openfec-mcp-server

Openfec Search Committees

openfec_search_committees

Read-onlyIdempotent

Find political committees (campaign, PAC, Super PAC, party) by name, type, candidate affiliation, or state. Retrieve a specific committee by FEC ID. Committee IDs start with C followed by exactly eight digits (e.g., C00358796).

Input Schema

TableJSON Schema

Name	Required	Description
`page`	No	Search-results page number (1-indexed). Defaults to 1 on the search path.
`cycle`	No	Two-year election cycle (even year).
`party`	No	Three-letter party code (e.g., DEM, REP).
`query`	No	Full-text committee name search.
`state`	No	Two-letter state code.
`per_page`	No	Search results per page. Defaults to 20 on the search path.
`designation`	No	Committee designation. A (authorized), B (lobbyist PAC), D (leadership PAC), J (joint fundraiser), P (principal campaign), U (unauthorized).
`candidate_id`	No	Find committees linked to this candidate (authorized, leadership, joint fundraising). Get IDs from openfec_search_candidates results.
`committee_id`	No	FEC committee ID: 'C' followed by exactly eight digits (e.g., C00358796). Get IDs from openfec_search_committees results. Returns a single committee with full detail.
`committee_type`	No	Committee type code. Common: H (House), S (Senate), P (Presidential), O (Super PAC), N (PAC nonqualified), Q (PAC qualified), X (Party nonqualified), Y (Party qualified).
`treasurer_name`	No	Full-text treasurer name search.

Output Schema

TableJSON Schema

Name	Required	Description
`error`	No	Present when the call failed. Absent on success.
`notice`	No	Guidance when the response carries no committees: how to broaden a search that matched nothing, or which requested position ran out when committees did match.
`committees`	No	Committee result set; one record per match.
`pagination`	No	Page-based pagination metadata.
`totalCount`	No	Total matching committees before pagination.
`search_criteria`	No	Echo of the search filters this call applied, as the server parsed them, minus paging arguments. Always present — compare it against what you sent to confirm every filter was honoured.

Schema Changelog

Changes observed during successful MCP inspections.

Changed2 schema fields changedSep 22, 2026

changedOutput schema / properties / notice / description

Previous value: -"Guidance when no committees matched — echoes filters and suggests how to broaden."New value: +"Guidance when the response carries no committees: how to broaden a search that matched nothing, or which requested position ran out when committees did match."

addedOutput schema / properties / pagination / properties / count_is_approximate

Added value: +{
+  "description": "True when OpenFEC reports this count as an estimate rather than a tally, which it does on its highest-volume datasets. Absent means the count is a tally. An estimated count — and the pages derived from it — can be off by a wide margin; treat it as an order of magnitude, not a figure to quote.",
+  "type": "boolean"
+}

Changed1 schema field changedSep 19, 2026

changedOutput schema / properties / error / properties / data / properties / reason / description

Previous value: -"Machine-readable failure mode. Declared by this tool: `committee_not_found`: Single-committee lookup by committee_id returned no record `inputs_not_applicable_to_id_lookup`: A direct committee_id lookup includes inputs that only the committee search endpoint supports Other values are possible when a failure originates below the handler."New value: +"Machine-readable failure mode. Declared by this tool: `committee_not_found`: Single-committee lookup by committee_id returned no record. `inputs_not_applicable_to_id_lookup`: A direct committee_id lookup includes inputs that only the committee search endpoint supports. Other values are possible when a failure originates below the handler."

Changed7 schema fields changedAug 31, 2026

changedInput schema / properties / committee_id / description

Previous value: -"FEC committee ID (e.g., C00358796). Get IDs from openfec_search_committees results. Starts with 'C' followed by digits. Returns a single committee with full detail."New value: +"FEC committee ID: 'C' followed by exactly eight digits (e.g., C00358796). Get IDs from openfec_search_committees results. Returns a single committee with full detail."

removedInput schema / properties / page / default
```
Removed value: -1
```

changedInput schema / properties / page / description

Previous value: -"Page number (1-indexed)."New value: +"Search-results page number (1-indexed). Defaults to 1 on the search path."

removedInput schema / properties / per_page / default
```
Removed value: -20
```

changedInput schema / properties / per_page / description

Previous value: -"Results per page."New value: +"Search results per page. Defaults to 20 on the search path."

