Compatible with every major AI agent and IDE
What is the Data.gov Catalog MCP Server?
Connect to the Data.gov Catalog to explore the comprehensive repository of US Government open data. This MCP server allows AI agents to discover datasets from agencies like NASA, NOAA, and the Census Bureau through natural language.
What you can do
- Dataset Discovery — Search the entire catalog using keywords, organization filters, and advanced sorting via
search_datasets. - Spatial Analysis — Find datasets by geographic location using GeoJSON boundaries and spatial filters with
search_locationsandget_location_geometry. - Organization Insights — List all publishing organizations and filter results by specific agency slugs using
get_organizations. - Metadata Inspection — Retrieve detailed harvest records, including raw and transformed DCAT-US payloads with
get_harvest_record_rawandget_harvest_record_transformed. - Keyword Trends — Analyze commonly used keywords and their dataset counts to identify data trends using
get_keywords.
How it works
- Subscribe to this server
- Enter 'PUBLIC' or your API key if required by your proxy
- Start querying the US Government's open data repository directly from Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-compatible client
Who is this for?
- Data Scientists — quickly find relevant datasets for analysis without manual browsing
- Researchers — access official government metadata and harvest records for academic or policy work
- Developers — integrate public data sources into applications using structured GeoJSON and DCAT-US metadata
Built-in capabilities (8)
Retrieve metadata about how a dataset was ingested
Retrieve original unmodified source payload for a harvest record
Retrieve transformed DCAT-US payload for a harvest record
Retrieve commonly used keywords and their dataset counts
Retrieve the GeoJSON boundary for a specific location ID
Retrieve the complete list of publishing organizations
Search the catalog using keywords, filters, and sorting
Autocomplete search for location names to use with spatial filtering
Why Claude Desktop?
Claude Desktop is the definitive way to connect Data.gov Catalog to your AI workflow. Add Vinkius Edge URL to your config, restart the app, and Claude immediately exposes all 8 tools in the chat interface. ask a question, Claude calls the right tool, and you see the answer. Zero code, zero context switching.
- —
Claude Desktop is the reference MCP client. it was designed alongside the protocol itself, ensuring the most complete and stable MCP implementation available
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Zero-code configuration: add a server URL to a JSON file and Claude instantly discovers and exposes all available tools in the chat interface
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Claude's extended thinking capability lets it reason through multi-step tool usage, chaining multiple API calls to answer complex questions
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Enterprise-grade security with local config storage. your tokens never leave your machine, and connections go directly to Vinkius Edge network
Data.gov Catalog in Claude Desktop
Data.gov Catalog and 4,000+ other MCP servers. One platform. One governance layer.
Teams that connect Data.gov Catalog to Claude Desktop through Vinkius don't need to source, host, or maintain individual MCP servers. Every tool call runs inside a hardened runtime with credential isolation, DLP, and a signed audit chain.
Raw MCP | Vinkius | |
|---|---|---|
| Server catalog | Find and host yourself | 4,000+ managed |
| Infrastructure | Self-hosted | Sandboxed V8 isolates |
| Credential handling | Plaintext in config | Vault + runtime injection |
| Data loss prevention | None | Configurable DLP policies |
| Kill switch | None | Global instant shutdown |
| Financial circuit breakers | None | Per-server limits + alerts |
| Audit trail | None | Ed25519 signed logs |
| SIEM log streaming | None | Splunk, Datadog, Webhook |
| Honeytokens | None | Canary alerts on leak |
| Custom domains | Not applicable | DNS challenge verified |
| GDPR compliance | Manual effort | Automated purge + export |
Why teams choose Vinkius for Data.gov Catalog in Claude Desktop
The Data.gov Catalog 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. All 8 tools execute in hardened sandboxes optimized for native MCP execution.
Your AI agents in Claude Desktop only access the data you authorize, with DLP that blocks sensitive information from ever reaching the model, kill switch for instant shutdown, and up to 60% token savings. Enterprise-grade infrastructure, zero maintenance.

* 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
How Vinkius secures
Data.gov Catalog for Claude Desktop
Every tool call from Claude Desktop to the Data.gov Catalog MCP Server is protected by DLP redaction, cryptographic audit chains, V8 sandbox isolation, kill switch, and financial circuit breakers.
Frequently asked questions
Can I search for datasets within a specific geographic area?
Yes! Use search_locations to find a location ID, then get_location_geometry to get the GeoJSON. Finally, pass that to search_datasets with the spatial_geometry parameter.
How do I find datasets from a specific agency like NASA?
Use the search_datasets tool and provide 'nasa' in the org_slug parameter. You can combine this with a search query q for more specific results.
What is the difference between raw and transformed harvest records?
The get_harvest_record_raw tool returns the original metadata from the source agency, while get_harvest_record_transformed returns the data mapped to the standard DCAT-US schema used by Data.gov.
How does Claude Desktop discover MCP tools?
When Claude Desktop starts, it reads the claude_desktop_config.json file and connects to each configured MCP server. It calls the tools/list endpoint to fetch the schema for every available tool, then surfaces them as clickable options in the chat interface via the 🔌 icon.
What happens if the MCP server is temporarily unavailable?
Claude Desktop handles disconnections gracefully. if the server is unreachable at startup, the tools simply won't appear. Once the server becomes available again, restarting Claude Desktop will re-establish the connection. There is no timeout penalty or error loop.
Can I connect multiple MCP servers simultaneously?
Yes. You can add as many servers as you need in the mcpServers section of the config file. Each server appears as a separate tool provider, and Claude can use tools from multiple servers in a single conversation turn.
Is there a limit on the number of tools per server?
Claude Desktop can handle hundreds of tools per server. However, for optimal LLM performance, Vinkius servers are designed to expose focused, well-documented tool sets rather than overwhelming the model with too many options.
Does Claude Desktop support Streamable HTTP transport?
Yes. Claude Desktop supports both SSE (Server-Sent Events) and the newer Streamable HTTP transport that Vinkius uses. Simply provide the server URL. Claude auto-negotiates the transport protocol.
Server not appearing after restart
Ensure the JSON is valid (no trailing commas). Check the file path: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json (macOS) or %APPDATA%\\Claude\\ (Windows).
Authentication error
Verify your Vinkius token is correct. Go to cloud.vinkius.com to regenerate it if needed.
Tools not showing in chat
Click the 🔌 icon at the bottom of the chat input. If it shows 0 tools, the server may still be connecting. wait a few seconds.
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