How do I use edp-mcp?

1. Click on "Deploy Server". 2. Wait a few minutes for the server to deploy. Once ready, it will show a "Started" state. 3. In the chat, type @ followed by the MCP server name and your instructions, e.g., "@edp-mcp Show total public school enrollment by state for 2022." That's it! The server will respond to your query, and you can continue using it as needed. Here is a step-by-step guide with screenshots.

edp-mcp

Official

by UrbanInstitute

Overview Schema Source Related Servers Discussions Admin

Python

Remote

education-data-mcp

An MCP server over the Urban Institute's Education Data Portal — harmonized federal education data (CCD, CRDC, IPEDS, EdFacts, SAIPE, College Scorecard, MEPS, PSEO) for schools, school districts, and colleges.

Queries the live EDP API. No API key required. Read-only.

Prerequisites

Python 3.11+
uv

Related MCP server: mcp-data-oregon

Installation

git clone https://github.com/UrbanInstitute/education-data-mcp.git
cd education-data-mcp
uv sync

Tools

Six tools, following a discovery-first workflow:

Tool	Purpose
`search_datasets`	Find available datasets by level, source, topic, or keyword
`describe_dataset`	Inspect a dataset's variables, filters, and coded value formats
`get_data`	Fetch raw data records with human-readable labels (by default)
`get_summary`	Get aggregated statistics (counts, sums, averages) by group
`lookup_codes`	Translate between codes and labels (e.g., FIPS 6 = California)
`resolve_entity`	Find a school/district/college ID by name (e.g., "Harvard" → unitid 166027)

Typical workflow: search_datasets → describe_dataset → get_summary or get_data, with lookup_codes and resolve_entity as needed.

Tool reference

search_datasets

Find available datasets.

Parameter	Type	Description
`level`	string (optional)	`"schools"`, `"school-districts"`, or `"college-university"`
`source`	string (optional)	`"ccd"`, `"ipeds"`, `"crdc"`, `"edfacts"`, `"saipe"`, `"scorecard"`, etc.
`topic`	string (optional)	`"enrollment"`, `"directory"`, `"finance"`, `"discipline"`, etc.
`search`	string (optional)	Keyword to match against dataset URLs and descriptions

describe_dataset

Inspect a dataset's variables, filters, and coded value formats.

Parameter	Type	Description
`path`	string	Dataset path, raw template or filled in: `"schools/ccd/enrollment/{year}/{grade}/race/"` or `"schools/ccd/enrollment/2022/grade-99/race/"`
`filterable_only`	boolean (default: false)	Only show variables usable as query filters

get_data

Fetch education data. Returns human-readable labels by default.

Parameter	Type	Description
`path`	string	A path with every `{placeholder}` filled in: `"schools/ccd/directory/2022/"`. One year per call
`filters`	string (optional)	Query filters: `"fips=11&charter=1"`. Also accepts `"ordering=-enrollment"` to rank server-side
`fields`	string (optional)	Columns to return: `"ncessch,school_name,enrollment"`
`add_labels`	boolean (default: true)	Decode coded values to human-readable labels
`preview`	boolean (default: false)	Return a small labelled sample instead of a complete result

get_summary

Get aggregated statistics from the Education Data Portal. Use for counts, totals, or averages across groups. Much faster than fetching raw data and computing yourself.

Parameter	Type	Description
`path`	string	The dataset path WITHOUT `{placeholders}` — the static head of the template: `"schools/ccd/enrollment"`
`var`	string	Variable to aggregate: `"enrollment"`, `"teachers_fte"`, etc.
`stat`	string	Statistic: `"sum"`, `"count"`, `"avg"`, `"min"`, `"max"`, `"median"`, `"stddev"`, `"variance"`
`by`	string	Grouping variables (comma-separated): `"fips"`, `"race"`, `"fips,charter"`
`filters`	string (optional)	Query filters: `"fips=6"` or `"fips=6&year=2022"`. `ordering=` is not supported here

Results are always grouped by year in addition to the specified groupings.

Example: Total enrollment by state: get_summary(path="schools/ccd/enrollment", var="enrollment", stat="sum", by="fips")

lookup_codes

Look up code-to-label mappings. Use to find filter values (e.g., "California" = FIPS 6) or understand coded results.

Parameter	Type	Description
`format_name`	string	Format name from `describe_dataset` output: `"fips"`, `"race"`, `"sex"`, etc.
`codes`	string (optional)	Comma-separated codes: `"1,2,3"`. Omit to see all values.

Coded values are field-specific. Code meanings come from each variable's API metadata, not a fixed table, and get_data/get_summary decode them to labels automatically. Negative codes often mean -1 = Missing/not reported, -2 = Not applicable, -3 = Suppressed for privacy — but not always: for grade, -1 means Pre-K (0 = Kindergarten). Use lookup_codes to see a variable's full, authoritative code list.

resolve_entity

Resolve a school, district, or college name to its ID for filtering. Use when you need to filter data by a specific entity.

Parameter	Type	Description
`name`	string	Name to search for (case-insensitive substring match)
`entity_type`	string	`"school"`, `"district"`, or `"college"`
`fips`	integer (optional)	State FIPS code (e.g., 6 for California). Required for schools and districts
`max_results`	integer (default: 15)	Maximum number of results to return

Returns matching entities with their IDs (ncessch for schools, leaid for districts, unitid for colleges) for use in get_data filters.

Running it

MCP Inspector (interactive testing)

uv run mcp dev src/edp_mcp/server.py

Opens a browser at http://localhost:6274 — connect, open Tools, and run any tool with parameters.

Claude Desktop / Claude Code / VS Code / Copilot CLI

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "edp-mcp": {
      "command": "uv",
      "args": ["run", "--directory", "/absolute/path/to/education-data-mcp", "edp-mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Client	Where it goes
Claude Desktop	`claude_desktop_config.json` — macOS: `~/Library/Application Support/Claude/`; Windows: `%APPDATA%\Claude\`
Claude Code	`.claude/settings.json`, or `claude mcp add edp-mcp -- uv run --directory /absolute/path/to/education-data-mcp NAME`
VS Code (Copilot)	`.vscode/settings.json`, nested as `{"mcp": {"servers": {...}}}`

stdio (direct)

uv run edp-mcp

Streamable HTTP (hosted)

MCP_TRANSPORT=streamable-http PORT=8080 uv run edp-mcp

MCP is served at POST /mcp; GET /health is a plain unauthenticated health check for a load balancer or orchestrator.

Variable	Default	Purpose
`MCP_TRANSPORT`	`stdio`	`stdio` or `streamable-http`
`PORT`	`8080`	Listen port
`MCP_HOST`	`0.0.0.0`	Bind address
`MCP_ALLOWED_HOSTS`	(unset)	Comma-separated `Host` allow-list
`MCP_ALLOWED_ORIGINS`	(unset)	Comma-separated `Origin` allow-list

Set MCP_ALLOWED_HOSTS to the public hostname before exposing this beyond a private network. Both are unset by default, which leaves the SDK's DNS-rebinding protection off — setting either turns it on. Note that enabling it with an allow-list that omits the real hostname rejects every request.

Hosted

Also available as a hosted streamable-HTTP server: https://educationdata.urban.org/mcp/edp

Tests

uv run pytest -q

Tests use saved API fixtures (tests/fixtures/) with mocked HTTP, so no network is needed. scripts/smoke_live.py exercises the real API end to end.

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Maintenance

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Resources

GitHub Repository

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