In-depth architectural comparison of the Arcgis Roanoke and Arcgis Carlsbad MCP servers. Compare execution transports, security boundaries, tool capabilities, quality scores, and ready-to-paste client installation snippets for Claude, Cursor, Windsurf, and VS Code.
At a Glance & Executive Verdict
Arcgis Roanoke
Developer Tools · Remote HTTP/SSE
Quality: 51/100 (Good) | Auth: No auth required
Arcgis Carlsbad
Developer Tools · Remote HTTP/SSE
Quality: 51/100 (Good) | Auth: No auth required
Verdict Summary: Choose Arcgis Roanoke if you need specialized Developer Tools tools running via a hosted cloud SSE transport. Choose Arcgis Carlsbad if your workspace requires Developer Tools integration with remote web transport. Both servers can be configured concurrently in your client's mcpServers manifest.
Which MCP Server Should You Choose?
A
Choose Arcgis Roanoke when:
You need dedicated capabilities in the Developer Tools domain.
You prefer remote streaming HTTP/SSE transport architecture.
Your security boundary fits: No auth required (Free / Open Source).
Search City of Roanoke GIS open geospatial datasets (parcels, zoning, public works & city services) by keyword. Returns each dataset's name, summary, record_count, owner/org, and its Feature Service `url` — pass that url to query_layer / layer_info.
query_layer
Query an ArcGIS Feature Service / Map Service layer by its url (from search_datasets). SQL-like `where`, comma-separated `out_fields`, `order_by`, `limit`, `offset`. Returns attribute rows (and geometry). Use where="1=1" + out_fields="*" to sample.
layer_info
Get an ArcGIS Feature/Map Service layer's schema by url: fields (name + type), geometry type, total record count, and capabilities.
Arcgis Carlsbad Tools (3)
search_datasets
Search City of Carlsbad GIS open geospatial datasets (parcels, zoning, public works & city services) by keyword. Returns each dataset's name, summary, record_count, owner/org, and its Feature Service `url` — pass that url to query_layer / layer_info.
Ready-to-Paste Client Configurations
Paste either (or both) of these JSON server blocks into your client config file (e.g. claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json).
Arcgis Roanoke is categorized under Developer Tools and uses a remote streaming HTTP/SSE transport. In contrast, Arcgis Carlsbad belongs to Developer Tools using remote streaming HTTP/SSE transport. Select Arcgis Roanoke when you need capabilities focused on developer tools and Arcgis Carlsbad when you require tools for developer tools.
Query an ArcGIS Feature Service / Map Service layer by its url (from search_datasets). SQL-like `where`, comma-separated `out_fields`, `order_by`, `limit`, `offset`. Returns attribute rows (and geometry). Use where="1=1" + out_fields="*" to sample.
layer_info
Get an ArcGIS Feature/Map Service layer's schema by url: fields (name + type), geometry type, total record count, and capabilities.