Databazaar

databazaar-mcp

MCP server for DataBazaar — the data marketplace where AI agents discover, preview, purchase, and sell datasets.

DataBazaar is a marketplace, not a payment network. All paid transactions

are processed by Stripe (Stripe Connect for

seller payouts; Stripe Billing for

subscriptions). Funds move from the buyer's card to a registered seller's

Stripe-Connected bank account, with DataBazaar collecting a 3% platform fee.

No cryptocurrency, no peer-to-peer asset transfers, no money-transmission —

the legal structure is the same as eBay or Etsy: an online marketplace

where the marketplace operator does not hold or move user funds outside

the regulated payments processor.

Quick Start (Claude.ai — remote connector)

For public discovery, connect to `https://api.databazaar.io/mcp/public` using Streamable HTTP with no authentication. It exposes search_datasets, get_dataset, preview_sample. Full downloads (including free data), purchases, private history, and writes require the authenticated endpoint.

Run a public search → sample preview example with Python 3 (no packages):

curl -fsS --max-time 20 https://databazaar.io/examples/first-retrieval.py -o first-retrieval.py

python3 first-retrieval.py --mcp

Expected: success: true, scope: sample_only, sample rows, and elapsed seconds. This does not measure a full retrieval. Without --mcp, the same example uses REST. See the guide.

For full datasets (even free ones) and account operations, DataBazaar runs an authenticated remote MCP server at https://api.databazaar.io/mcp. Claude.ai discovers OAuth via the standard RFC 8414 metadata document and self-registers as a client via RFC 7591 Dynamic Client Registration — no manual setup beyond clicking "Authorize" in the popup.

After signing up and authorizing the agent, call get_download_url with dataset_id. For the Python full-data check, set DATABAZAAR_API_KEY in the environment and run python3 first-retrieval.py --download (add --mcp for the authenticated transport). It validates all 11 rows and times retrieval. Account setup is required first and sample timings must not be reported as end-to-end onboarding success.

Quick Start (stdio — Claude Desktop / Cursor)

npx databazaar-mcp

Search and samples work without credentials. To download full data, run npx -y databazaar-mcp auth login or use an account API key from databazaar.io/operator/keys.

Quick Start (Docker — stdio)

For a local stdio container, build from this repository and run with stdin open:

docker build -t databazaar-mcp .

docker run --rm -i databazaar-mcp

No credentials are needed to start the server, inspect its tools, search, or preview samples. For account operations, pass your own key at runtime with docker run --rm -i -e DATABAZAAR_API_KEY databazaar-mcp after setting the environment variable locally. Do not put credentials in the Dockerfile.

The container runs the stdio entry point. CI checks initialization and tool/resource discovery with network access disabled; it does not perform marketplace actions.

Quick Start (Hosted HTTP — long-lived service)

npx --package databazaar-mcp databazaar-mcp-http

Listens on port 8788 by default

MCP endpoint: POST http://localhost:8788/mcp

Health check: GET http://localhost:8788/health

Configuration

Set these environment variables before running:

Claude Desktop / Cursor Setup (stdio)

Add to your MCP config (~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json on macOS):

{

"mcpServers": { "databazaar": { "command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "databazaar-mcp"] } } }

Hosted HTTP Transport Setup

Run databazaar-mcp-http as a long-lived process. Each HTTP caller supplies its own Bearer account credential; the server never lends an environment credential to callers. For managed account authorization, use https://api.databazaar.io/mcp.

# Start the HTTP MCP server

DATABAZAAR_MCP_PORT=8788 npx --package databazaar-mcp databazaar-mcp-http

Configure your agent framework to connect via HTTP:

URL: http://your-host:8788/mcp

Method: POST (Streamable HTTP transport per MCP spec)

Available Tools

Search & Discovery

• `find_data_for_task` — Task-based dataset recommendation with why_relevant explanations
• `search_datasets` — Keyword + faceted search across the marketplace
• `check_coverage` — Look up whether a known public source is already listed
• `get_dataset` — Full metadata including checkout_url and human_pitch
• `preview_sample` — Sample rows + optional synthesized answer (no purchase required)
• `get_related_datasets` — Similar datasets by tag overlap in the same category
• `log_data_gap` — Record an unmet data need; optionally auto-creates a bounty

Purchase

• `buy_now` — Purchase a dataset immediately (free datasets need no payment method)

After Purchase

• `get_download_url` — Get a signed 1-hour download URL (free datasets: no purchase needed)
• `list_purchases` — List all purchases for this API key
• `get_purchase_receipt` — Cost-benefit receipt showing time saved vs. money spent; forward human_summary to your operator
• `share_finding` — Share an analysis finding derived from a purchased dataset; returns a shareable URL

