Gdex Mcp

io.github.rpconroyPublished by GitHub account rpconroyv0.1.0Updated Oct 25, 2026

MCP server for the GDEX (Geoscience Data Exchange) data portal: datasets, files, metrics, subsetting

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Overview

AI-generated overview

MCP server for the GDEX geoscience data portal, letting an assistant discover datasets, browse files, find ARCO variables and manage subsetting requests.

What you can do
Search and describe datasets: list by keyword, read metadata, single fields, combined overviews, staff contacts and portal or per-dataset metrics. Browse files: walk file groups, list and pattern-search files, and page through results. Search data files by datatype (grid, cyclone_fix, sensor) using discovered filter codes and date ranges. Check ARCO availability and list or search ARCO variables, including kerchunk references. Get data access options such as download links and Globus URLs. Manage subsetting requests: read the control file template, validate a request body, submit, poll status, fetch output files and purge requests.
When to use it
Useful when working with NCAR/GDEX geoscience datasets: finding which dataset holds a variable, locating files for a date or parameter, checking whether analysis-ready ARCO data exists, or preparing and submitting subsetting requests instead of downloading whole files.
Requirements
Remote endpoint at over streamable HTTP, or a local install via pip with the gdex-mcp command. Most tools need no configuration. The subsetting-request tools need a GDEX token: GDEX_TOKEN locally, or an Authorization: Token header when using the shared service. Network access to GDEX is required.
Before you install
The subsetting tools act on your GDEX account: submit_subset_request and submit_and_wait_for_request create real requests, and purge_request deletes a request and its output files. A GDEX token is a credential; when using the shared service, pass your own token per request rather than relying on a shared one. Dataset listings are large, so unfiltered browsing can flood context.

Installation

In SourceWeft

  1. Open Gdex Mcp in the dashboard and add it to a workspace.
  2. Enable the server for the chats that should use its tools.

Web executable via Streamable HTTP. Remote servers run from the web runtime once configured in a workspace.

Use with an agent

Paste this prompt into Claude Code, Codex, Cursor or another agent — or into SourceWeft chat. The agent reads this server's install guide, shows you its publisher, endpoint and sign-in, and adds it to your client once you agree. Keys never go into a command.

Read https://sourceweft.com/mcp/io.github.rpconroy%2Fgdex-mcp/install.md and connect the MCP server it describes to my client. Before changing any config, show me its publisher, endpoint and sign-in method and wait for my OK. Never put an API key in a command or in a file I would commit; ask me where it should come from.

Read the install guide the agent follows

Other MCP clients

Add this to your client's mcpServers config.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "gdex": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://gdex-mcp.k8s.ucar.edu/mcp"
    }
  }
}

README

GDEX MCP Server

An MCP (Model Context Protocol) server exposing the GDEX (Geoscience Data Exchange) REST API as tools for LLM clients — dataset discovery/metadata, file listings, data access links, ARCO variables, portal/dataset metrics, staff contacts, and authenticated subsetting-request workflows.

Running locally

pip install -e .gdex-mcp

Then point your MCP client (Claude Desktop, Claude Code, etc.) at the gdex-mcp command. Configuration is via environment variables or a .env file — see CLAUDE.md's Configuration section. Most tools need no configuration at all; set GDEX_TOKEN only if you'll use the subsetting-request tools (list_request_statuses, check_request_status, get_request_files, submit_subset_request, submit_and_wait_for_request, purge_request).

Running as a shared service

Set GDEX_MCP_TRANSPORT=streamable-http (see Dockerfile) to run this as a network-reachable service instead of a local stdio subprocess. In that mode, callers using the subsetting-request tools pass their own GDEX token as an Authorization: Token <token> header on each request rather than relying on a shared GDEX_TOKEN — see CLAUDE.md's "Two transports" section for how that's wired.

