Boston Core MCP
Safe, conversational access to Boston's open data.
Boston Core MCP is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server created by the City of Boston Department of Innovation and Technology (DoIT). It gives AI assistants and agentic tools safe, read-only access to Boston's open data portal, enabling staff, residents, and partners to explore civic information through natural conversation.
Why Boston Core MCP?
For City Staff
- Ask questions naturally - "What datasets do we have about 311 requests?" or "Show me crime data from last month"
- No technical barriers - Works directly with Claude Desktop and other MCP-compatible tools
- Always up-to-date - Connects directly to Boston's live open data portal
- Save time - Get answers instantly without navigating complex data portals
For Residents & Partners
- Explore Boston's data through conversation instead of navigating complex portals
- Discover datasets you didn't know existed
- Get answers quickly without learning database queries or API syntax
- Trustworthy source - Direct connection to official City of Boston data
For Developers
- Production-ready - Deployed on AWS Lambda with automated CI/CD
- Well-documented - Comprehensive guides for deployment and development
- Open source - MIT licensed, built with modern Python and best practices
- Extensible - Easy to adapt for other cities or data sources
What It Does
Boston Core MCP provides five powerful tools that let AI assistants interact with Boston's open data:
- Search Datasets - Find datasets by keywords (e.g., "311", "crime", "parking")
- List All Datasets - Browse everything available on the portal
- Get Dataset Info - Detailed metadata and resources for any dataset
- Query Data - Get actual data records with filtering, sorting, and pagination
- Get Schema - Understand the structure of any dataset
Quick Start
Connect Claude Desktop (2 minutes)
The server is already deployed and ready to use:
# Install mcpengine
pipx install 'mcpengine[cli]'
# Connect Claude to Boston OpenData
mcpengine proxy boston-opendata-lambda \
https://kdbjj7ebdewlcy24bt4wbf3uju0tjgdf.lambda-url.us-east-1.on.aws \
--mode http --claudeThen open Claude Desktop and start asking questions about Boston's data!
📖 Full setup guide: docs/LAMBDA_QUICKSTART.md
Key Features
Safety First
- Read-only access - No modifications to Boston's data
- Enforced limits - Timeouts and record limits prevent abuse
- Input validation - All queries validated before execution
- Error handling - Comprehensive error handling and retry logic
Production Ready
- Deployed on AWS Lambda - Scalable, serverless infrastructure
- Automated CI/CD - GitHub Actions for testing and deployment
- Monitoring - CloudWatch logs and structured logging
- Cost-effective - Typically $2-8/month for moderate usage
Developer Friendly
- Well-documented - Guides for every use case
- Type-safe - Built with Python type hints and Pydantic
- Tested - Test suite included
- Modern stack - Python 3.10+, MCPEngine, Terraform
Use Cases
City Staff
- Policy Research: "What datasets track housing permits in the last year?"
- Data Analysis: "Show me 311 service requests about potholes from this month"
- Quick Lookups: "What's the structure of the crime incident reports dataset?"
Residents
- Civic Engagement: "What data is available about public transportation?"
- Research: "Find datasets related to city budget and spending"
- Exploration: "What open data does Boston publish?"
Developers & Researchers
- API Discovery: "What resources are available in the 311 dataset?"
- Data Exploration: "Query the first 100 records from crime incidents"
- Schema Understanding: "Show me the schema for parking violations"
Documentation
Getting Started
- Quick Start Guide - Connect Claude Desktop in minutes
- Local Development - Run and develop locally
Deployment & Operations
- Lambda Deployment - Complete deployment guide
- Terraform Infrastructure - Infrastructure as code
- CI/CD Pipeline - Automated testing and deployment
- Workflows Reference - GitHub Actions quick reference
Architecture & Development
- Development Guide - Architecture and design decisions
Technology Stack
- Python 3.10+ - Modern Python with type hints
- MCPEngine - HTTP-based MCP server framework
- AWS Lambda - Serverless compute
- Terraform - Infrastructure as code
- GitHub Actions - CI/CD automation
Community & Support
This project is maintained by the City of Boston Department of Innovation and Technology (DoIT).
- Issues: Open an issue for bugs or feature requests
- Contributions: See CONTRIBUTORS.md for guidelines
- License: MIT License - see LICENSE
Learn More
- Boston Open Data Portal: data.boston.gov
- Model Context Protocol: modelcontextprotocol.io
- MCPEngine: Featureform MCPEngine
Authors
Srihari Raman & Pradhu Balamurugan
