Data.gov MCP Server for LlamaIndex 13 tools — connect in under 2 minutes
LlamaIndex specializes in data-aware AI agents that connect LLMs to structured and unstructured sources. Add Data.gov as an MCP tool provider through Vinkius and your agents can query, analyze, and act on live data alongside your existing indexes.
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Vinkius supports streamable HTTP and SSE.
import asyncio
from llama_index.tools.mcp import BasicMCPClient, McpToolSpec
from llama_index.core.agent.workflow import FunctionAgent
from llama_index.llms.openai import OpenAI
async def main():
# Your Vinkius token. get it at cloud.vinkius.com
mcp_client = BasicMCPClient("https://edge.vinkius.com/[YOUR_TOKEN_HERE]/mcp")
mcp_tool_spec = McpToolSpec(client=mcp_client)
tools = await mcp_tool_spec.to_tool_list_async()
agent = FunctionAgent(
tools=tools,
llm=OpenAI(model="gpt-4o"),
system_prompt=(
"You are an assistant with access to Data.gov. "
"You have 13 tools available."
),
)
response = await agent.run(
"What tools are available in Data.gov?"
)
print(response)
asyncio.run(main())
* Every MCP server runs on Vinkius-managed infrastructure inside AWS - a purpose-built runtime with per-request V8 isolates, Ed25519 signed audit chains, and sub-40ms cold starts optimized for native MCP execution. See our infrastructure
About Data.gov MCP Server
Connect to Data.gov and explore the US government's open data catalog through natural conversation — no API key needed.
LlamaIndex agents combine Data.gov tool responses with indexed documents for comprehensive, grounded answers. Connect 13 tools through Vinkius and query live data alongside vector stores and SQL databases in a single turn. ideal for hybrid search, data enrichment, and analytical workflows.
What you can do
- Dataset Search — Search 300,000+ federal datasets by keyword, organization, tags and topic
- Dataset Details — Get full metadata including descriptions, resource downloads, licenses and data dictionaries
- Browse Organizations — Explore all federal agencies publishing open data (NASA, USDA, EPA, NOAA, Census Bureau, etc.)
- Browse by Topic — Discover datasets organized by topic: agriculture, climate, education, health, finance, public safety
- Browse by Tags — Find datasets by popular tags and categories
- Resource Formats — Discover available download formats (CSV, JSON, XML, Shapefile, GeoJSON, PDF)
The Data.gov MCP Server exposes 13 tools through the Vinkius. Connect it to LlamaIndex in under two minutes — no API keys to rotate, no infrastructure to provision, no vendor lock-in. Your configuration, your data, your control.
How to Connect Data.gov to LlamaIndex via MCP
Follow these steps to integrate the Data.gov MCP Server with LlamaIndex.
Install dependencies
Run pip install llama-index-tools-mcp llama-index-llms-openai
Replace the token
Replace [YOUR_TOKEN_HERE] with your Vinkius token
Run the agent
Save to agent.py and run: python agent.py
Explore tools
The agent discovers 13 tools from Data.gov
Why Use LlamaIndex with the Data.gov MCP Server
LlamaIndex provides unique advantages when paired with Data.gov through the Model Context Protocol.
Data-first architecture: LlamaIndex agents combine Data.gov tool responses with indexed documents for comprehensive, grounded answers
Query pipeline framework lets you chain Data.gov tool calls with transformations, filters, and re-rankers in a typed pipeline
Multi-source reasoning: agents can query Data.gov, a vector store, and a SQL database in a single turn and synthesize results
Observability integrations show exactly what Data.gov tools were called, what data was returned, and how it influenced the final answer
Data.gov + LlamaIndex Use Cases
Practical scenarios where LlamaIndex combined with the Data.gov MCP Server delivers measurable value.
