GovInfo API MCP Server

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server and REST API wrapper for accessing the GovInfo API. This tool provides easy access to government documents, bills, regulations, and related information through both MCP protocol and HTTP REST endpoints.

The government api is located here https://api.govinfo.gov/docs/

This is not the govenments mcp they have their own here https://github.com/usgpo/api/blob/main/docs/mcp.md

I wanted one that exposes all of the apis endpoints for deep research.

I highly suggest understanding the data structures before making promts. The mcp handels the api limits for you but it should be as targeted as possible.

Features

• 🔍 Advanced Search: Search government documents with filtering, sorting, and pagination

• 📚 Collections: Browse all available GovInfo collections

• 📋 Package Details: Get metadata and granule information for specific documents

• 📅 Date Filtering: Find documents by publication or modification dates

• 🔗 Relationships: Discover related documents across collections

• ⏱️ Rate Limiting: Built-in rate limiting (1000 calls/hour)

• 🌐 Dual Interface: Use via MCP protocol or simple HTTP REST endpoints

Setup

1. Get Your API Key

1. Go to api.data.gov

2. Sign up for a free API key

3. Request the GovInfo API access

4. Copy your API key

2. Configure Environment

Create a .env file in the project root:

GOV_API_KEY=your_api_key_here

3. Install Dependencies

pip install -r requirements.txt

Running the Servers

Option 1: REST API Server Only (Recommended for Testing)

python api_server.py

Server runs on: http://127.0.0.1:8030

Swagger Docs: http://127.0.0.1:8030/docs

Option 2: MCP Server Only

python gov.api.mcp.py

Option 3: Run Both Simultaneously

In terminal 1:

python gov.api.mcp.py

In terminal 2:

python api_server.py

REST API Endpoints

Search Documents

Endpoint: POST /search

Parameters (query parameters or form data):

• query (required): Search query (e.g., "congress bills")

• offsetMark (optional): Pagination marker (default: "*")

• sort (optional): Sort field (publishDate, lastModified, title)

• collection (optional): Collection list to search (BILLS, CFR, FR, etc.)

• historical (optional): Include historical documents (true/false, default: false)

• pageSize (optional): Results per page (default: 10)

Example:

curl -X POST "http://127.0.0.1:8030/search?query=border+security&collection=BILLS&pageSize=50"

Search Synthesis

Endpoint: POST /search_synthesis

Description: 🎯 Synthesize search results into a concise summary with AI analysis

Parameters (JSON body):

• search_query (required): Search query for synthesis

• committees (optional): List of collection codes (e.g., ["BILLS", "FR"])

Examples:

# Immigration search with specific collections
curl -X POST "http://127.0.0.1:8030/search_synthesis" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"search_query": "immigration policy", "committees": ["BILLS", "FR"]}'

# Healthcare search with auto-detection
curl -X POST "http://127.0.0.1:8030/search_synthesis" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"search_query": "healthcare reform"}'

Get Collections

Endpoint: GET /collections

Returns all available GovInfo collections.

Example:

curl "http://127.0.0.1:8030/collections"

Search Collection by Date

Endpoint: GET /collections/{collection_id}/{last_modified}

Parameters:

• collection_id: Collection identifier (e.g., USCODE, BILLS)

• last_modified: Date in YYYY-MM-DD format

• pageSize (optional): Results per page (default: 10)

• offsetMark (optional): Pagination marker (default: "*")

• congress (optional): Congress number (default: -1)

• docClass (optional): Document class

• billVersion (optional): Bill version

• courtCode (optional): Court code

• courtType (optional): Court type

• state (optional): State

• topic (optional): Topic

• isGLP (optional): GLP status

• natureSuitCode (optional): Nature of suit code

• natureSuit (optional): Nature of suit

Example:

curl "http://127.0.0.1:8030/collections/USCODE/2025-01-01?pageSize=20&congress=118"

Search Collection by Date Range

Endpoint: GET /collections/{collection_id}/{start_date}/{end_date}

Parameters:

• collection_id: Collection identifier

• start_date: Start date (YYYY-MM-DD)

• end_date: End date (YYYY-MM-DD)

• pageSize (optional): Results per page (default: 10)

• offsetMark (optional): Pagination marker (default: "*")

• Additional filtering parameters: congress, docClass, billVersion, courtCode, courtType, state, topic, isGLP, natureSuitCode, natureSuit

Example:

curl "http://127.0.0.1:8030/collections/BILLS/2024-01-01/2024-12-31?pageSize=50"

Package Summary

Endpoint: GET /package/{package_id}/summary

Get detailed metadata for a specific package.

