Is an API Key required for NOAA Tides API?

No. The NOAA CO-OPS API is a free and open service provided by the United States government. This server works out of the box without any static credentials required.

Can the agent show air temperature at stations?

Yes. Use the `get_air_temperature` tool providing a station ID. Your agent will return real-time temperature metadata alongside the timestamp.

What data datum is used for predictions?

This server uses the Mean Lower Low Water (MLLW) datum for all water level and tide prediction requests to maintain consistency with nautical charts.

NOAA Tides & Currents API MCP Server for OpenAI Agents SDK 5 tools — connect in under 2 minutes

Name: NOAA Tides & Currents API
Availability: InStock
Author: Vinkius

openai.github.io/openai-agents-python/mcp

Built by Vinkius GDPR 5 Tools SDK

The OpenAI Agents SDK enables production-grade agent workflows in Python. Connect NOAA Tides & Currents API through Vinkius and your agents gain typed, auto-discovered tools with built-in guardrails. no manual schema definitions required.

Get MCP Server for AI Agents

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Vinkius supports streamable HTTP and SSE.

python

import asyncio
from agents import Agent, Runner
from agents.mcp import MCPServerStreamableHttp

async def main():
    # Your Vinkius token. get it at cloud.vinkius.com
    async with MCPServerStreamableHttp(
        url="https://edge.vinkius.com/[YOUR_TOKEN_HERE]/mcp"
    ) as mcp_server:

        agent = Agent(
            name="NOAA Tides & Currents API Assistant",
            instructions=(
                "You help users interact with NOAA Tides & Currents API. "
                "You have access to 5 tools."
            ),
            mcp_servers=[mcp_server],
        )

        result = await Runner.run(
            agent, "List all available tools from NOAA Tides & Currents API"
        )
        print(result.final_output)

asyncio.run(main())

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About NOAA Tides & Currents API MCP Server

Empower your AI agent to orchestrate your entire maritime research and tidal auditing workflow with the NOAA Tides & Currents API, the authoritative source for United States coastal data. By connecting NOAA's Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services (CO-OPS) to your agent, you transform complex water level searches into a natural conversation. Your agent can instantly retrieve real-time water levels, audit high and low tide predictions, and query atmospheric metadata without you ever touching a technical portal. Whether you are planning maritime logistics or conducting coastal research, your agent acts as a real-time oceanographic consultant, ensuring your data is always verified and precise.

The OpenAI Agents SDK auto-discovers all 5 tools from NOAA Tides & Currents API through native MCP integration. Build agents with built-in guardrails, tracing, and handoff patterns. chain multiple agents where one queries NOAA Tides & Currents API, another analyzes results, and a third generates reports, all orchestrated through Vinkius.

What you can do

Water Level Auditing — Retrieve real-time water level data for thousands of NOAA stations and maintain a clear view of coastal changes.
Tide Oversight — Audit high and low tide predictions to understand the temporal distribution of maritime scale instantly.
Atmospheric Discovery — Query real-time air and water temperature metadata to assist in regional environmental planning.
Station Intelligence — Retrieve high-resolution details for specific NOAA station IDs to assist in deep-dive oceanographic classification.
Maritime Monitoring — Check API status to ensure your maritime research workflow is always operational.

The NOAA Tides & Currents API MCP Server exposes 5 tools through the Vinkius. Connect it to OpenAI Agents SDK 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 NOAA Tides & Currents API to OpenAI Agents SDK via MCP

Follow these steps to integrate the NOAA Tides & Currents API MCP Server with OpenAI Agents SDK.

Install the SDK

Run pip install openai-agents in your Python environment

Replace the token

Replace [YOUR_TOKEN_HERE] with your Vinkius token from cloud.vinkius.com

Run the script

Save the code above and run it: python agent.py

Explore tools

The agent will automatically discover 5 tools from NOAA Tides & Currents API

Why Use OpenAI Agents SDK with the NOAA Tides & Currents API MCP Server

OpenAI Agents SDK provides unique advantages when paired with NOAA Tides & Currents API through the Model Context Protocol.

Native MCP integration via `MCPServerSse`, pass the URL and the SDK auto-discovers all tools with full type safety

Built-in guardrails, tracing, and handoff patterns let you build production-grade agents without reinventing safety infrastructure

Lightweight and composable: chain multiple agents and MCP servers in a single pipeline with minimal boilerplate

First-party OpenAI support ensures optimal compatibility with GPT models for tool calling and structured output

NOAA Tides & Currents API + OpenAI Agents SDK Use Cases

Practical scenarios where OpenAI Agents SDK combined with the NOAA Tides & Currents API MCP Server delivers measurable value.

Automated workflows: build agents that query NOAA Tides & Currents API, process the data, and trigger follow-up actions autonomously

Multi-agent orchestration: create specialist agents. one queries NOAA Tides & Currents API, another analyzes results, a third generates reports

Data enrichment pipelines: stream data through NOAA Tides & Currents API tools and transform it with OpenAI models in a single async loop

Customer support bots: agents query NOAA Tides & Currents API to resolve tickets, look up records, and update statuses without human intervention

NOAA Tides & Currents API MCP Tools for OpenAI Agents SDK (5)

These 5 tools become available when you connect NOAA Tides & Currents API to OpenAI Agents SDK via MCP:

check_api_status

Check if the NOAA Tides & Currents service is operational

get_air_temperature

Get real-time air temperature data for a specific NOAA station

get_tide_predictions

Get high and low tide predictions for a specific NOAA station

get_water_levels

Get real-time water levels for a specific NOAA station

get_water_temperature

Get real-time water temperature data for a specific NOAA station

Example Prompts for NOAA Tides & Currents API in OpenAI Agents SDK

Ready-to-use prompts you can give your OpenAI Agents SDK agent to start working with NOAA Tides & Currents API immediately.

"Get tide predictions for station '9414290' (San Francisco) for '20240510' using NOAA Tides."

"What is the current water temperature at station '8443970' (Boston)?"

"Show real-time water levels for station '9410660' (Los Angeles)."

Troubleshooting NOAA Tides & Currents API MCP Server with OpenAI Agents SDK

Common issues when connecting NOAA Tides & Currents API to OpenAI Agents SDK through the Vinkius, and how to resolve them.

MCPServerStreamableHttp not found

Ensure you have the latest version: pip install --upgrade openai-agents

Agent not calling tools

Make sure your prompt explicitly references the task the tools can help with.

NOAA Tides & Currents API + OpenAI Agents SDK FAQ

Common questions about integrating NOAA Tides & Currents API MCP Server with OpenAI Agents SDK.

How does the OpenAI Agents SDK connect to MCP?

Use MCPServerSse(url=...) to create a server connection. The SDK auto-discovers all tools and makes them available to your agent with full type information.