MCP server · Research

Open Data MCP server

Lets your AI answer questions using public open data sets, like train info from Switzerland.

Open Data MCP is a small helper that connects your AI assistant to public open data, the kind governments and public bodies share for free. It is handy if you want your AI to answer questions based on real public information instead of guessing. Right now it works with the Claude desktop app, and the team is adding more data sources over time.

What is an MCP server? The 30-second version

On its own, your AI can only chat with you using what it already learned. An MCP server is a small helper program that gives your AI a new skill or a connection to an outside source. This one, Open Data MCP, connects your AI to public open data sets, so when you ask a question, the AI can go look things up there and bring you back an answer. You set it up once, and after that it just works quietly in the background.

What this MCP server does

You ask your AI a question that needs public data, like whether trains are disrupted on a certain line. Your AI uses this helper to reach the right open data source. The helper asks that source for the information and hands it back to your AI. Your AI then reads it and answers you in plain words in the chat. You do not have to visit any data website yourself.

Flow diagram: you ask your AI “Any train disruptions on the SBB network right now?”, the Open Data MCP server connects it to Swiss open data, and you get back A plain answer in your chat.

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What you can do with it

Ask about train disruptions on the Swiss SBB network
Get answers based on public data instead of the AI guessing
Set up a data source with a single command
Remove a data source you no longer want
List which data sources are available
Look up details about a specific data source before adding it

Try asking your AI

“Are there any disruptions on the SBB train network right now?”
“Which SBB lines are affected today?”
“List the open data sources I can add to Claude.”
“Tell me more about the ch_sbb data source before I set it up.”

What it gives back to you

You get a written answer in the chat, based on the public data the helper fetched for you. It can include lists, short summaries, or specific details like which lines are affected. It does not hand you files or charts, just plain answers in the conversation.

Before you start

What you need

The Claude desktop app installed on your computer
The uv tool installed (a small program that runs the helper; the README shows how)
A restart of Claude after setup so the new skill appears

Good to know

It only reads public open data, but you should still respect each data provider's license, and the project's own license must be mentioned in commercial use.

Install it with your AI

Add Open Data MCP server to your AI, no technical skills needed

You don't install anything by hand. You copy one prompt, paste it into an AI that can work on your computer, and it checks, installs and connects the server for you, asking you when it needs something.

Sign in to get the install prompt

Members get a ready-made prompt that lets the Claude desktop app check Open Data MCP server, install it and connect it for them, step by step. You don't need any technical skills: you copy, paste and answer a few questions. Your connected AI can also find and install any of the 4,066 MCP servers here for you.