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eia energy mcp server

eia energy mcp server

@cyanheadsData & Analytics1TypeScriptUpdated 1w ago

Browse and query the EIA API v2 — electricity, petroleum, natural gas, coal, forecasts via MCP.

Server endpointStreamable HTTP

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@cyanheads/eia-energy-mcp-server

Browse and query the U.S. Energy Information Administration API v2 — electricity, petroleum, natural gas, coal, forecasts, and more via MCP. STDIO or Streamable HTTP.

7 Tools

Version License Docker MCP SDK npm TypeScript Bun

Install in Claude Desktop Install in Cursor Install in VS Code

Framework


Tools

Seven tools covering the two-phase EIA workflow — find the right dataset route, pull the data, and query spilled results via SQL:

ToolDescription
eia_browse_routesLists child routes under a given path in the EIA dataset taxonomy. Start at root to see top-level categories, then drill into subcategories and leaf routes.
eia_describe_routeReturns full metadata for a leaf route: available facets with valid values, data column names, frequency options, units, and date range. Call before eia_query_route to understand filter options.
eia_search_routesFuzzy text search across route names, descriptions, and category labels. Resolves natural-language queries like "gasoline retail prices" or "solar capacity by state" to matching route paths.
eia_query_routeFetches data from a leaf route with optional facet filters, date range, frequency, and column selection. Spills large result sets to a DataCanvas table for SQL analysis.
eia_dataframe_describeLists active DataCanvas dataframes created by prior eia_query_route calls. Shows table name, column names and types, row count, and canvas ID.
eia_dataframe_queryRuns a read-only SQL SELECT against a DataCanvas dataframe by canvas ID or table name.
eia_dataframe_dropDrops a DataCanvas dataframe, freeing its memory. Only exposed when EIA_DATAFRAME_DROP_ENABLED=true.

eia_browse_routes

Walk the EIA dataset taxonomy from root to leaf.

  • Root call returns 14 top-level categories: electricity, petroleum, natural-gas, coal, international, total-energy, steo, aeo, ieo, seds, crude-oil-imports, nuclear-outages, densified-biomass, co2-emissions
  • Intermediate paths return subcategories; leaf routes are flagged so callers know when to switch to eia_describe_route
  • STEO (Short-Term Energy Outlook) is a flat leaf with 1,469 named series — no sub-routes

eia_describe_route

Full schema for a leaf route. Required before constructing facet filters.

  • Returns facets with valid values (fetched via per-facet API calls and cached in-process)
  • Returns data column names, units, frequency options, and date range
  • eia_search_routes and eia_browse_routes resolve the route path; this tool provides the filter vocabulary

eia_search_routes

Fuzzy search across the in-memory route index.

  • Indexes route names, descriptions, and category labels — plus STEO's 1,469 series names
  • Resolves natural language ("natural gas spot prices", "ethanol net imports") to queryable route paths
  • Route tree is cached in-process at first call; subsequent searches hit the Fuse.js index with no upstream cost

eia_query_route

Pull data from a leaf route.

  • Facet filters keyed by facet ID (e.g. { "stateid": "TX", "sectorid": ["RES", "COM"] })
  • Date range and frequency selection; valid values discoverable via eia_describe_route
  • Pagination via offset/length (max 5,000 rows per page); total row count in response
  • All numeric values arrive as strings from the EIA API — units appear as inline {col}-units fields per row
  • DataCanvas spillover when result set exceeds length: returns canvas_id for SQL queries over the full dataset

Features

Built on @cyanheads/mcp-ts-core:

  • Declarative tool definitions — single file per tool, framework handles registration and validation
  • Unified error handling — handlers throw, framework catches, classifies, and formats
  • Pluggable auth: none, jwt, oauth
  • Swappable storage backends: in-memory, filesystem, Supabase, Cloudflare KV/R2/D1
  • Structured logging with optional OpenTelemetry tracing
  • STDIO and Streamable HTTP transports

EIA-specific:

  • Full coverage of EIA API v2 — all 14 top-level dataset categories
  • In-process route tree cache with Fuse.js fuzzy index — built once at startup, no repeated upstream calls
  • Per-route facet cache via Promise.all fan-out — valid filter values available without re-fetching
  • STEO series names (1,469 entries) indexed for natural-language discovery
  • DataCanvas (DuckDB) opt-in for tabular spillover — graceful degradation when unavailable

Getting started

Get a free API key at api.eia.gov, then add the following to your MCP client configuration file.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "eia-energy-mcp-server": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "bunx",
      "args": ["@cyanheads/eia-energy-mcp-server@latest"],
      "env": {
        "MCP_TRANSPORT_TYPE": "stdio",
        "MCP_LOG_LEVEL": "info",
        "EIA_API_KEY": "your-api-key"
      }
    }
  }
}

