OpenStates MCP Server for Cline 7 tools — connect in under 2 minutes
Cline is an autonomous AI coding agent inside VS Code that plans, executes, and iterates on tasks. Wire OpenStates through Vinkius and Cline gains direct access to every tool. from data retrieval to workflow automation. without leaving the terminal.
ASK AI ABOUT THIS MCP SERVER
Vinkius supports streamable HTTP and SSE.
Vinkius Desktop App
The modern way to manage MCP Servers — no config files, no terminal commands. Install OpenStates and 2,500+ MCP Servers from a single visual interface.
{
"mcpServers": {
"openstates": {
"url": "https://edge.vinkius.com/[YOUR_TOKEN_HERE]/mcp"
}
}
}
* 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 OpenStates MCP Server
Equip your AI agent with the most comprehensive US state-level legislative intelligence via OpenStates. This unified server provides your agent with instant access to bills, legislators, and committee metadata across all 50 states, DC, and Puerto Rico. Your agent can instantly search for specific legislation, audit legislator profiles, and retrieve committee memberships without you ever manually checking a government site. Whether you are tracking policy trends or verifying legislative actions, your agent acts as a dedicated political analyst through natural conversation.
Cline operates autonomously inside VS Code. it reads your codebase, plans a strategy, and executes multi-step tasks including OpenStates tool calls without waiting for prompts between steps. Connect 7 tools through Vinkius and Cline can fetch data, generate code, and commit changes in a single autonomous run.
What you can do
- Bill Discovery — Search for thousands of legislative bills by keyword, jurisdiction, and session.
- Legislator Auditing — Fetch complete profiles, contact information, and current roles for state legislators.
- Committee Intelligence — List all legislative committees in a jurisdiction and retrieve their detailed membership lists.
- Jurisdiction Lookup — List and inspect all supported states and jurisdictions to understand current legislative coverage.
- Deep Metadata — Retrieve detailed actions and versions for specific bills to analyze the legislative process.
The OpenStates MCP Server exposes 7 tools through the Vinkius. Connect it to Cline 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 OpenStates to Cline via MCP
Follow these steps to integrate the OpenStates MCP Server with Cline.
Open Cline MCP Settings
Click the MCP Servers icon in the Cline sidebar panel
Add remote server
Click "Add MCP Server" and paste the configuration above
Enable the server
Toggle the server switch to ON
Start using OpenStates
Ask Cline: "Using OpenStates, help me...". 7 tools available
Why Use Cline with the OpenStates MCP Server
Cline provides unique advantages when paired with OpenStates through the Model Context Protocol.
Cline operates autonomously. it reads your codebase, plans a strategy, and executes multi-step tasks including MCP tool calls without step-by-step prompts
Runs inside VS Code, so you get MCP tool access alongside your existing extensions, terminal, and version control in a single window
Cline can create, edit, and delete files based on MCP tool responses, enabling end-to-end automation from data retrieval to code generation
Transparent execution: every tool call and file change is shown in Cline's activity log for full visibility and approval before committing
OpenStates + Cline Use Cases
Practical scenarios where Cline combined with the OpenStates MCP Server delivers measurable value.
Autonomous feature building: tell Cline to fetch data from OpenStates and scaffold a complete module with types, handlers, and tests
Codebase refactoring: use OpenStates tools to validate live data while Cline restructures your code to match updated schemas
Automated testing: Cline fetches real responses from OpenStates and generates snapshot tests or mocks based on actual payloads
Incident response: query OpenStates for real-time status and let Cline generate hotfix patches based on the findings
OpenStates MCP Tools for Cline (7)
These 7 tools become available when you connect OpenStates to Cline via MCP:
get_bill_details
Get bill details
get_committee_details
Get committee details
get_legislator_details
Get legislator details
list_committees
List committees in a jurisdiction
list_jurisdictions
List all jurisdictions
search_bills
Search for legislative bills
search_legislators
Search for legislators
Example Prompts for OpenStates in Cline
Ready-to-use prompts you can give your Cline agent to start working with OpenStates immediately.
"Search for education bills in California."
"Who are the members of the New York Senate Finance Committee?"
"Get the latest actions for bill TX HB-500."
Troubleshooting OpenStates MCP Server with Cline
Common issues when connecting OpenStates to Cline through the Vinkius, and how to resolve them.
Server shows error in sidebar
OpenStates + Cline FAQ
Common questions about integrating OpenStates MCP Server with Cline.
How does Cline connect to MCP servers?
Can Cline run MCP tools without approval?
Does Cline support multiple MCP servers at once?
Connect OpenStates 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 OpenStates to Cline
Get your token, paste the configuration, and start using 7 tools in under 2 minutes. No API key management needed.