ris-mcp

MCP server for Austrian federal law (Bundesrecht), backed by the public RIS OGD API v2.6.

Tools

Related MCP server: gesetzessuche

Hosted

claude mcp add --transport http ris https://ris-mcp.noahpfister.com/mcp

Claude Desktop accepts the same URL as a custom connector.

Self-host

pip install -r requirements.txt

Point your MCP client at the local process:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ris": {
      "command": "python3",
      "args": ["-m", "src.server"],
      "cwd": "/path/to/ris-mcp"
    }
  }
}

mcp dev src/server.py runs it under the MCP Inspector.

who_mentions searches a local full-text index of about 600MB. It registers automatically once data/ris.db exists:

python3 -m src.index             # full crawl, ~441k docs at ~9/s, resumable
python3 -m src.index 10          # first 10 pages only
python3 -m src.index --fill-gaps # fetch missing docs only

Configuration

All variables are optional. Defaults suit a local stdio run.

Tests

pytest

Tests run offline against a temporary database.

Notes

• API base is https://data.bka.gv.at/ris/api/v2.6/, public and unauthenticated. BrKons serves consolidated federal law, BgblAuth serves gazette entries from 2004 on.

• RIS_MAX_UPSTREAM caps in-flight requests to RIS regardless of inbound load, which keeps a public endpoint from flooding a government API.

Legal

Code is MIT licensed. Legal data comes from RIS, published by the Bundeskanzleramt under CC BY 4.0. Every tool response carries that attribution, keep it attached when quoting or re-serving output.

Only the Bundesgesetzblatt ("BGBl authentisch") is legally binding, consolidated texts returned here are not. RIS gives no warranty on accuracy or completeness, and nothing here is legal advice.

This is an independent project, not affiliated with the Republic of Austria, the Bundeskanzleramt or RIS. Forks should keep their name clear of anything suggesting an official service.

Running your own crawl means bulk access to a government API. RIS asks for 1–2s between paged requests, off-hours runs, a User-Agent header, and an email to ris.it@bka.gv.at with your IP and schedule beforehand.