Ckan MCP Server

CKAN MCP Server

*Turn any (CKAN) open data portal into a conversation.*

Give your AI assistant direct access to any CKAN open data portal — search datasets, explore organizations, query tabular data, and read metadata, all through natural language.

CKAN is the open-source platform behind most public open data portals worldwide (Italy's dati.gov.it, the US data.gov, Canada's open.canada.ca, and many more). Navigating these portals usually requires knowing their structure, APIs, and search syntax. This MCP server removes that barrier: once connected, your AI tool can do it all for you.

This is possible because of open standards and open source. CKAN exposes a fully documented, public API. Metadata follows DCAT, an open W3C standard for describing datasets. Both are free to use, free to build on, and maintained by open communities. This server stands on that foundation.

Who is this for? Everyone. Journalists looking for data to verify a story. Researchers exploring public datasets. Public servants checking what data their administration publishes. Developers building data pipelines. No CKAN knowledge required.

Adopted by AgID — This project has been reused by AgID, Italy's Agency for Digital Italy, as part of its effort to make public open data more accessible, immediate, and easier to consult through AI.

Two ways to use it — pick the one that suits you:

Hosted endpoint: https://ckan-mcp-server.andy-pr.workers.dev/mcp

Recommendation: Option B is a great way to get started and try things out without any setup. Once you're familiar with what the server can do, switching to Option A (local install) gives you unlimited usage with no shared quotas.

👉 Want to explore the codebase? The AI-generated DeepWiki is a great starting point.

License: MIT — see LICENSE for complete details. Third-party notices: NOTICE.md.

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⚖️ Limits

The local and hosted server use the same tool and output caps. The hosted endpoint also has the shared request quota shown above.

Text and Markdown responses that exceed the output cap are cut and include a truncation note. JSON responses stay parseable: the server reduces known result arrays and flags the response with _truncated and _original_count, and if a response still cannot fit it is replaced by a small object carrying _truncated and an explanatory _error. The same capped payload is sent on both channels, so a client reading structuredContent sees exactly what the text shows, truncation flags included. Use pagination or a narrower query when you need the complete result set.

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🔌 Use it in your favorite tool

ChatGPT | Claude Desktop | Claude Code | Le Chat (Mistral) | Perplexity Pro | Gemini CLI | VS Code | Codex CLI

This server works with any MCP-compatible client. The sections below cover some of the most popular ones — if your tool isn't listed, check its documentation for MCP configuration and use the same endpoint URL or command.

All examples below work with both the local installation and the hosted endpoint. Where both options differ, both are shown.

Using local installation? You need to install the server first — see Run locally.

ChatGPT

Requires a ChatGPT Plus, Team, or Enterprise plan.

1. Open the profile menu and go to Settings → Apps → Advanced settings
2. Enable Developer mode
3. Click Create app (top-right)
4. Fill in the form:

• Name: CKAN MCP Server
• Description: Search datasets on CKAN open data portals
• MCP Server URL: https://ckan-mcp-server.andy-pr.workers.dev/mcp
• Authentication: No Auth
• Check the confirmation box, then click Create

1. In a new chat, click + → More and select CKAN MCP Server

For a step-by-step walkthrough with screenshots, see the full ChatGPT guide.

Claude Desktop

Using the hosted endpoint (no install) — via connector UI:

1. Open Claude Desktop and go to Settings → Integrations
2. Click Add custom integration
3. Fill in the details:

• Name: CKAN MCP Server
• MCP Server URL: https://ckan-mcp-server.andy-pr.workers.dev/mcp

1. Click Add to save
2. Open a new chat, click +, select Integrations, and enable CKAN MCP Server
3. When Claude asks to use a tool, click Allow (or Always allow)

For a detailed walkthrough with screenshots, see the full Claude guide.

