 (USA), or three-digit numeric (840), up to 250, as a list. UK is accepted for GB and FL for LI. Match country names with nameContains instead."

changedInput schema / properties / countries / maxItems
```
Previous value: -50New value: +250
```

changedInput schema / properties / limit / description

Previous value: -"Maximum entries to return, 1 to 250. Default 50."New value: +"Maximum entries to return, 1 to 1,000. This tool returns at most 250 per call: a larger limit is held to 250, and the notice says so when more entries remain. Default 50."

changedInput schema / properties / limit / maximum
```
Previous value: -250New value: +1000
```

changedOutput schema / properties / cap / description

Previous value: -"The limit that was applied."New value: +"The limit applied: limit as given, or 250 when it asked for more."

changedOutput schema / properties / notice / description

Previous value: -"Guidance when nothing matched, the offset is past the end, or more pages remain."New value: +"Guidance when nothing matched, the offset is past the end, or more pages remain (naming a limit held to 250)."

First observedOct 2, 2026

TDQS

A4.2/5.0

Behavior4/5

Does the description disclose side effects, auth requirements, rate limits, or destructive behavior?

Annotations already cover read-only, idempotent, open-world, so the safety profile is done. The description adds genuinely new operational context: the full table is fetched once a day for 1 GeoNames credit and cached, implying later calls are cheap and the data is at most a day stale, that is exactly the kind of behavior an agent cannot infer from annotations.

Agents need to know what a tool does to the world before calling it. Descriptions should go beyond structured annotations to explain consequences.

Conciseness4/5

Is the description appropriately sized, front-loaded, and free of redundancy?

Two sentences, front-loaded with the verb and resource, then a field list that is long but earns its place by telling the agent what comes back. No filler or marketing language.

Shorter descriptions cost fewer tokens and are easier for agents to parse. Every sentence should earn its place.

Completeness5/5

Given the tool's complexity, does the description cover enough for an agent to succeed on first attempt?

With an output schema present, return values need no elaboration, and the description still covers selection modes, the credit/caching model, and the follow-up tools that consume geonameId. Nothing an agent needs to call this correctly is missing.

Complex tools with many parameters or behaviors need more documentation. Simple tools need less. This dimension scales expectations accordingly.

Parameters3/5

Does the description clarify parameter syntax, constraints, interactions, or defaults beyond what the schema provides?

Schema description coverage is 100%, so the schema already documents every parameter including the 250-entry cap, continent enum, and username/credit semantics. The description restates the selection modes and the 250 cap but adds no syntax or format detail beyond the schema, so the baseline 3 applies.

Input schemas describe structure but not intent. Descriptions should explain non-obvious parameter relationships and valid value ranges.

Purpose5/5

Does the description clearly state what the tool does and how it differs from similar tools?

States a specific verb and resource ('Get GeoNames country facts') and enumerates the returned fields (ISO codes, capital, population, area, continent, bounding box). It also names the three selection modes — named countries, a continent, or all 250 — so an agent can distinguish it from the search/reference siblings at a glance.

Agents choose between tools based on descriptions. A clear purpose with a specific verb and resource helps agents select the right tool.

Usage Guidelines4/5

Does the description explain when to use this tool, when not to, or what alternatives exist?

Explains the input modes and tells the agent that the returned geonameId anchors geonames_get_children and geonames_get_hierarchy, which is real routing value. However, it never states when NOT to use it (e.g., use geonames_search_places or geonames_get_place for city-level lookups), so guidance is clear but not exhaustive.

Agents often have multiple tools that could apply. Explicit usage guidance like "use X instead of Y when Z" prevents misuse.

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