Datagouv IGN

This MCP server gives Claude access to French open data and national mapping services. It aggregates data sources from public portals and cartographic APIs, enabling you to geocode, retrieve administrative boundaries, and view map tiles directly through your MCP client.

How to use

You will run a local MCP server that exposes a French opendata data source and IGN geospatial services. Start the server, then use your MCP client to invoke tools for searching datasets, geocoding addresses, querying administrative regions, and displaying maps. The setup is designed so you can connect to the server by name and make calls to fetch datasets, coordinates, and map layers.

Common workflows include geocoding an address and visualizing the result on an IGN map, discovering territorial data for a city, or retrieving administrative boundaries in GeoJSON for analysis. You’ll interact with the server by sending requests to the configured MCP endpoint and handling the returned data in your application or client UI.

How to install

Prerequisites: Python 3.8+ and a working Python environment.

1. Install the dependencies.

pip install -r requirements.txt

2. Configure Claude Desktop to run the MCP server. Create or edit the Claude desktop configuration file to point to the MCP start command.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "french-opendata": {
      "command": "python",
      "args": [
        "/CHEMIN/ABSOLU/VERS/french_opendata_complete_mcp.py"
      ]
    }
  }
}

⚠️ Important: Replace /CHEMIN/ABSOLU/VERS/ with the actual absolute path where you placed the files.

3. Restart Claude Desktop. Close Claude Desktop completely and relaunch it to apply the new MCP server configuration.

Configuration and notes

The MCP server provides a single local (stdio) configuration that runs a Python script as the main server process. The key configuration entry is named french-opendata and points to the Python executable with a path to the MCP script.

If you need to modify paths or server names, adjust the JSON config accordingly and restart Claude Desktop.

Troubleshooting and tips

If the server fails to start, verify you are using Python 3.8 or newer and that all dependencies are installed. Check that the absolute path to the script is correct.

If tools don’t appear in Claude after starting, perform a full restart of Claude Desktop and check the Developer logs for any startup errors.

Ensure you have a stable Internet connection, as public APIs may enforce rate limits.

Project structure

The MCP project includes the main server and supporting modules for IGN and data.gouv services.

Licensing and support

This MCP server integrates public French APIs. Review the terms of use for each service and follow any usage restrictions.

Available tools

search_datasets

Search datasets on data.gouv.fr.

get_dataset

Retrieve details about a specific dataset.

search_organizations

Search for organizations on data.gouv.fr.

get_organization

Get details about an organization.

search_reuses

Find data reuse entries for datasets.

get_dataset_resources

List resources/files within a dataset.

list_wmts_layers

List available WMTS map layers from IGN.

search_wmts_layers

Search WMTS map layers.

get_wmts_tile_url

Get a URL for a WMTS tile.

list_wms_layers

List WMS map layers.

search_wms_layers

Search WMS map layers.

get_wms_map_url

Get a WMS map URL.

list_wfs_features

List WFS features for vector data.

search_wfs_features

Search WFS features.

get_wfs_features

Retrieve WFS vector features.

geocode_address

Convert an address to GPS coordinates.

reverse_geocode

Convert GPS coordinates to an address.

search_addresses

Autocompletion for addresses.

search_communes

Search French communes.

get_commune_info

Get complete information for a commune.

get_departement_communes

List communes within a department.

search_departements

Search French departments.

search_regions

Search French regions.

get_region_info

Get information about a region.