Using the hosted endpoint (no install) — via config file:

Configuration file location:

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

{

"mcpServers": { "ckan": { "url": "https://ckan-mcp-server.andy-pr.workers.dev/mcp" } } }

Using local installation:

{

"mcpServers": { "ckan": { "command": "npx", "args": ["@aborruso/ckan-mcp-server@latest"] } } }

Claude Code

Using the hosted endpoint (no install):

claude mcp add -s user -t http ckan https://ckan-mcp-server.andy-pr.workers.dev/mcp

Using local installation:

claude mcp add -s user ckan npx @aborruso/ckan-mcp-server@latest

--scope user makes the server available globally across all your projects, not just the current one.

To add it only for a specific project, run from the project folder without the --scope user flag:

claude mcp add --transport http ckan https://ckan-mcp-server.andy-pr.workers.dev/mcp

Le Chat (Mistral)

1. In the left sidebar, click Intelligence, then select Connectors
2. Click + Add Connector
3. Select the Custom MCP Connector tab and fill in the details:

• Name: CKAN
• Connector Server: https://ckan-mcp-server.andy-pr.workers.dev/mcp

1. Click Connect to save
2. Open a new chat, click +, then Connectors, and enable CKAN

For a step-by-step walkthrough with screenshots, see the full Le Chat guide.

Perplexity Pro

Requires a Perplexity Pro account.

1. Click the "+" (Attach) icon in the message input bar and select Connectors & sources
2. Click Connect external app
3. Fill in the details:

• Name: CKAN MCP Server
• MCP Server URL: https://ckan-mcp-server.andy-pr.workers.dev/mcp
• Authorization Type: No Authentication
• Connection Type: HTTP Streamable

1. Check the confirmation box and click Save
2. In a new chat, click + → Connectors & sources and enable ckan_mcp_server

For a step-by-step walkthrough with screenshots, see the full Perplexity guide.

Gemini CLI

gemini mcp add -s user -t http ckan https://ckan-mcp-server.andy-pr.workers.dev/mcp

Or add manually to ~/.gemini/settings.json:

{

"mcpServers": { "ckan": { "httpUrl": "https://ckan-mcp-server.andy-pr.workers.dev/mcp" } } }

VS Code

Add to your User Settings or .vscode/settings.json:

Using the hosted endpoint (no install):

{

"mcpServers": { "ckan": { "url": "https://ckan-mcp-server.andy-pr.workers.dev/mcp", "type": "http" } } }

Using local installation:

{

"mcpServers": { "ckan": { "command": "npx", "args": ["@aborruso/ckan-mcp-server@latest"] } } }

Codex CLI

Add to ~/.codex/config.toml:

Using the hosted endpoint (no install):

[mcp_servers.ckan]

url = "https://ckan-mcp-server.andy-pr.workers.dev/mcp"

Using local installation:

[mcp_servers.ckan]

command = "npx" args = ["-y", "@aborruso/ckan-mcp-server@latest"]

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🖥️ Run locally

Option 1 — Install via npm

The quickest way. Install the package globally and it's immediately available as a command:

npm install -g @aborruso/ckan-mcp-server

The server will be available as ckan-mcp-server, or you can run it without installing via:

npx @aborruso/ckan-mcp-server@latest

Option 2 — Clone and build

For development or if you want to run the latest unreleased code:

git clone https://github.com/ondata/ckan-mcp-server.git

cd ckan-mcp-server npm install npm run build node dist/index.js

Option 3 — Docker

Thanks to @piersoft, you can also run the server via Docker:

git clone https://github.com/ondata/ckan-mcp-server.git

cd ckan-mcp-server docker compose up --build -d

The MCP server will be available at http://localhost:3000/mcp. See docker/README.md for full details, including how to connect Claude Desktop to the container.

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🛠️ Available Tools

Search and Discovery

• ckan_package_search: Search datasets with Solr queries
• ckan_find_relevant_datasets: Rank datasets by relevance score
• ckan_package_show: Complete details of a dataset. On portals that use ckanext-scheming the schema's other root fields are added as fields, each with its label and the value as stored
• ckan_tag_list: List tags with counts

Organizations

• ckan_organization_list: List all organizations
• ckan_organization_show: Details of an organization
• ckan_organization_search: Search organizations by name

Groups

• ckan_group_list: List groups
• ckan_group_show: Show group details
• **ckan_group_sea