Swisstopo MCP

🇨🇭 Part of the [Swiss Public Data MCP Portfolio](https://github.com/malkreide)

swisstopo-mcp

MCP server for Swiss federal geodata -- maps, elevation, geocoding, cadastral extracts, and downloadable datasets via Swisstopo APIs

🇩🇪 Deutsche Version

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Overview

swisstopo-mcp gives AI assistants access to Switzerland's official geodata infrastructure through 20 tools, all without authentication:

Anchor demo query: *"Which communes are in the Uster district, and what are their BFS numbers for joining with BFS statistics data?"* (The BFS commune number is the official join key to swiss-statistics-mcp and zurich-opendata-mcp — this is what turns a geodata wrapper into a semantic connector at the commune level.) → More use cases by audience →

Demo

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Features

• 🗺️ 20 tools (REST, Geocoding, Height, STAC, WMTS, OEREB, geodienste.ch, OpenStreetMap/Overpass, OpenPLZ)
• 🏛️ Resolve the administrative address level (PLZ → commune/BFS number → district → canton) via OpenPLZ
• 🔍 Geocode Swiss addresses and reverse-geocode coordinates
• 🏔️ Query elevation and compute elevation profiles
• 📦 Discover and download geodatasets (orthophotos, 3D buildings, historical maps)
• 🏗️ Identify map features at coordinates across 500+ Swisstopo layers
• 🔗 Generate shareable map.geo.admin.ch links
• 📋 Look up cadastral property IDs (EGRID) and retrieve OEREB extracts
• 🔓 No API key required for all tools (OEREB extract needs a supported canton)
• ☁️ Dual transport -- stdio (Claude Desktop) + Streamable HTTP (cloud)

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Prerequisites

• Python 3.11+
• uv (recommended) or pip

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Installation

# Clone the repository

git clone https://github.com/malkreide/swisstopo-mcp.git cd swisstopo-mcp

Install

pip install -e .

or with uv:

uv pip install -e .

Or with uvx (no permanent installation):

uvx swisstopo-mcp

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Quickstart

# stdio (for Claude Desktop)

python -m swisstopo_mcp.server

Streamable HTTP (port 8000)

python -m swisstopo_mcp.server --http --port 8000

Try it immediately in Claude Desktop:

*"Where is Bahnhofstrasse 1, Zurich? Give me the coordinates."*

*"What is the elevation at the Uetliberg summit?"*

*"What buildings are at coordinates 2683500, 1247500 (LV95)?"*

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Configuration

Claude Desktop

Edit ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json (macOS) or %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json (Windows):

{

"mcpServers": { "swisstopo": { "command": "python", "args": ["-m", "swisstopo_mcp.server"] } } }

Or with uvx:

{

"mcpServers": { "swisstopo": { "command": "uvx", "args": ["swisstopo-mcp"] } } }

Config file locations:

• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
• Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

Cloud Deployment (SSE for browser access)

For use via claude.ai in the browser (e.g. on managed workstations without local software):

Render.com (recommended):

1. Push/fork the repository to GitHub
2. On render.com: New Web Service -> connect GitHub repo
3. Set start command: python -m swisstopo_mcp.server --http --port 8000
4. In claude.ai under Settings -> MCP Servers, add: https://your-app.onrender.com/sse

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Available Tools

REST API (Layer & Feature Queries)

swisstopo_map_query operations

Arguments belonging to a different operation are rejected, not ignored — the error names the ones the chosen operation accepts. Silently dropping a misplaced search_field would return a plausible answer to a question nobody asked, which is the failure mode the whole envelope design is against.

Geocoding

Height Service

STAC Catalog (Geodata Downloads)

WMTS (Map URLs)

OEREB Cadastre

Consolidated Geodata Façade

One façade over several map/layer sources, kept under the 25-tool budget (see docs/geodaten-erweiterung-phase1.md):

Administrative Address Level (OpenPLZ)

The amtliche address hierarchy PLZ → commune → district → canton, served by the OpenPLZ API (data: BFS municipal directory + swisstopo street directory, Swiss OGD — a separate source and licence from the swisstopo geodata above). Every commune-bearing response exposes bfs_commune_number as a named top-level field: the official join key to BFS statistics (swiss-statistics-mcp) and zurich-opendata-mcp.

Example Use Cases

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Architecture

┌─────────────────┐     ┌──────────────────────────────┐     ┌──────────────────────────┐

│ Claude / AI │────▶│ swisstopo-mcp │────▶│ Swisstopo REST API │ │ (MCP Host) │◀────│ (MCP Server) │◀────│ api3.geo.admin.ch │ └─────────────────┘ │ │ ├──────────────────────────┤ │ 20 Tools │────▶│ Geocoding │ │ Stdio | Streamable HTTP │◀────│ api3.geo.admin.ch │ │ │ ├──────────────────────────┤ │ No authentication required │────▶│ STAC Catalog │ │ (all tools; OEREB canton opt) │◀────│ data.geo.admin.ch │ │ │ ├──────────────────────────┤ │ │────▶│ OEREB Cadastre │ │ │◀────│ (cantonal endpoints) │ │