FirstData

FirstData MCP provides an integrated, authority-backed data source navigation experience. It helps users locate primary sources from governments and international organizations, discover structured metadata, and retrieve direct access paths (URLs, APIs, and download options) with a clear evidence trail. The built-in Source Locator suggests top data sources based on natural language queries, then delivers concise recommendations with provenance and access details. The Site Pathfinder offers step-by-step navigation instructions for complex data portals, including exact pages to click, filters to apply, and data formats to download, ensuring you can reproduce results and audit the data lineage. This combination enables researchers, policy-makers, and analysts to move from vague questions to precise, citable data paths in a few minutes rather than hours.

Prerequisites:

• Node.js (v12+ recommended) and npm installed on your system
• Internet access to install dependencies and fetch data sources

Installation steps:

1. Clone the repository: git clone https://github.com/MLT-OSS/FirstData.git cd FirstData

2. Install dependencies: npm install

3. Configure environment (optional):

   • Create a .env file if your deployment requires API keys or custom endpoints
   • Example (not required for local run): API_BASE_URL=https://api.firstdata.example AUTH_TOKEN=your_token_here

4. Start the MCP server: npm run start

5. Test the server (optional): curl http://localhost:3000/health

Notes:

• The exact start command may vary by deployment. If you have a custom startup script, adjust the mcp_config accordingly.
• For production, consider containerizing the server or deploying behind a reverse proxy.

Tips and commonly encountered issues:

• Ensure Node.js is at least v12+ to avoid compatibility issues with modern dependencies.
• If the server struggles to fetch data sources, check network access to data portals; some sources restrict automated access.
• Maintain a current list of trusted data sources; the MCP uses authoritative flags (government, international, research, market, commercial) to rank results.
• When using the Site Pathfinder, always verify that steps reflect the current portal UI, as government and international portals frequently update layouts.
• Monitor updates to the underlying data schemas (datasource-schema.json) to ensure metadata remains machine-readable and verifiable.