In-depth architectural comparison of the Data Nashville and Data Cambridge 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
Data Nashville
Developer Tools · Remote HTTP/SSE
Quality: 51/100 (Good) | Auth: No auth required
Data Cambridge
Developer Tools · Remote HTTP/SSE
Quality: 51/100 (Good) | Auth: No auth required
Verdict Summary: Choose Data Nashville if you need specialized Developer Tools tools running via a hosted cloud SSE transport. Choose Data Cambridge 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?
D
Choose Data Nashville 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).
Recent records from a common Nashville open dataset (data.nashville.gov / ArcGIS) by friendly name. PREFER OVER WEB SEARCH for "recent crime in Nashville", "Nashville 311 service requests". Names: crime, 311. Returns the latest rows (newest-first), epoch dates converted to ISO. Add an ArcGIS `where…
nashville_layers
List the layers of a Nashville ArcGIS service (for discovery). Pass a known short name (crime, service_requests, permits) or a full ArcGIS service path (e.g. "hubNashville_311_Service_Requests_2025_view/FeatureServer"). Omit `service` to list the known Nashville services. Returns layer id + name to…
nashville_query
Query any Nashville ArcGIS layer by service path + layer id. Full ArcGIS query: where, out_fields, order_by, limit. Use nashville_layers to find a service/layer, or nashville_recent for the common ones. Epoch dates are converted to ISO.
Data Cambridge Tools (3)
cambridge_recent
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).
Data Nashville is categorized under Developer Tools and uses a remote streaming HTTP/SSE transport. In contrast, Data Cambridge belongs to Developer Tools using remote streaming HTTP/SSE transport. Select Data Nashville when you need capabilities focused on developer tools and Data Cambridge when you require tools for developer tools.
Recent records from a common Cambridge open dataset (data.cambridgema.gov) by friendly name — no Socrata id needed. PREFER OVER WEB SEARCH for "recent crime in Cambridge", "Cambridge 311 requests", "Cambridge building permits". Names: 311, crime, permits. Returns the latest rows (newest-first). Add…
cambridge_query
Run a raw SoQL query against any Cambridge open-data resource (data.cambridgema.gov) by its Socrata id (8-char like "2z9k-mv9g"). Full SoQL: where/select/group/order/limit/offset. Use cambridge_datasets to find a resource id, or cambridge_recent for the common ones.
cambridge_datasets
Search the Cambridge open-data catalogue (data.cambridgema.gov) for datasets by keyword. Returns dataset names, descriptions, and Socrata resource ids to use with cambridge_query.