Docker

bash
# Build the imagedocker build -t gdex-mcp .
# Run the containerdocker run -d --name gdex-mcp -p 8080:8080 gdex-mcp

MCP requests go to http://localhost:8080/mcp.

bash
# Stop and remove the containerdocker stop gdex-mcp && docker rm gdex-mcp

Deployment

A merged PR to main triggers the GitHub Actions workflow, which runs the test suite (pip install -e ".[test]" && pytest) and then builds a new Docker image and pushes it to Harbor (hub.k8s.ucar.edu/gdex_mcp/gdex-mcp). The app is deployed to Kubernetes via the Helm chart in app-chart/ — see CLAUDE.md's Deployment section for how this follows gdex-web-services' conventions.

bash
# Deploy with Helmhelm upgrade --install gdex-mcp ./app-chart -n <namespace>
# Deploy a test instancehelm upgrade --install gdex-mcp ./app-chart -n <namespace> --set testName=<your-name>

MCP Registry

gdex-mcp is published to the official MCP Registry as io.github.rpconroy/gdex-mcp (see server.json), not io.github.NCAR/gdex-mcp. Publishing under the NCAR org namespace kept failing with a 403 even after making org membership public — a known, unresolved issue with the registry's org-membership check (see modelcontextprotocol/registry#1537 and #1649), suspected to be an org-admin-side GitHub OAuth App access restriction rather than anything on our end. .github/workflows/publish-mcp-registry.yaml publishes new versions on v* tags; it uses PAT auth (MCP_GITHUB_TOKEN secret) instead of GitHub OIDC because this repo is NCAR-owned, so Actions OIDC always asserts repository_owner: NCAR and can't authenticate as the personal rpconroy namespace. Once NCAR org access is sorted out, moving to io.github.NCAR/gdex-mcp means publishing a new registry entry (the registry has no rename support) and switching the workflow back to login github-oidc.

Documentation

CLAUDE.md has the full picture: architecture, conventions to follow when adding tools, the two transport modes, and deployment. Read it before making changes here.

Source: README.md at commit 3333119

Tools

30

list_datasets

List datasets available on GDEX, with their IDs and titles. The full catalog has ~1700 datasets — far too many to return at once. Always pass `query` to filter by keyword unless the user specifically wants to browse the whole catalog page by page. Args: query: Keyword(s) to filter by, matched case-insensitively as a substring against dataset id and title. Leave empty to browse unfiltered. limit: Max number of datasets to return (default 50, capped at 500) offset: Number of matching datasets to skip, for paging through results

Parameterslimitqueryoffset

get_dataset_metadata

Return full metadata for a GDEX dataset (parameters, temporal range, spatial coverage, etc.). Args: dsid: Dataset ID (dNNNNNN), e.g. d083002

Parametersdsidrequired

get_dataset_field

Return one metadata field for a dataset. Prefer describe_dataset when the user wants a general summary covering several of these at once (abstract, temporal, spatial_coverage, variables, data_formats, volume) — this tool is for pulling a single field, including the fields describe_dataset doesn't cover (publications, contributors, related_datasets, documentation). Args: dsid: Dataset ID (dNNNNNN), e.g. d083002 field: One of: abstract, variables, temporal, spatial_coverage, publications, contributors, data_formats, volume, related_datasets, documentation

Parametersdsidrequiredfieldrequired

describe_dataset

Return a combined overview of a dataset — abstract, temporal coverage, spatial coverage, variables, data formats, and volume — in a single call. Prefer this over calling get_dataset_field repeatedly when the user wants a general summary of a dataset. If one of the underlying fields fails to load, it's returned as {"error": ...} rather than failing the whole call. Args: dsid: Dataset ID (dNNNNNN), e.g. d083002

Parametersdsidrequired

get_file_groups

Return file groups for a dataset. Pass gindex to get child groups under a parent. Groups nest (dataset -> format -> year -> month, or similar, varying by dataset) and there's no way to predict a child's gindex in advance — each group's gindex/url is dataset-specific and only knowable from the parent response. To drill down, read the gindex (or url) off a row in this response and pass that as the next call's gindex. This never returns file rows, only groups — every response stays small regardless of how many files the dataset holds, unlike get_dataset_files. Descend until a call returns empty ({} or []): that means the gindex you just called with is a leaf with no further subgroups, so it's safe to call get_dataset_files there for the actual files. find_dataset_files automates exactly this walk if you'd rather not do it by hand. At the top level, watch for a "Kerchunk Reference Files" (or similar ARCO-related) group alongside the raw-format groups. For an analysis task, prefer pulling from there (see also has_arco/get_arco_variables) over a raw data file when one's available — it avoids downloading a whole file just to read a subset of it. Args: dsid: Dataset ID (dNNNNNN), e.g. d083002 gindex: Optional group index to fetch child groups

