# DataGov Israel MCP Server
A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for interacting with the Israeli Government Public API (data.gov.il). Access thousands of public datasets with built-in visualization capabilities.
[](https://github.com/aviveldan/datagov-mcp/actions/workflows/test.yml)
[](https://www.python.org/downloads/)
[](https://opensource.org/licenses/MIT)
---
## Screenshots
### Visualization Tools in Action
Generate interactive charts and maps from Israeli government datasets:
---
## Features
- ✅ **Async I/O**: True async operations with httpx for optimal performance
- 🔍 **Full CKAN API Coverage**: Search datasets, organizations, and resources
- 📊 **Visualization Tools**: Generate charts and maps from data
- 🧪 **Comprehensive Tests**: 34+ automated tests with HTTP mocking
- 🚀 **Modern FastMCP**: Built on FastMCP 2.14+ with best practices
- 📦 **Type Safe**: Full type hints and validation
---
## Quick Start
### Installation
This project uses [uv](https://docs.astral.sh/uv/) package manager for fast, reliable dependency management.
```bash
git clone https://github.com/aviveldan/datagov-mcp.git
cd datagov-mcp
# Create virtual environment and install
uv venv
source .venv/bin/activate # On Windows: .venv\Scripts\activate
uv pip install -e ".[dev]"
```
### Using with Claude Desktop
Install the server directly into Claude Desktop:
```bash
fastmcp install claude-desktop server.py
```
Then restart Claude Desktop and you'll see the DataGovIL tools available!
### Testing with MCP Inspector
Launch the interactive inspector to test tools:
```bash
fastmcp dev server.py
```
This opens a web interface where you can:
- Browse all available tools
- Test tool calls with different parameters
- View real-time responses
- Debug issues
---
---
## Available Tools
### Core CKAN Tools
#### `status_show`
Get the CKAN version and installed extensions.
```python
# Example response
{
"success": true,
"result": {
"ckan_version": "2.9.0",
"site_title": "Israel Open Data Portal"
}
}
```
#### `license_list`
List all available licenses for datasets.
#### `package_list`
Get a list of all dataset IDs.
#### `package_search`
Search for datasets with filters.
**Parameters:**
- `q` (string): Query string (e.g., "education")
- `fq` (string): Filter query in SOLR format
- `sort` (string): Sort order (e.g., "metadata_modified desc")
- `rows` (int): Number of results (default: 20)
- `start` (int): Pagination offset (default: 0)
- `include_private` (bool): Include private datasets (default: false)
**Example:**
```python
# Search for education-related datasets
package_search(q="education", rows=10, sort="metadata_modified desc")
```
#### `package_show`
Get detailed metadata for a specific dataset.
**Parameters:**
- `id` (string, required): Dataset ID or name
**Example:**
```python
package_show(id="covid-19-data")
```
#### `organization_list`
List all organizations.
#### `organization_show`
Get details about a specific organization.
**Parameters:**
- `id` (string, required): Organization ID or name
#### `resource_search`
Search for resources within datasets.
**Parameters:**
- `query` (string): SOLR query (e.g., "format:CSV")
- `order_by` (string): Sort field
- `offset` (int): Pagination offset
- `limit` (int): Maximum results (default: 100)
#### `datastore_search`
Search data within a datastore resource.
**Parameters:**
- `resource_id` (string, required): Resource ID
- `q` (string): Full-text query
- `limit` (int): Max records (default: 100)
- `offset` (int): Pagination offset
- `sort` (string): Sort order
- `fields` (string): Comma-separated field names
- Other CKAN datastore parameters
**Example:**
```python
datastore_search(
resource_id="abc123",
q="Tel Aviv",
limit=50,
sort="date desc"
)
```
#### `fetch_data`
Convenience tool to get data from a dataset by name.
Automatically finds the first resource and fetches its data.
**Parameters:**
- `dataset_name` (string, required): Dataset name or ID
- `limit` (int): Number of records (default: 100)
- `offset` (int): Pagination offset
---
### Visualization Tools 📊
#### `dataset_profile`
Profile a dataset to understand its structure and quality.
**Parameters:**
- `resource_id` (string, required): Resource ID to profile
- `sample_size` (int): Number of records to analyze (default: 100)
**Returns:**
- Field types (integer, number, string, coordinate)
- Missing value statistics
- Numeric statistics (min, max, mean)
- Top values for categorical fields
**Example:**
```python
dataset_profile(resource_id="abc123", sample_size=500)
```
**Response:**
```json
{
"resource_id": "abc123",
"sample_size": 500,
"total_fields": 5,
"fields": [
{
"name": "age",
"type": "integer",
"stats": {
"count": 500,
"null_count": 5,
"min": 18,
"max": 95,
"mean": 42.3
},
"missingness": 0.01
},
{
"name": "city",
"type": "string",
"stats": {
"count": 500,
"null_count": 2,
"unique_count": 12,
"top_values": {
"Tel Aviv": 150,
"Jerusalem": 120,
"Haifa": 80
}
},
"missingness": 0.004
}
]
}
```
#### `chart_generator`
Generate interactive Vega-Lite charts.