changedOutput schema / properties / error / properties / data / properties / reason / description

Previous value: -"Machine-readable failure mode. Declared by this tool: `committee_not_found`: Single-committee lookup by committee_id returned no record Other values are possible when a failure originates below the handler."New value: +"Machine-readable failure mode. Declared by this tool: `committee_not_found`: Single-committee lookup by committee_id returned no record `inputs_not_applicable_to_id_lookup`: A direct committee_id lookup includes inputs that only the committee search endpoint supports Other values are possible when a failure originates below the handler."

changedOutput schema / properties / error / properties / data / properties / reason / examples

Previous value: -[
-  "committee_not_found"
-]New value: +[
+  "committee_not_found",
+  "inputs_not_applicable_to_id_lookup"
+]

Changed6 schema fields changedAug 25, 2026

changedInput schema / $schema

Previous value: -"http://json-schema.org/draft-07/schema#"New value: +"https://json-schema.org/draft/2020-12/schema"

addedInput schema / additionalProperties
```
Added value: +false
```

changedOutput schema / $schema

Previous value: -"http://json-schema.org/draft-07/schema#"New value: +"https://json-schema.org/draft/2020-12/schema"

addedOutput schema / anyOf

Added value: +[
+  {
+    "not": {
+      "required": [
+        "error"
+      ]
+    },
+    "required": [
+      "committees",
+      "pagination",
+      "search_criteria",
+      "totalCount"
+    ]
+  },
+  {
+    "required": [
+      "error"
+    ]
+  }
+]

addedOutput schema / properties / error

Added value: +{
+  "additionalProperties": {},
+  "description": "Present when the call failed. Absent on success.",
+  "properties": {
+    "code": {
+      "description": "JSON-RPC error code for this failure.",
+      "maximum": 9007199254740991,
+      "minimum": -9007199254740991,
+      "type": "integer"
+    },
+    "data": {
+      "additionalProperties": {},
+      "properties": {
+        "reason": {
+          "description": "Machine-readable failure mode. Declared by this tool: `committee_not_found`: Single-committee lookup by committee_id returned no record Other values are possible when a failure originates below the handler.",
+          "examples": [
+            "committee_not_found"
+          ],
+          "type": "string"
+        },
+        "recovery": {
+          "additionalProperties": {},
+          "description": "Actionable next step for the caller.",
+          "properties": {
+            "hint": {
+              "type": "string"
+            }
+          },
+          "required": [
+            "hint"
+          ],
+          "type": "object"
+        },
+        "retryable": {
+          "description": "Whether retrying may succeed.",
+          "type": "boolean"
+        }
+      },
+      "type": "object"
+    },
+    "message": {
+      "description": "Human-readable description of what went wrong.",
+      "type": "string"
+    }
+  },
+  "required": [
+    "code",
+    "message"
+  ],
+  "type": "object"
+}

removedOutput schema / required

Removed value: -[
-  "committees",
-  "pagination",
-  "search_criteria",
-  "totalCount"
-]

Changed2 schema fields changedJul 26, 2026

changedOutput schema / properties / search_criteria / description

Previous value: -"Echo of the search filters that produced this result set. Populated when results are empty to help diagnose why nothing matched."New value: +"Echo of the search filters this call applied, as the server parsed them, minus paging arguments. Always present — compare it against what you sent to confirm every filter was honoured."

changedOutput schema / required

Previous value: -[
-  "committees",
-  "pagination",
-  "totalCount"
-]New value: +[
+  "committees",
+  "pagination",
+  "search_criteria",
+  "totalCount"
+]

Changed2 schema fields changedJun 8, 2026
- removedInput schema / properties / candidate_id / pattern
```
Removed value: -"^[HSP][0-9A-Z]+$"
```
- removedInput schema / properties / committee_id / pattern
```
Removed value: -"^C\\d+$"
```

Changed3 schema fields changedMay 30, 2026

addedOutput schema / properties / notice

Added value: +{
+  "description": "Guidance when no committees matched — echoes filters and suggests how to broaden.",
+  "type": "string"
+}

addedOutput schema / properties / totalCount

Added value: +{
+  "description": "Total matching committees before pagination.",
+  "type": "number"
+}

changedOutput schema / required

Previous value: -[
-  "committees",
-  "pagination"
-]New value: +[
+  "committees",
+  "pagination",
+  "totalCount"
+]

