# FreightUtils MCP Server

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**The neutral freight reference layer for AI agents.**

FreightUtils is the neutral freight reference layer for AI agents — source-backed dangerous-goods, customs, location and freight-calculation data an agent can call and cite, from primary sources (ADR 2025 / UNECE, HS 2022 / WCO, IATA-regulated airline prefixes). Neutral by design: no freight to sell and no carrier to push — a lookup returns what the named source says, with the citation attached so an agent can inspect it rather than take our word for it, regardless of who carries the load.

This [Model Context Protocol](https://modelcontextprotocol.io/) server gives AI agents access to 25 freight calculation and reference tools, covering road, air, and sea freight. Built by a UK ADR-certified freight transport planner.

Every response cites its source — a `_source` block with the authority, edition, licence where held, and a verification status an agent can read — and the tools are deterministic, not generated answers. Reference only: never filing, booking, or legal advice, and results state when human review is required (`validate` is structural check-digit validation only; a clean `ics2_check` is not ENS acceptance; emissions figures are estimates, not audited reports).

Since **2.11.0**, every tool also declares a typed `outputSchema` and returns `structuredContent` — the FreightUtils v1 response envelope: the answer under `result`, plus `confidence`, `normalized_input`, `warnings`, `_source` and a ready-to-use `citation`. The legacy flat JSON text channel is unchanged (byte-identical), so existing text-parsing consumers are unaffected.

**Website:** https://www.freightutils.com
**API Docs:** https://www.freightutils.com/api-docs

---

## Tools (25)

### Calculators
| Tool | Description |
|------|-------------|
| `ldm_calculator` | Loading metres for European and US road trailers |
| `cbm_calculator` | Cubic metres for sea freight |
| `chargeable_weight_calculator` | Air freight chargeable weight (volumetric vs actual) |
| `pallet_fitting_calculator` | Box-on-pallet optimisation with rotation |
| `container_lookup` | ISO container specs (10 types) and loading calculation |
| `unit_converter` | Weight, volume, length, and freight-specific conversions |
| `consignment_calculator` | Multi-item CBM, LDM, volumetric & mode-specific chargeable weight (sea/air/road) + advisory flags |
| `emissions_calculator` | Freight CO2e via the ISO 14083 / GLEC distance-based method — open DEFRA/EPA/ADEME factors (WTW + TTW); use actual gross mass (not chargeable/volumetric); result carries empty_running + representativeness (sea/air = low) + a summary |

### Dangerous Goods (ADR)
| Tool | Description |
|------|-------------|
| `adr_lookup` | 2,939 UNECE ADR 2025 entries |
| `adr_exemption_calculator` | ADR 1.1.3.6 small load exemption check |
| `adr_lq_eq_check` | Limited and Excepted Quantity eligibility |

Some UN numbers have more than one ADR Table A row (packing groups, concentration bands). When a bare UN number matches rows that give different answers, the ADR tools never pick one: they withhold the verdict and return the candidate rows, and you pin one with `packing_group` or `variant_index`. The rules, with worked cases (UN 1789, UN 1790 PG I, UN 2215 PG III): [the ADR 1.1.3.6 calculator in the API docs](https://www.freightutils.com/api-docs#adr-calculator).

### Customs & Tariff
| Tool | Description |
|------|-------------|
| `hs_code_lookup` | 6,940 Harmonized System tariff codes (HS 2022) |
| `uk_duty_calculator` | UK import duty and VAT (live GOV.UK Trade Tariff data) |
| `incoterms_lookup` | Incoterms 2020 — all 11 rules with risk/cost transfer points |
| `ics2_check` | Flag EU ICS2 unacceptable goods-description terms (stop-words) before filing an ENS — reference only |

