@cyanheads/cdc-health-mcp-server
MCP server for the CDC Open Data portal. Search ~1,487 public health datasets, inspect schemas, and execute SoQL queries across disease surveillance, mortality, vaccinations, behavioral risk, and more. STDIO or Streamable HTTP.
Tools
Three tools for discovering and querying CDC public health data:
| Tool | Description |
|---|---|
cdc_discover_datasets | Search the catalog by keyword, category, or tag. Entry point for all queries. |
cdc_get_dataset_schema | Fetch column schema, row count, and metadata for a dataset. Essential before writing SoQL queries. |
cdc_query_dataset | Execute SoQL queries — filter, aggregate, sort, full-text search, and field selection. |
cdc_discover_datasets
Search the CDC dataset catalog to find relevant datasets.
- Full-text search across dataset names and descriptions
- Filter by domain category (e.g., "NNDSS", "Vaccinations", "Behavioral Risk Factors")
- Filter by domain tags (e.g.,
["covid19", "surveillance"]) - Returns dataset IDs, names, descriptions, column lists, and update timestamps
- Pagination via offset for browsing large result sets
cdc_get_dataset_schema
Fetch the full column schema for a specific dataset.
- Column names, data types, and descriptions
- Row count and last-updated timestamp
- Essential for understanding column types before writing
$whereclauses - Accepts four-by-four dataset identifiers (e.g.,
bi63-dtpu)
cdc_query_dataset
Execute SoQL queries against any CDC dataset.
- Full SoQL support:
$select,$where,$group,$having,$order - Full-text search across all text columns via
$q - Up to 5,000 rows per request with pagination
- Returns the assembled SoQL query string for debugging
- All response values are strings (per SODA v2.1) — parse based on column type metadata
Resources and prompt
| Type | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Resource | cdc://datasets | Top 50 datasets by popularity for orientation |
| Resource | cdc://datasets/{datasetId} | Dataset metadata and column schema (equivalent to schema tool) |
| Prompt | analyze_health_trend | Guided 5-step workflow: discover, inspect, baseline query, compare, synthesize |
Features
Built on @cyanheads/mcp-ts-core:
- Declarative tool definitions — single file per tool, framework handles registration and validation
- Unified error handling across all tools
- Pluggable auth (
none,jwt,oauth) - Swappable storage backends:
in-memory,filesystem,Supabase,Cloudflare KV/R2/D1 - Structured logging with optional OpenTelemetry tracing
- Runs locally (stdio/HTTP) or on Cloudflare Workers from the same codebase
CDC-specific:
- Wraps the Socrata SODA API v2.1 — no auth required, optional app token for higher rate limits
- Discovery-first approach for a heterogeneous catalog (~1,487 datasets across many health domains)
- Conservative request spacing for rate limit compliance (no rate-limit headers returned by Socrata)
- Handles SODA string-typed responses — all values returned as strings, parsed via column type metadata
Getting started
Add the following to your MCP client configuration file.
{
"mcpServers": {
"cdc-health": {
"type": "stdio",
"command": "bunx",
"args": ["@cyanheads/cdc-health-mcp-server@latest"],
"env": {
"MCP_TRANSPORT_TYPE": "stdio",
"MCP_LOG_LEVEL": "info"
}
}
}
}
Or with npx (no Bun required):
{
"mcpServers": {
"cdc-health": {
"type": "stdio",
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "@cyanheads/cdc-health-mcp-server@latest"],
"env": {
"MCP_TRANSPORT_TYPE": "stdio",
"MCP_LOG_LEVEL": "info"
}
}
}
}
Or with Docker:
{
"mcpServers": {
"cdc-health": {
"type": "stdio",
"command": "docker",
"args": ["run", "-i", "--rm", "-e", "MCP_TRANSPORT_TYPE=stdio", "ghcr.io/cyanheads/cdc-health-mcp-server:latest"]
}
}
}
For Streamable HTTP, set the transport and start the server:
MCP_TRANSPORT_TYPE=http MCP_HTTP_PORT=3010 bun run start:http
# Server listens at http://localhost:3010/mcp
Prerequisites
- Bun v1.3.2 or higher.
- Optional: Socrata app token for higher rate limits.
Installation
- Clone the repository:
git clone https://github.com/cyanheads/cdc-health-mcp-server.git
- Navigate into the directory:
cd cdc-health-mcp-server
- Install dependencies:
bun install
Configuration
All configuration is validated at startup via Zod schemas in src/config/server-config.ts. Key environment variables:
| Variable | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|
MCP_TRANSPORT_TYPE | Transport: stdio or http | stdio |
MCP_HTTP_PORT | HTTP server port | 3010 |
MCP_AUTH_MODE | Authentication: none, jwt, or oauth | none |
MCP_LOG_LEVEL | Log level (debug, info, warning, error, etc.) | info |
LOGS_DIR | Directory for log files (Node.js only) | <project-root>/logs |
STORAGE_PROVIDER_TYPE | Storage backend: in-memory, filesystem, supabase, cloudflare-kv/r2/d1 | in-memory |
CDC_APP_TOKEN | Socrata app token for higher rate limits | none |
CDC_BASE_URL | Base URL for SODA API requests | https://data.cdc.gov |
CDC_CATALOG_URL | Base URL for Socrata Discovery API | https://api.us.socrata.com/api/catalog/v1 |
OTEL_ENABLED | Enable OpenTelemetry | false |
Running the server
Local development
-
Build and run the production version:
# One-time build bun run rebuild # Run the built server bun run start:http # or bun run start:stdio -
Run checks and tests:
bun run devcheck # Lints, formats, type-checks, and more bun run test # Runs the test suite
Project structure
| Directory | Purpose |
|---|---|
src/mcp-server/tools | Tool definitions (*.tool.ts). Three CDC data tools. |
src/mcp-server/resources | Resource definitions. Catalog overview and dataset detail. |
src/mcp-server/prompts | Prompt definitions. Health trend analysis workflow. |
src/services/socrata | Socrata SODA API service layer — HTTP client, catalog search, metadata, queries. |
src/config | Server-specific environment variable parsing and validation with Zod. |
Development guide
See CLAUDE.md for development guidelines and architectural rules. The short version:
- Handlers throw, framework catches — no
try/catchin tool logic - Use
ctx.logfor logging,ctx.statefor storage - Register new tools and resources in the
createApp()arrays
Contributing
Issues and pull requests are welcome. Run checks and tests before submitting:
bun run devcheck
bun run test
License
This project is licensed under the Apache 2.0 License. See the LICENSE file for details.