Parametersdsidrequiredgindex

get_dataset_files

Return a paginated file listing for a dataset or a specific group. Depending on how deep gindex is in the group hierarchy, this returns either actual file rows or another layer of subgroup summaries — there's no way to tell in advance which you'll get. If you get subgroups, read the gindex (or url) off a row and call again with that gindex to go one level deeper; gindex values are dataset-specific and can't be guessed. A shallow gindex on a large dataset can return a very large response (thousands of files) — the file-row portion of the response is capped at 500 rows (look for "_truncated": true). Two ways to avoid hitting that cap instead of drilling down group by group: pass filter_wfile with a filename pattern (e.g. a date like "20220808") to filter down to matching files, or page through a known group's results with `page`. filter_wfile only filters actual file rows, so it has no effect at a gindex that's still returning a subgroup summary rather than files — if a first attempt comes back unfiltered, descend one level (see get_file_groups) and retry there. Args: dsid: Dataset ID (dNNNNNN), e.g. d083002 gindex: Optional group index to filter files page: Page number to fetch (for a group with more files than fit on one page) filter_wfile: Filter files by name pattern, e.g. "20220808" to match a date fl: File list source (defaults to "web" server-side)

Parametersfldsidrequiredpagegindexfilter_wfile

find_dataset_files

Search a dataset's file-group hierarchy for files matching a name pattern (e.g. a date like "20220808"), without ever pulling a large, context-blowing file listing. Automates the pattern described in get_file_groups: recursively calls get_file_groups, descending into every child gindex, until a gindex returns no further children (a leaf group) — then calls get_dataset_files there with filter_wfile=name_pattern and keeps only the matches. Prefer this over manually drilling with get_file_groups/get_dataset_files when you don't already know roughly where in the hierarchy to look. A dataset's hierarchy can be large (hundreds of leaf groups), and this tool has no way to know in advance which branches might contain a match, so it may need to visit many groups to be thorough. Pass start_gindex if you already know a good starting point (e.g. from a prior get_file_groups call, or a related dataset's structure) to narrow and speed up the search. If the number of groups visited hits max_groups_visited, the search stops early and `stopped_early` comes back true — narrow with start_gindex and retry, or raise the cap. Args: dsid: Dataset ID (dNNNNNN), e.g. d083002 name_pattern: Filename substring/pattern to match, e.g. "20220808" for a date start_gindex: Optional group index to start the search from, instead of the dataset root max_groups_visited: Safety cap on groups traversed before giving up (default 300)

Parametersdsidrequiredname_patternrequiredstart_gindexmax_groups_visited

get_filesearch_datatypes

Return the file-search datatypes available for a dataset (a subset of "grid", "cyclone_fix", "sensor"). Call this before the other filesearch_* tools to know which one(s) apply — a dataset only supports search for the datatypes it actually contains. Args: dsid: Dataset ID (dNNNNNN), e.g. d083002

Parametersdsidrequired

get_filesearch_grid_filters

Return the valid parameter/product/grid/level codes and date range for "grid" datatype file search on a dataset. Use this to discover the codes to pass to get_filesearch_grid_files, optionally narrowed by any filters you already know you want. Args: dsid: Dataset ID (dNNNNNN), e.g. d083002 valid_datetime_min: Restrict to data valid on/after "YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM" valid_datetime_max: Restrict to data valid on/before "YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM" parameters: Restrict to specified parameter code(s) products: Restrict to specified product code(s) grids: Restrict to specified grid code(s) levels: Restrict to specified vertical level code(s)

Parametersdsidrequiredgridslevelsproductsparametersvalid_datetime_maxvalid_datetime_min

get_filesearch_cyclone_fix_filters

Return the valid date range and other filters for "cyclone_fix" datatype file search on a dataset. Args: dsid: Dataset ID (dNNNNNN), e.g. d083002 valid_datetime_min: Restrict to data valid on/after "YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM" valid_datetime_max: Restrict to data valid on/before "YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM"