Or with npx (no Bun required):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "eia-energy-mcp-server": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@cyanheads/eia-energy-mcp-server@latest"],
      "env": {
        "MCP_TRANSPORT_TYPE": "stdio",
        "MCP_LOG_LEVEL": "info",
        "EIA_API_KEY": "your-api-key"
      }
    }
  }
}

Or with Docker:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "eia-energy-mcp-server": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "docker",
      "args": [
        "run", "-i", "--rm",
        "-e", "MCP_TRANSPORT_TYPE=stdio",
        "-e", "EIA_API_KEY=your-api-key",
        "ghcr.io/cyanheads/eia-energy-mcp-server:latest"
      ]
    }
  }
}

For Streamable HTTP, set the transport and start the server:

MCP_TRANSPORT_TYPE=http MCP_HTTP_PORT=3010 EIA_API_KEY=your-key bun run start:http
# Server listens at http://localhost:3010/mcp

Prerequisites

  • Bun v1.3.0 or higher (or Node.js v24+).
  • A free EIA API key from api.eia.gov. The DEMO_KEY hits rate limits quickly; a real key is required for sustained use.

Installation

  1. Clone the repository:
git clone https://github.com/cyanheads/eia-energy-mcp-server.git
  1. Navigate into the directory:
cd eia-energy-mcp-server
  1. Install dependencies:
bun install
  1. Configure environment:
cp .env.example .env
# edit .env and set required vars (at minimum, EIA_API_KEY)

Configuration

All configuration is validated at startup via Zod schemas in src/config/server-config.ts. Key environment variables:

VariableDescriptionDefault
EIA_API_KEYRequired. Free API key from api.eia.gov — appended as api_key on every request.
EIA_BASE_URLEIA API base URL.https://api.eia.gov/v2
EIA_DATASET_TTL_SECONDSPer-table TTL for DataCanvas dataframes in seconds.86400 (24 h)
EIA_DATAFRAME_DROP_ENABLEDSet to true to expose eia_dataframe_drop. Off by default to avoid accidental canvas cleanup.false
CANVAS_PROVIDER_TYPESet to duckdb to enable DataCanvas spillover for large result sets (Node only).
MCP_TRANSPORT_TYPETransport: stdio or http.stdio
MCP_HTTP_PORTHTTP server port.3010
MCP_HTTP_ENDPOINT_PATHHTTP endpoint path./mcp
MCP_PUBLIC_URLPublic origin override for TLS-terminating reverse-proxy deployments.
MCP_AUTH_MODEAuth mode: none, jwt, or oauth.none
MCP_LOG_LEVELLog level (RFC 5424).info
LOGS_DIRDirectory for log files (Node.js only).<project-root>/logs
STORAGE_PROVIDER_TYPEStorage backend: in-memory, filesystem, supabase, cloudflare-kv/r2/d1.in-memory
OTEL_ENABLEDEnable OpenTelemetry instrumentation.false

Running the server

Local development

  • Build and run:

    # One-time build
    bun run rebuild
    
    # Run the built server
    bun run start:stdio
    # or
    bun run start:http
    
  • Run checks and tests:

    bun run devcheck   # Lint, format, typecheck, security
    bun run test       # Vitest test suite
    bun run lint:mcp   # Validate MCP definitions against spec
    

Project structure

DirectoryPurpose
src/index.tscreateApp() entry point — registers tools and inits services.
src/configServer-specific environment variable parsing and validation with Zod.
src/mcp-server/toolsTool definitions (*.tool.ts) — browse, describe, search, query, and three DataCanvas dataframe tools.
src/services/eiaEIA API v2 service — route tree cache, Fuse.js index, facet fan-out, HTTP client.
src/services/canvas-bridgeDataCanvas bridge — registers EIA query results as DuckDB dataframes, routes SQL queries.
tests/Unit and integration tests mirroring src/.
docs/Design documents (design.md, idea.md).

Development guide

See CLAUDE.md for development guidelines and architectural rules. The short version:

  • Handlers throw, framework catches — no try/catch in tool logic
  • Use ctx.log for request-scoped logging, ctx.state for tenant-scoped storage
  • Always call eia_describe_route before eia_query_route — facet values require a separate API fan-out and are not embedded in route metadata
  • Wrap EIA responses: validate raw → normalize to domain type → return output schema; data values are strings — never coerce silently

Contributing

Issues and pull requests are welcome. Run checks and tests before submitting:

bun run devcheck
bun run test

License

Apache-2.0 — see LICENSE for details.