### Reference Data
| Tool | Description |
|------|-------------|
| `resolve_reference` | Resolve any freight identifier ("176", "UN1845", "NLRTM", "FOB") to typed, ranked, cited candidates when its type is unknown |
| `airline_lookup` | 6,357 airlines with IATA/ICAO codes and AWB prefixes |
| `unlocode_lookup` | 116,232+ UN/LOCODE transport locations |
| `airport_lookup` | 85,555 airports by IATA/ICAO code, name or city (OurAirports) |
| `nearest_airport` | Nearest airports to a latitude/longitude, by great-circle distance |
| `uld_lookup` | 16 air cargo ULD types (LD3, PMC, etc.) |
| `vehicle_lookup` | 17 road freight vehicles and trailers |

### Validation
| Tool | Description |
|------|-------------|
| `validate` | Parse any text (a booking line, an email) to find & validate every container (ISO 6346), AWB (modulus-7) and IMO number in it — or validate a single identifier by type |

### Composite
| Tool | Description |
|------|-------------|
| `shipment_summary` | Chains CBM + weight + LDM + ADR + duty in one call |

### Plans
| Tool | Description |
|------|-------------|
| `get_subscribe_link` | The pricing page URL with the Pro plan's limit and price (50,000/month at £19/mo) |

---

## Installation

### Claude (claude.ai, desktop and mobile apps, Cowork)

Add FreightUtils from Claude's connector directory: <https://claude.ai/directory/connectors/freightutils>. Or add it as a custom connector — **Customize → Connectors → Add custom connector** — with the URL `https://www.freightutils.com/api/mcp`. No API key, no sign-in. Setup, limits and privacy: [freightutils.com/mcp#use-in-claude](https://www.freightutils.com/mcp#use-in-claude).

### Claude Desktop / Claude Code (stdio)

Add to your MCP config (`claude_desktop_config.json` or `.claude/settings.json`):

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "freightutils": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["freightutils-mcp"]
    }
  }
}
```

### Remote HTTP / SSE

If your MCP client supports remote servers, use the canonical URL:

```
https://www.freightutils.com/api/mcp
```

> The older URL `https://www.freightutils.com/api/mcp/mcp` still works for backwards compatibility with existing clients.

No API key required to get started — anonymous calls work out of the box (see Rate Limits below).

### Authenticating with a Pro key

Anonymous usage caps at 25 requests/day per IP. If you have a free or Pro API key, set `FREIGHTUTILS_API_KEY` in the environment that runs the MCP server. The package reads it from `process.env` and attaches `Authorization: Bearer <key>` to every outbound `/api/*` call — same key the remote `https://www.freightutils.com/api/mcp` transport already honors.

stdio config example with the env var wired through:

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "freightutils": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["freightutils-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "FREIGHTUTILS_API_KEY": "fu_pk_xxx"
      }
    }
  }
}
```

Get a key at [freightutils.com/api-docs](https://www.freightutils.com/api-docs) (free, 100/day) or [freightutils.com/pricing](https://www.freightutils.com/pricing) (Pro, 50,000/month). Backwards compatible — unset env var preserves the existing anonymous behaviour.

With no key set, the server says so once at start-up, on stderr (stdout carries only the MCP protocol), so a key you meant to set and missed shows up in your client's MCP log rather than at the first 429:

```
freightutils-mcp: FREIGHTUTILS_API_KEY is not set, so calls use the anonymous tier — 25 requests per day per IP address. Set the key to use your plan's limit: https://www.freightutils.com/pricing
```

---

## Verify your setup

After adding FreightUtils to your MCP client config, **fully quit and relaunch the client** (Claude Desktop, Cursor, Cline). MCP servers are only loaded at client startup; editing the config in a running session does nothing until restart.

Then run the install diagnostic from a terminal:

```sh
npx freightutils-mcp ping
```

You should see three ticks and `All checks passed`:

```
FreightUtils MCP Diagnostic
───────────────────────────
package: freightutils-mcp@<installed version>
health:  https://www.freightutils.com/api/mcp/health

[1/3] Backend health (https://www.freightutils.com/api/mcp/health)
      ✓ status=ok mcp_version=<current> tools_registered=<current> (143ms)

[2/3] MCP handshake (in-process via InMemoryTransport)
      ✓ server freightutils-mcp@<installed version> initialized; tools/list returned <n> tools

[3/3] End-to-end tool call (cbm_calculator l=120 w=80 h=100)
      ✓ cbm_calculator → total=0.96 m³ (expected 0.96) (218ms)

All checks passed. Your FreightUtils MCP install is working.
```

If any check shows ✗, see [Troubleshooting](#troubleshooting) below. Exit code is 0 on all-pass and 1 on any failure, so the command works in CI / health-check scripts too.

