edi-mcp
Server Configuration
Describes the environment variables required to run the server.
| Name | Required | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| EDI_API_KEY | No | API key for EDI PASTA REST calls (required for every call since 2026-07-30, including public reads). Create a free key at https://auth.edirepository.org (Profile → API keys). Optional: without a key, edi-mcp falls back to the anonymous DataONE replicas of EDI content, where search, metadata, entity download and citations work, but quality reports, lineage, change feeds and read counts require a key. |
Instructions
Guidance the server publishes about itself, which clients place ahead of the tool catalog so the model reads it before choosing anything.
This server publishes no instructions, or was last inspected before Glama recorded them.
Capabilities
Features and capabilities supported by this server
Protocol revision2025-11-25
| Capability | Details |
|---|---|
| tools | {
"listChanged": false
} |
| resources | {
"subscribe": false,
"listChanged": false
} |
Tools
Functions exposed to the LLM to take actions
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| edi_get_metadataA | The package's EML, projected to compact sections: overview (abstract, keywords, dates), people (creators, contacts with ORCIDs), coverage (bounding boxes, date ranges, taxa), methods, rights and license, project and funding, and entities. Choose sections with include; long text is cut at max_text_chars and lists are capped with totals. Next: call edi_list_entities for column definitions, units and codes. |
| edi_get_packageA | Overview of one package revision: title, publication date, creators, license, DOI, portal and metadata URLs, whether it is the newest revision, and its data entities with sizes and the total. Accepts package ids, series (newest unless revision is set), DOIs, portal or PASTA URLs, and site codes or scope names for the scope. Next: call edi_get_metadata for the full description or edi_list_entities for columns. |
| edi_list_entitiesA | Every data entity (table or file) of one package revision: name, type, file name, format, byte size, record count, CSV layout and the columns with definitions, storage types, units, date formats, code lists and missing-value codes; optional SHA-1 checksums. Gives the PASTA data URL and a DataONE URL readable without a key. Next: call edi_preview_entity or edi_download_entities with an entityId. |
| edi_list_identifiersA | List the package identifiers in one scope, ascending and paginated (offset/limit). The scope may be exact (knb-lter-hbr), an LTER site code (HBR) or a name ('Hubbard Brook'). Identifiers are numbers; a package is scope.identifier.revision. Next: call edi_list_revisions(package='scope.identifier') for one identifier's revisions. |
| edi_list_revisionsA | List every revision of one data package (scope.identifier), ascending, with the newest and oldest. Accepts a series (knb-lter-hbr.14), any revision, a DOI, a portal or PASTA URL, and site codes or scope names in place of the scope. Without an API key DataONE answers and can lag new revisions. Next: call edi_get_package(package=newestPackageId). |
| edi_list_scopesA | List the repository's scopes (knb-lter-hbr, edi, ...) with name, kind, LTER site code, location and package counts on PASTA and DataONE. With an API key the list comes live from PASTA; without one it is edi-mcp's dated snapshot (also edi://reference/scopes). Scope arguments elsewhere also accept these site codes and names. Next: call edi_search_packages(scope=...) or edi_list_identifiers(scope=...). |
| edi_pingA | Liveness and capability report: server version and protocol, whether an EDI API key is available and therefore which backend serves this caller (pasta with a key, dataone without), which tools need a key, and whether downloads are enabled. Never reveals the key. With check_api=true it also makes one small request to that backend to confirm the key and connectivity. Next: call edi_search_packages to find data packages. |
| edi_search_packagesA | Search EDI/LTER data packages by free text, scope (exact, LTER site code or name such as 'Jornada'), creator last name, temporal overlap (start_year/end_year) and bounding box; sort by relevance or publication date; paginated (offset/limit). Returns the newest revision of each package with title, DOI, coverage dates, creators and keywords. Bulk generated scopes are excluded unless include_bulk=true. Next: call edi_get_package or edi_get_metadata with a packageId. |
Prompts
Interactive templates invoked by user choice
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
No prompts | |
Resources
Contextual data attached and managed by the client
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| api-key | Why EDI needs a key since 2026-07-30, how to create one, how edi-mcp uses it, and what works without one. |
| package-identifiers | Scopes, scope.identifier.revision, newest/oldest, DOIs, entity ids and the forms edi-mcp accepts. |
| scopes | Every scope with name, kind, LTER site code, location and package counts on PASTA and DataONE (dated snapshot); scope arguments accept these site codes and names. |
TDQS
Scored across 8 tools
Tools are mostly distinct, but edi_get_package and edi_get_metadata both retrieve package-level information (summary vs full EML), and edi_list_entities overlaps with the entities section of edi_get_metadata. The descriptions clearly guide which to use, but the tiered granularity creates minor potential for misselection.
All tools use the edi_ prefix and snake_case, with a consistent verb_noun pattern except edi_ping (verb only). This is a minor deviation, but the set remains highly readable and predictable.
Eight tools are well-scoped for a data repository client, covering discovery, metadata retrieval, and health checking without redundancy. Each tool earns its place.
The descriptions reference edi_preview_entity and edi_download_entities as next steps, but these tools are absent from the set. This leaves a critical gap: agents can discover and inspect metadata but cannot retrieve or preview actual data, which is a core function of the domain.