**Parameters:**
- `resource_id` (string, required): Resource ID
- `chart_type` (string, required): 'histogram', 'bar', 'line', or 'scatter'
- `x_field` (string, required): X-axis field name
- `y_field` (string): Y-axis field name (not needed for histogram)
- `title` (string): Chart title
- `limit` (int): Max records to visualize (default: 100)
**Returns:**
- `vega_lite_spec`: Vega-Lite JSON specification
- `html`: Self-contained HTML with embedded chart
**Example:**
```python
# Create a histogram
chart_generator(
resource_id="abc123",
chart_type="histogram",
x_field="age",
title="Age Distribution"
)
# Create a bar chart
chart_generator(
resource_id="abc123",
chart_type="bar",
x_field="city",
y_field="population",
title="Population by City"
)
```
#### `map_generator`
Generate interactive maps from geographic data.
**Parameters:**
- `resource_id` (string, required): Resource ID
- `lat_field` (string, required): Latitude field name
- `lon_field` (string, required): Longitude field name
- `limit` (int): Max points to map (default: 500)
**Returns:**
- `geojson`: GeoJSON FeatureCollection
- `html`: Interactive Leaflet map
- `point_count`: Number of valid points
- `center`: Map center coordinates
**Example:**
```python
map_generator(
resource_id="abc123",
lat_field="latitude",
lon_field="longitude",
limit=1000
)
```
---
## Usage Examples
### Finding and Visualizing Data
```python
# 1. Search for datasets
results = package_search(q="traffic accidents", rows=5)
# 2. Get dataset details
dataset = package_show(id=results["result"]["results"][0]["name"])
# 3. Get the resource ID
resource_id = dataset["result"]["resources"][0]["id"]
# 4. Profile the data
profile = dataset_profile(resource_id=resource_id)
# 5. Generate a map if geographic data exists
if any(f["type"] == "coordinate" for f in profile["fields"]):
map_data = map_generator(
resource_id=resource_id,
lat_field="latitude",
lon_field="longitude"
)
# Save the HTML map
with open("map.html", "w") as f:
f.write(map_data["html"])
```
### Creating Visualizations
```python
# Get COVID-19 data
data = fetch_data(dataset_name="covid-19-cases")
# Profile to understand the data
profile = dataset_profile(resource_id=data["resource_id"])
# Create a line chart of cases over time
chart = chart_generator(
resource_id=data["resource_id"],
chart_type="line",
x_field="date",
y_field="new_cases",
title="COVID-19 New Cases Over Time"
)
# Save the chart
with open("chart.html", "w") as f:
f.write(chart["html"])
```
---
---
## Development
### Running Tests
```bash
# Run all tests
pytest tests/ -v
# Run specific test file
pytest tests/test_tools.py -v
# Run with coverage
pytest tests/ --cov=datagov_mcp
```
### Code Style
```bash
# Check code
ruff check .
# Format code
ruff format .
```
### Project Structure
```
datagov-mcp/
├── datagov_mcp/ # Main package
│ ├── __init__.py
│ ├── server.py # Core CKAN tools
│ ├── api.py # CKAN API helper
│ ├── client.py # HTTP client
│ └── visualization.py # Visualization tools
├── tests/ # Test suite (34 tests)
│ ├── test_api.py
│ ├── test_contracts.py
│ ├── test_tools.py
│ └── test_visualization.py
├── server.py # Entrypoint
└── pyproject.toml # Dependencies
```
---
## Architecture
### Async HTTP Layer
All HTTP requests use `httpx.AsyncClient` with:
- 30-second timeout
- Automatic retries for 5xx errors
- Proper error handling and logging
- Connection pooling
### Error Handling
```python
from datagov_mcp.api import CKANAPIError
try:
result = await ckan_api_call("package_show", params={"id": "test"})
except CKANAPIError as e:
print(f"Error: {e.message}")
print(f"Status code: {e.status_code}")
```
---
## Release Notes
See [CHANGELOG.md](CHANGELOG.md) for detailed release notes.
### Latest: v0.3.0 (2024-02-14)
**Major modernization release:**
- ✅ Migrated to async httpx (from blocking requests)
- ✅ Added 3 visualization tools (profile, charts, maps)
- ✅ Comprehensive test suite (34 tests, 100% pass rate)
- ✅ CI/CD with GitHub Actions
- ✅ Package structure with proper modules
- ✅ Detailed documentation and examples
---
## Contributing
We welcome contributions! See [CONTRIBUTING.md](CONTRIBUTING.md) for guidelines.
Quick start:
1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Make changes with tests
4. Submit a pull request
For examples of other MCP servers, see the [Model Context Protocol servers repository](https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/servers).
---
## Troubleshooting
### Port Conflicts
If you encounter port conflicts with MCP Inspector:
```bash
# Install nano-dev-utils
pip install nano-dev-utils
# Release ports
python -c "from nano_dev_utils import release_ports; release_ports.PortsRelease().release_all()"
```
### Windows + OneDrive
For Windows users: avoid running installation in folders watched by OneDrive. See [this issue](https://github.com/astral-sh/uv/issues/7906) for details.
### Import Errors
If you encounter import errors, ensure you installed in editable mode:
```bash
pip install -e ".[dev]"
```
---
## License
This project is licensed under the MIT License. See the [LICENSE](./LICENSE) file for details.
---
## Acknowledgments
- Built with [FastMCP](https://github.com/jlowin/fastmcp)
- Data from [Israel Open Data Portal](https://data.gov.il)
- Charts powered by [Vega-Lite](https://vega.github.io/vega-lite/)
- Maps powered by [Leaflet](https://leafletjs.com/)
