mcp -abs

This MCP server exposes access to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Data API via the SDMX-ML interface. It dynamically discovers available ABS datasets, supports querying with optional filters, and returns results in multiple formats (JSON, CSV, XML). The server is built around the MCP protocol, designed to be used by AI assistants to fetch, filter, and transform ABS data for analysis. After starting the server, you can use the MCP tools exposed by the server to browse datasets, run queries, and retrieve transformed results suitable for downstream reasoning and visualization. The built-in Data Flow Service handles caching and efficient data delivery, while the ABS API Client manages communication with the ABS endpoints with configurable timeouts and retry logic.

Prerequisites:

• Node.js 18 or higher
• npm 8 or higher

Steps:

1. Install dependencies

   • Run: npm install

2. Build the TypeScript code (if applicable)

   • Run: npm run build

3. Start the MCP server

   • Run: npm start

4. (Optional) Run inspector for MCP testing

   • Run: npm run inspector

Notes:

• Ensure environment variables required by the server are set if you are not using the defaults described in mcp_config. The server can read ABS_API_BASE_URL or other settings from env vars as needed.

Tips and common issues:

• If the server fails to start, check that Node.js 18+ is installed and that port configuration (if exposed) is not in use by another process.
• The ABS API may impose rate limits; rely on the built-in caching to minimize repeated requests.
• Enable verbose logging during debugging by setting LOG_LEVEL to debug in the environment variables.
• If you customize the dataset discovery or query logic, ensure the SDMX-ML response formats (JSON, CSV, XML) are correctly parsed by the DataFlowService.
• When integrating with Claude Desktop or other clients, ensure the MCP paths and tool names align with the server’s available tools.
• If you need to adjust endpoints, modify ABS_API_BASE_URL or the SDMX endpoint constants in the environment configuration.