---

## Troubleshooting

| Symptom | Likely cause | Fix |
|---------|--------------|-----|
| Tools not appearing in the MCP client after editing the config | Client wasn't fully restarted | Quit and relaunch (Cmd+Q on macOS / right-click → Quit on Windows tray). Closing the window is not enough. |
| `npx freightutils-mcp ping` check 1 fails with a network error | DNS, proxy, or the website is unreachable from your network | Check the status page at https://www.freightutils.com/status. If you're behind a corporate proxy, set `HTTPS_PROXY`. Override the host for `ping` with `FREIGHTUTILS_API_URL=<base-url>`. |
| `npx freightutils-mcp ping` check 2 fails | Broken local install (npx cache or stale Node version) | Re-install: `rm -rf ~/.npm/_npx && npm install -g freightutils-mcp` and rerun. Requires Node 18 or newer. |
| Tool calls return HTTP 429 / `"rate_limited"` | Anonymous IP cap of 25 requests/day exceeded | If you have a FreightUtils Pro API key, set `FREIGHTUTILS_API_KEY` in your environment before invoking the MCP. The package passes it through automatically on every outbound call. See https://www.freightutils.com/pricing if you need a key. |
| `"Server failed to start"` / spawn error in client logs | `npx` not on PATH, or Node older than 18 | Install Node 18+. On macOS, an absolute path in the config (`"command": "/opt/homebrew/bin/npx"`) avoids PATH issues for GUI-launched clients. |
| Specific tool returns `isError: true` | Bad input shape, or an unknown lookup key (UN number / HS code / AWB prefix not in the dataset) | The tool's error body names the offending field. Verify against the schema at https://www.freightutils.com/api-docs or call the corresponding [playground](https://www.freightutils.com/playground) endpoint to confirm the input shape. |

The full diagnostic flow lives at the [/api-docs#mcp-setup](https://www.freightutils.com/api-docs#mcp-setup) section on the website. The live backend status is callable from inside any MCP client at [GET /api/mcp/health](https://www.freightutils.com/api/mcp/health) — useful when you don't have shell access during a conversation.

---

## Rate Limits

All tools call the free FreightUtils API:

- **Anonymous:** 25 requests/day per IP
- **Free API key:** 100 requests/day (register at https://www.freightutils.com)
- **Pro:** 50,000 requests/month at £19/month

---

## Security and data

- **Read-only.** Every tool is a lookup or a calculation, declared `readOnlyHint: true` and `destructiveHint: false`. The server changes nothing, anywhere.
- **No file system, no shell.** The server reads no file except its own `package.json`, starts no process and opens no port — it talks over stdio only.
- **One destination.** Tool inputs go only to `https://www.freightutils.com/api` (or the base you set in `FREIGHTUTILS_API_URL`), over HTTPS. `get_subscribe_link` answers locally and sends nothing.
- **The key stays in the environment.** `FREIGHTUTILS_API_KEY` is read from the environment and sent only as an `Authorization: Bearer` header to that host — never logged, never written to disk, never put in an error message.
- **stdout is the protocol.** Nothing but MCP JSON-RPC goes to stdout; the one start-up notice goes to stderr.
- **Two validation layers.** Each tool's Zod schema checks types, formats and the API's own limits before any call is made (the three ADR tools — `adr_exemption_calculator`, `adr_lq_eq_check`, `shipment_summary` — also refuse, by name, a field they do not read). The API then validates every request again on the server and refuses what it cannot answer with a 400 naming the field.
- **Errors keep their meaning.** A failed call is reported by kind: network failure, timeout (30 s, or `FREIGHTUTILS_TIMEOUT_MS`), the API's own 4xx refusal, a 429 with its `reset_at`, or a 5xx — never with a stack trace, a request header or the contents of a server error page.
- **Two direct runtime dependencies:** `@modelcontextprotocol/sdk` and `zod`. CI fails on any high or critical advisory in the production dependency tree, and Dependabot watches it.
- **Reporting a vulnerability:** see [SECURITY.md](SECURITY.md).