Example:

curl "http://127.0.0.1:8030/package/BILLS-118hr123ih/summary"

Package Granules

Endpoint: GET /package/{package_id}/granules

Get all granules (sub-documents) for a package.

Parameters:

• package_id: Package identifier

• pageSize (optional): Results per page (default: 10)

• offsetMark (optional): Pagination marker (default: "*")

Example:

curl "http://127.0.0.1:8030/package/BILLS-118hr123ih/granules?pageSize=50"

Package Granule Summary

Endpoint: GET /package/{package_id}/granules/{granule_id}/summary

Get summary for a specific granule within a package.

Parameters:

• package_id: Package identifier

• granule_id: Granule identifier

• pageSize (optional): Results per page (default: 10)

Example:

curl "http://127.0.0.1:8030/package/BILLS-118hr123ih/granules/BILLS-118hr123ih-1/summary"

Published Documents

Endpoint: GET /published/{start_date}

Get documents published on or after a specific date.

Parameters:

• start_date: Date in YYYY-MM-DD format

• collection (required): Collection identifier

• pageSize (optional): Results per page (default: 10)

• offsetMark (optional): Pagination marker (default: "*")

Example:

curl "http://127.0.0.1:8030/published/2025-01-01?collection=BILLS&pageSize=100"

Published Range

Endpoint: GET /published/{start_date}/{end_date}

Get documents published within a date range.

Parameters:

• start_date: Start date in YYYY-MM-DD format

• end_date: End date in YYYY-MM-DD format

• collection (required): Collection identifier

• pageSize (optional): Results per page (default: 10)

• offsetMark (optional): Pagination marker (default: "*")

Example:

curl "http://127.0.0.1:8030/published/2024-01-01/2024-12-31?collection=FR&pageSize=50"

Related Documents

Endpoint: GET /related/{access_id}

Find documents related to a specific access ID.

Example:

curl "http://127.0.0.1:8030/related/BILLS-118hr123ih"

Related Documents in Collection

Endpoint: GET /related/{access_id}/{collection_id}

Find related documents within a specific collection.

Example:

curl "http://127.0.0.1:8030/related/BILLS-118hr123ih/USCODE"

Testing with Postman

1. Import the collection or manually create requests for each endpoint

2. Use the examples above as templates

3. Replace {API_KEY} with your actual key (handled automatically by the server)

4. Test each endpoint with your desired parameters

Rate Limiting

• Limit: 1000 API calls per hour

• Status: Automatically tracked across all requests

• Warning: Server will return {"error": "API limit reached"} when limit is exceeded

• Reset: Counter resets every hour

Common Issues

API Key Not Found

Error: "API key not found" Solution: Create a .env file with GOV_API_KEY=your_key_here

404 Errors on Endpoints

Issue: Using collection names instead of document IDs Solution: Use valid IDs (e.g., BILLS-118hr123ih, not USCODE for related documents)

400 Bad Request

Issue: Incorrect date format Solution: Use YYYY-MM-DD format for dates

Empty Response

Issue: Valid request but no matching results Solution: Try different search parameters or date ranges

Architecture

Two-Server Design

1. gov.api.mcp.py - FastMCP Server

   • Implements MCP protocol for AI assistants

   • Runs on port 8090 with MCP transport

   • Ideal for integration with Claude and other AI tools

2. api_server.py - FastAPI Server

   • Exposes simple REST HTTP endpoints

   • Imports and wraps tool functions from MCP server

   • Easier for testing and direct HTTP clients

   • Swagger UI at /docs

Data Flow

HTTP Request → api_server.py → MCP Tool Functions → GovInfo API
    ↓
  JSON Response

Available Collections

Common GovInfo collections:

• BILLS: Congressional Bills

• USCODE: U.S. Code

• STATUE: U.S. Statutes

• CFR: Code of Federal Regulations

• FR: Federal Register

• GOVPUB: Government Publications

• PPP: Presidential Papers

Examples

Search for Bills About Energy

curl -X POST "http://127.0.0.1:8030/search?query=energy+efficiency&collection=BILLS&sort=publishDate&pageSize=50"

Find Federal Register Documents from Last Month

curl "http://127.0.0.1:8030/published/2024-12-01?collection=FR&pageSize=200"

Get CFR Changes in 2025

curl "http://127.0.0.1:8030/published/2025-01-01?collection=CFR"

Synthesize Immigration Policy Research

curl -X POST "http://127.0.0.1:8030/search_synthesis" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"search_query": "immigration reform legislation", "committees": ["BILLS", "CREC"]}'

Support

For issues with the GovInfo API itself, see api.govinfo.gov

For questions about this wrapper, check the code comments or submit an issue.

License

This project wraps the publicly accessible GovInfo API provided by the U.S. Government.