Hybrid search: combine Data.gov real-time data with embedded document indexes for answers that are both current and comprehensive
Data enrichment: query Data.gov to augment indexed data with live information before generating user-facing responses
Knowledge base agents: build agents that maintain and update knowledge bases by periodically querying Data.gov for fresh data
Analytical workflows: chain Data.gov queries with LlamaIndex's data connectors to build multi-source analytical reports
Data.gov MCP Tools for LlamaIndex (13)
These 13 tools become available when you connect Data.gov to LlamaIndex via MCP:
get_dataset
gov dataset by its ID or name. Returns full description, organization, tags, resource list (downloadable files), metadata dates, license info and data dictionary. Get detailed info for a specific dataset
get_group
Returns group name, description, image URL and published datasets (optional). Common groups: "agriculture", "climate", "education", "health", "finance", "public-safety". Get details for a specific topic group
get_group_datasets
Returns dataset titles, descriptions, organizations and download links. Get all datasets in a specific topic group
get_organization
gov. Returns organization name, description, contact info, image URL and published datasets (optional). Get details for a specific organization
get_organization_datasets
Returns dataset titles, descriptions, resource counts and download links. Get all datasets published by an organization
get_status
gov API including total counts of datasets, organizations, groups and tags. Get Data.gov API status and statistics
get_tag
Returns tag name, dataset count and associated datasets (up to 20). Get details for a specific tag
get_tag_datasets
Returns dataset titles, descriptions, organizations and download links. Get all datasets with a specific tag
list_groups
gov (e.g. agriculture, climate, education, health, finance). Returns group names, descriptions, image URLs and dataset counts. List all topic groups on Data.gov
list_organizations
gov. Returns organization names, descriptions, dataset counts, logos and contact info. List all organizations publishing data on Data.gov
list_resource_formats
). Useful for filtering datasets by preferred format. List all data formats available in Data.gov resources
list_tags
gov datasets. Returns tag names, dataset counts and display names. Useful for discovering common topics and filtering searches. List all tags used to categorize datasets
search_datasets
gov catalog of US federal government open datasets. Supports free-text search and filtering by organization, tags, groups. Returns dataset titles, descriptions, organizations, resource counts, tags and download links. Sort options include "metadata_modified desc" (recent), "views_recent desc" (popular). Search US government open data datasets
Example Prompts for Data.gov in LlamaIndex
Ready-to-use prompts you can give your LlamaIndex agent to start working with Data.gov immediately.
"Search for climate change datasets."
"What datasets does NASA publish?"
"Find education datasets about student performance."
Troubleshooting Data.gov MCP Server with LlamaIndex
Common issues when connecting Data.gov to LlamaIndex through the Vinkius, and how to resolve them.
BasicMCPClient not found
pip install llama-index-tools-mcpData.gov + LlamaIndex FAQ
Common questions about integrating Data.gov MCP Server with LlamaIndex.
How does LlamaIndex connect to MCP servers?
Can I combine MCP tools with vector stores?
Does LlamaIndex support async MCP calls?
Connect Data.gov with your favorite client
Step-by-step setup guides for every MCP-compatible client and framework:
Anthropic's native desktop app for Claude with built-in MCP support.
AI-first code editor with integrated LLM-powered coding assistance.
GitHub Copilot in VS Code with Agent mode and MCP support.
Purpose-built IDE for agentic AI coding workflows.
Autonomous AI coding agent that runs inside VS Code.
Anthropic's agentic CLI for terminal-first development.
Python SDK for building production-grade OpenAI agent workflows.
Google's framework for building production AI agents.
Type-safe agent development for Python with first-class MCP support.
TypeScript toolkit for building AI-powered web applications.
TypeScript-native agent framework for modern web stacks.
Python framework for orchestrating collaborative AI agent crews.
Leading Python framework for composable LLM applications.
Data-aware AI agent framework for structured and unstructured sources.
Microsoft's framework for multi-agent collaborative conversations.
Connect Data.gov to LlamaIndex
Get your token, paste the configuration, and start using 13 tools in under 2 minutes. No API key management needed.