Parametersdsidrequiredvalid_datetime_maxvalid_datetime_min

get_filesearch_sensor_filters

Return the valid date range and other filters for "sensor" datatype file search on a dataset. Args: dsid: Dataset ID (dNNNNNN), e.g. d083002 valid_date_min: Restrict to data valid on/after "YYYY-MM-DD" valid_date_max: Restrict to data valid on/before "YYYY-MM-DD"

Parametersdsidrequiredvalid_date_maxvalid_date_min

get_filesearch_grid_files

Search for data files containing "grid" datatype data, filtered by parameter code(s) and optionally by time range, product, grid, or level. Results are paginated; use get_filesearch_result_page with the returned result_id to fetch additional pages. Use get_filesearch_grid_filters first to find valid parameter/product/grid/level codes for this dataset. Args: dsid: Dataset ID (dNNNNNN), e.g. d083002 parameters: Parameter code(s) to search for (required, at least one) valid_datetime_min: Restrict to data valid on/after "YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM" valid_datetime_max: Restrict to data valid on/before "YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM" products: Restrict to specified product code(s) grids: Restrict to specified grid code(s) levels: Restrict to specified vertical level code(s)

Parametersdsidrequiredgridslevelsproductsparametersrequiredvalid_datetime_maxvalid_datetime_min

get_filesearch_cyclone_fix_files

Search for data files containing "cyclone_fix" datatype data, optionally filtered by time range. Results are paginated; use get_filesearch_result_page with the returned result_id to fetch additional pages. Args: dsid: Dataset ID (dNNNNNN), e.g. d083002 valid_datetime_min: Restrict to data valid on/after "YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM" valid_datetime_max: Restrict to data valid on/before "YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM"

Parametersdsidrequiredvalid_datetime_maxvalid_datetime_min

get_filesearch_sensor_files

Search for data files containing "sensor" datatype data, optionally filtered by date range. Results are paginated; use get_filesearch_result_page with the returned result_id to fetch additional pages. Args: dsid: Dataset ID (dNNNNNN), e.g. d083002 valid_date_min: Restrict to data valid on/after "YYYY-MM-DD" valid_date_max: Restrict to data valid on/before "YYYY-MM-DD"

Parametersdsidrequiredvalid_date_maxvalid_date_min

get_filesearch_result_page

Return a page of results from a previous get_filesearch_*_files call, by its result_id. Use this to page through file-search results beyond the first page (see the "pagination" block of a files/results response for num_pages and next_page). Args: dsid: Dataset ID (dNNNNNN), e.g. d083002 result_id: The result_id from a previous filesearch files/results response page_num: Page number to retrieve

Parametersdsidrequiredpage_numrequiredresult_idrequired

get_data_access

Return data access options for a dataset — download links, Globus URLs, access methods. Args: dsid: Dataset ID (dNNNNNN), e.g. d083002

Parametersdsidrequired

has_arco

Check whether Analysis-Ready Cloud-Optimized (ARCO) data is available for a dataset. For analysis tasks, call this (and check for a "Kerchunk Reference Files" group via get_file_groups) before reaching for raw data files — reading through ARCO/kerchunk references avoids downloading whole files just to subset them. When picking among kerchunk reference variants, always use the one with "-osdf" in its name (see get_arco_variables) — other variants' chunk targets can be internal paths that only resolve on NCAR's network. Open it with xr.open_dataset(url, engine="kerchunk", storage_options={"remote_protocol": "https", "lazy": True}) rather than hand-building an fsspec reference filesystem. Args: dsid: Dataset ID (dNNNNNN), e.g. d083002