---

## Example Prompts

Once connected, your AI agent can:

- "Calculate CBM for a box 120cm × 80cm × 100cm, 24 pieces"
- "Look up UN 1203 in the ADR database"
- "Check if 200L of petrol qualifies for ADR 1.1.3.6 exemption"
- "Find the HS code for lithium batteries"
- "What does FOB mean in shipping?"
- "How many boxes of 40×30×25cm fit on a euro pallet?"
- "Calculate loading metres for 26 euro pallets on an artic trailer"
- "What's the UK import duty on laptops from China?"

---

## Data Sources

- **ADR 2025** — UNECE, ECE/TRANS/352, applicable 1 Jan 2025; given legal effect by EU
  Directive 2008/68/EC (consolidated). Factual compilation, best-effort — not legal advice,
  not a regulatory authority.
- **HS 2022** — UN Comtrade HS 2022 (Public Domain Dedication and Licence); the WCO
  Harmonized System nomenclature is the authority.
- **Airlines** — the IATA / ICAO code registries. Authority only: this dataset carries no
  per-record provenance, and no licence or "open data" claim is made for it.
- **UN/LOCODE 2025-1** — UNECE official release artifact, coordinates strict-validated.
- **UK duty** — the live GOV.UK Trade Tariff API, pulled per request, so there is no local
  copy that can drift.
- **Containers / ULD / vehicles** — ISO, IATA and industry-standard specifications.
- **Emissions factors** — open DEFRA / EPA / ADEME factors (currently DEFRA 2026 + EPA 2025
  + ADEME Base Carbone v23.11), combined by the ISO 14083 / GLEC distance-based method.
  Estimates, not audited reports.

Public provenance wording is maintained in the FreightUtils repository's
[`docs/DATA_PROVENANCE.md`](https://www.freightutils.com/methodology) and copied here, not
written from memory — so a source that is re-attributed there cannot keep being cited here.

---

## Changelog

Release notes: [CHANGELOG.md](CHANGELOG.md) in this repo and
[GitHub Releases](https://github.com/SoapyRED/freightutils-mcp/releases).

A README that carries its own copy of the changelog is why three directories showed 2.4.0
as the latest release for three months after 2.4.0 had been superseded. One source now.

---

## Other ways to use FreightUtils

FreightUtils ships across multiple distribution surfaces. Pick the one that fits how you work:

- **Website** — interactive tools at [freightutils.com](https://www.freightutils.com)
- **REST API** — 24 endpoints, free tier (100/day) and Pro tier (50K/month, £19/mo). [API docs](https://www.freightutils.com/api-docs)
- **MCP server** — for LLM agents and AI tooling. [npm: freightutils-mcp](https://www.npmjs.com/package/freightutils-mcp) · [MCP Registry](https://registry.modelcontextprotocol.io/v0/servers?search=freightutils)
- **n8n custom node** — for workflow automation. [npm: n8n-nodes-freightutils](https://www.npmjs.com/package/n8n-nodes-freightutils)
- **Custom GPT** — the [FreightUtils GPT](https://chatgpt.com/g/g-69fb8fdb0a5c819182c73f8d224cc3d0) on the OpenAI GPT Store, backed by the same OpenAPI spec.

Same data, same compliance reference set (ADR 2025, HS 2022, IATA-regulated airline prefixes), every surface kept in sync.

---

## License

MIT — see [LICENSE](LICENSE).

Built by [Marius Cristoiu](https://www.linkedin.com/in/marius-cristoiu-a853812a2/), ADR-certified freight transport planner.