adsb.lol-mcp

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) interface to the adsb.lol API and related aviation data services.

Overview

This project provides a Model Context Protocol server that allows AI assistants to access real-time aircraft tracking data, FAA registration information, and OpenSky flight data. The server acts as a bridge between AI models and various aviation data sources.

Related MCP server: flight-tracker

Features

• ADSB.lol API Integration: Query real-time aircraft data from the adsb.lol API

• FAA Registration Data: Look up aircraft registration details from the FAA registry

• OpenSky Integration: Access historical flight data through the OpenSky Network API

• Local Data Caching: SQLite database for efficient caching of aircraft and flight data

• Formatted Output: Structured data presentation for AI consumption

• Emergency Services Tracking: Specialized tracking for emergency and government aircraft

Tech Stack

• MCP: Built on the Model Context Protocol for AI integration

• Python 3.12+: Modern Python features

• UV: For dependency management and virtual environment

• Pytest: Comprehensive test suite for all components

• SQLite: Local database for caching and persistence

• HTTPX: Asynchronous HTTP requests

Installation

Prerequisites

• Python 3.12 or higher

• UV package manager

• Git

Cold Start Setup

# Clone the repository with submodules
git clone --recursive https://github.com/x86ed/adsb.lol-mcp.git
cd adsb.lol-mcp

# If you already cloned without --recursive, initialize submodules
git submodule update --init --recursive

# Set up Python environment with UV
uv venv
source .venv/bin/activate  # On macOS/Linux
# .venv\Scripts\activate     # On Windows

# Install all dependencies
uv pip install -e .

# Initialize the aircraft database (creates aircraft.db if it doesn't exist)
python -c "from adsblol.api_v2 import setup_lol_aircraft_database; setup_lol_aircraft_database()"

OpenSky API Setup

This project uses a local copy of the OpenSky API Python library located in the opensky-api/python directory. The project is configured to use this local version rather than the PyPI package to ensure compatibility and access to the latest features.

Pulling Down OpenSky Code

The OpenSky API is included as a Git submodule. To ensure you have the latest version:

# If setting up for the first time or the opensky-api directory is empty
git submodule update --init --recursive

# To update to the latest OpenSky API code
git submodule update --remote opensky-api

# If you need to manually clone the OpenSky repository (fallback option)
git clone https://github.com/openskynetwork/opensky-api.git

The local OpenSky API dependency is automatically handled by the pyproject.toml configuration:

[tool.uv.sources]
opensky-api = { path = "opensky-api/python" }

Troubleshooting:

• If the opensky-api directory is empty, run git submodule update --init --recursive

• Verify the Python module exists at opensky-api/python/opensky_api.py

• If you encounter import errors, ensure the submodule is properly initialized

Testing

# Run the test suite
pytest

Usage

# Run the MCP server
python -m adsblol.main

License

See the LICENSE file for details.