Parametersdsidrequired

get_arco_variables

Return the list of ARCO variables available for a dataset. Each row's type (index 2) is either "zarr" or "reference" (kerchunk). A "reference" variable is often listed multiple times, once per kerchunk reference variant (plain, "-remote-https", "-remote-osdf", etc.) — always pick the "-osdf" variant's URL; the others' chunk targets can be internal paths that only resolve on NCAR's network. Open it with xr.open_dataset(url, engine="kerchunk", storage_options={"remote_protocol": "https", "lazy": True}) — that's better behaved than hand-building an fsspec reference filesystem. A "zarr" row needs no variant picking — its URL already routes through the OSDF director (rewritten automatically); open it directly with xr.open_dataset(url, engine="zarr"). Results are capped at 300 rows (look for "truncated": true); narrow with search_arco_variables if you hit the cap. Args: dsid: Dataset ID (dNNNNNN), e.g. d083002

Parametersdsidrequired

search_arco_variables

Search ARCO variables by name for a dataset. As with get_arco_variables, a "reference" (kerchunk) match is often listed once per variant — always pick the "-osdf" variant's URL (reachable from anywhere), and open it with xr.open_dataset(url, engine="kerchunk", storage_options={"remote_protocol": "https", "lazy": True}). A "zarr" match needs no variant picking — its URL already routes through the OSDF director (rewritten automatically); open it directly with xr.open_dataset(url, engine="zarr"). Args: dsid: Dataset ID (dNNNNNN), e.g. d083002 query: Search text to match against variable names

Parametersdsidrequiredqueryrequired

get_portal_metrics

Return a GDEX portal-wide metric. Args: metric: One of: volume_downloaded, unique_users, total_datasets, total_citations, gdex_volume, total_requests, top_datasets, ai_datasets

Parametersmetric

get_dataset_metrics

Return a per-dataset metric. Args: dsid: Dataset ID (dNNNNNN), e.g. d083002 metric: One of: users_month, users_year, volume_month, volume_year

Parametersdsidrequiredmetric

get_staff

Return GDEX staff contacts, optionally filtered to a specific dataset. Args: dsid: Optional dataset ID. If omitted, returns all staff.

Parametersdsid

list_request_statuses

List all subsetting request statuses for the authenticated user. Requires GDEX_TOKEN.

Takes no parameters.

check_request_status

Check the status of a specific subsetting request. Requires GDEX_TOKEN. Args: rindex: Request index/ID

Parametersrindexrequired

get_request_files

Return the output files for a completed subsetting request. Requires GDEX_TOKEN. Args: rindex: Request index/ID

Parametersrindexrequired

get_control_file_template

Return the control file template for building a subsetting request for a dataset. Args: dsid: Dataset ID (dNNNNNN), e.g. d083002

Parametersdsidrequired

validate_subset_request

Check a subset request body against the dataset's control file template, without submitting anything. Use this before submit_subset_request to catch missing or unrecognized fields fast, instead of finding out from a failed API call. Args: dsid: Dataset ID (dNNNNNN), e.g. d083002 request_json: JSON string of the subsetting request body to validate

Parametersdsidrequiredrequest_jsonrequired

submit_subset_request

Submit a data subset request to GDEX. Requires GDEX_TOKEN. Args: request_json: JSON string of the subsetting request body. Use get_control_file_template to get the expected structure for a dataset, or validate_subset_request to check it before submitting.

Parametersrequest_jsonrequired

submit_and_wait_for_request

Submit a subset request and poll its status until it finishes, fails, or timeout_s elapses — instead of calling submit_subset_request and then manually looping on check_request_status. Requires GDEX_TOKEN. GDEX's API schema doesn't document the exact status vocabulary, so "finished" is a best-effort match on the status text (words like "complete" vs. "error"/"fail"). If the outcome comes back "timeout", that means the request is still pending by our reading, not that it failed — keep polling with check_request_status(rindex), or re-run this tool with a longer timeout_s. If it comes back "unknown", the status payload didn't contain a field we recognize; inspect the raw "status" value yourself. Args: request_json: JSON string of the subsetting request body (see get_control_file_template). poll_interval_s: Seconds between status checks (default 15, minimum 5). timeout_s: Give up and return the last-seen status after this many seconds (default 600).

Parameterstimeout_srequest_jsonrequiredpoll_interval_s

purge_request

Delete a subsetting request and its output files. Requires GDEX_TOKEN. Args: rindex: Request index/ID to purge

Parametersrindexrequired

Version history

1
  1. v0.1.0LatestSep 25, 2026

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