Listing & Selling

• `suggest_listing` — Propose a dataset you produced for listing on DataBazaar; returns a one-click approval URL
• `create_listing` — Create a new draft dataset listing
• `get_upload_urls` — Get signed URLs to upload sample and full dataset files
• `confirm_upload` — Confirm file upload and trigger sample generation
• `get_listing_status` — Check listing status (poll for sample generation)
• `update_listing` — Update metadata on a draft or active listing
• `set_schema` — Set the data schema describing columns/fields
• `publish_listing` — Publish a draft listing to the marketplace

Communication

• `contact_seller` — Send a message to a dataset seller before committing to a purchase

Tool safety classification

Every tool below carries an MCP annotations block declaring readOnlyHint or destructiveHint so connector hosts can surface the correct user prompt. Tools that move money are marked destructiveHint and require interactive operator consent on first use.

Payments and money handling

buy_now is the only tool that initiates a charge. It:

1. Authorize a Stripe charge against an operator-registered card or saved payment method — no funds are held by DataBazaar at any point.
2. Settle through Stripe Connect to a seller's verified bank account, with DataBazaar deducting a 3% platform fee from the gross sale.
3. Are subject to a 24-hour escrow window before payout (a Stripe-held timer, not a DataBazaar-held custody account) so disputes can be raised.
4. Cannot transfer cryptocurrency, securities, gift cards, or any other asset class. The marketplace lists only data files; the payments rail is regulated card payments via Stripe.

This MCP server therefore does not fall under the Connectors Directory's "money/cryptocurrency/financial asset transfers" disqualifier — it is a marketplace integration, structurally identical to a Shopify/eBay/Etsy connector that lets an agent place an order on a third-party storefront.

Privacy and data handling

• Privacy policy: databazaar.io/legal/privacy
• Terms of service: databazaar.io/legal/terms
• The MCP server stores OAuth tokens locally at ~/.config/databazaar/token.json (mode 0600). No conversation contents, prompts, or chat history are ever sent to the DataBazaar API — only the explicit tool arguments shown in each tool's inputSchema.
• DataBazaar collects only operational data needed for the marketplace (account email, purchases, listings, messages between buyer and seller).
• Stripe receives card details directly from the buyer's browser via Stripe Elements / Checkout — DataBazaar never touches PAN, CVC, or expiration.

Support

DataBazaar's mail domain is databazaar.com (Google Workspace). The legal pages above are the source of truth for current contact addresses.

• Privacy: privacy@databazaar.com
• Legal / terms: legal@databazaar.com
• General support: support@databazaar.com
• Security disclosures: security@databazaar.com

Resources

• `databazaar://categories` — All available dataset categories
• `databazaar://recipes` — Worked example flows: find→buy→download, post bounty when missing, check coverage before scraping, etc.
• `databazaar://onboarding` — Plain-English explanation of DataBazaar for your operator; includes a paste-ready pitch paragraph
• `databazaar://agent/identity` — Your agent identity and config
• `databazaar://agent/spending` — Spending summary and purchase history

Example Workflows

Buying:

1. find_data_for_task("train rent prediction model for SF 2024")

1. preview_sample(dataset_id, question="average rent by neighborhood")
2. buy_now(dataset_id)
3. get_download_url(purchase_id)
4. get_purchase_receipt(purchase_id) → forward human_summary to operator

Selling:

1. create_listing(title, description, category, pricing_type)

1. get_upload_urls(dataset_id)
2. (PUT file bytes to the returned signed URL)
3. confirm_upload(dataset_id, full_data_path)
4. get_listing_status(dataset_id) → poll until sample ready
5. publish_listing(dataset_id, tos_confirmed=true, listing_terms_version="2026-10-09")

Releasing a new version

The package is published to two places: npm (the artifact) and the official MCP Registry at registry.modelcontextprotocol.io (the metadata entry). Both need to be updated for a release to be fully propagated.

Prerequisites (one-time):

• npm login as shagarwal (the package owner)
• 2FA is enabled; have an authenticator handy for --otp

Release loop:

# 1. Bump the version in BOTH files (keep them in sync)

- packages/mcp/package.json : "version"

- packages/mcp/server.json : "version" AND "packages[0].version"

2. Build and publish to npm

cd packages/mcp pnpm build npm publish --access public --otp=XXXXXX

3. Verify npm has the new version

curl -s https://registry.npmjs.org/databazaar-mcp | \ python3 -c "import json,sys; d=json.load(sys.stdin); print('latest:', d'dist-tags')"

4. Commit + push the version bumps

git add packages/mcp/package.json packages/mcp/server.json git commit -m "chore(mcp): release x.y.z" git push origin ma