Changed4 schema fields changedMay 27, 2026

changedInput schema / properties / candidate_id / description

Previous value: -"Find committees linked to this candidate (authorized, leadership, joint fundraising)."New value: +"Find committees linked to this candidate (authorized, leadership, joint fundraising). Get IDs from openfec_search_candidates results."

addedInput schema / properties / candidate_id / pattern
```
Added value: +"^[HSP][0-9A-Z]+$"
```

changedInput schema / properties / committee_id / description

Previous value: -"FEC committee ID (e.g., C00358796). Starts with 'C' followed by digits. Returns a single committee with full detail."New value: +"FEC committee ID (e.g., C00358796). Get IDs from openfec_search_committees results. Starts with 'C' followed by digits. Returns a single committee with full detail."

addedInput schema / properties / committee_id / pattern
```
Added value: +"^C\\d+$"
```

Changed12 schema fields changedMay 8, 2026

addedInput schema / properties / page / default
```
Added value: +1
```

changedInput schema / properties / page / description

Previous value: -"Page number (1-indexed). Default 1."New value: +"Page number (1-indexed)."

addedInput schema / properties / page / maximum
```
Added value: +9007199254740991
```
addedInput schema / properties / page / minimum
```
Added value: +1
```

changedInput schema / properties / page / type

Previous value: -"number"New value: +"integer"

addedInput schema / properties / per_page / default
```
Added value: +20
```

changedInput schema / properties / per_page / description

Previous value: -"Results per page. Default 20, max 100."New value: +"Results per page."

addedInput schema / properties / per_page / maximum
```
Added value: +100
```
addedInput schema / properties / per_page / minimum
```
Added value: +1
```

changedInput schema / properties / per_page / type

Previous value: -"number"New value: +"integer"

changedOutput schema / properties / committees / description

Previous value: -"Committee records with committee_id, name, type, designation, party, state, etc."New value: +"Committee result set; one record per match."

changedOutput schema / properties / committees / items / description

Previous value: -"A committee record (committee_id, name, type, designation, party, state, ...)."New value: +"Committee record; common keys include committee_id, name, type, designation, party, and state."

Changed1 schema field changedApr 24, 2026
- addedOutput schema / properties / committees / items / description
```
Added value: +"A committee record (committee_id, name, type, designation, party, state, ...)."
```
Changed4 schema fields changedApr 21, 2026
- addedOutput schema / properties / committees / items / properties
```
Added value: +{}
```
- removedOutput schema / properties / committees / items / propertyNames
```
Removed value: -{
-  "type": "string"
-}
```
- addedOutput schema / properties / search_criteria / properties
```
Added value: +{}
```
- removedOutput schema / properties / search_criteria / propertyNames
```
Removed value: -{
-  "type": "string"
-}
```
First observedApr 13, 2026

TDQS

A3.8/5.0

Behavior3/5

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

The annotations already indicate a read-only, idempotent operation, and the description is consistent with that. It adds useful behavioral context by disclosing the C+8-digit ID format and single-committee retrieval, but it does not describe pagination, edge cases, or result limits. With annotations covering safety, this is adequate but not rich.

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

Conciseness5/5

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

Two concise, front-loaded sentences with no filler. The first sentence establishes the core search behavior and criteria, while the second adds the ID format detail that matters for exact lookups. Every clause earns its place.

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

Completeness4/5

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

With 11 parameters, no required fields, and a full output schema, the description plus structured metadata provides enough to invoke the tool correctly. It does not discuss pagination behavior or rate limits, but these are not essential for correct invocation and are partially covered by the page/per_page schema descriptions.

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 all parameters. The description adds little beyond restating search dimensions and the committee ID format, which the schema's committee_id field already explains in equivalent detail. This meets the baseline but does not compensate beyond it.

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

Purpose4/5

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

The description uses a specific verb and resource: 'Find political committees' and 'Retrieve a specific committee by FEC ID', with clear scope (campaign, PAC, Super PAC, party) and search attributes. It distinguishes itself from siblings by focusing on committees, but it never explicitly contrasts itself with openfec_search_candidates.

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?

The description clearly states the intended use cases: search by name, type, candidate affiliation, or state, plus exact FEC ID lookup. It does not mention alternatives or when-not-to-use cases, so it stops short of full exclusion guidance, but the context is clear enough for an agent to select it for committee lookup.

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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