Epa Aqs vs Openaq
A side-by-side look at the Epa Aqs and Openaq MCP servers: transport, auth, tools, quality signals, and the config to install either one in Claude, Cursor, Windsurf or VS Code.
Verdict: choose Epa Aqs for environment & nature work as a local process; choose Openaq for environment & nature as a local process. You can also run both side by side in one mcpServers block.
Which MCP server should you choose?
Choose Epa Aqs when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Environment & Nature domain.
- You prefer a local stdio subprocess transport.
- You have the keys it needs:
PLATFORM_EPA_AQS_KEY.
Choose Openaq when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Environment & Nature domain.
- You prefer a local stdio subprocess transport.
- You want tools like
air_quality_near, find_stations, get_latest.
Feature & specification comparison
Rows where the two servers differ are marked.
| Spec | ||
|---|---|---|
| Category | Environment & Nature | Environment & Nature |
| Quality signal | 40/100 · Fair | 49/100 · Fair |
| Install command | Confirmed | Confirmed |
| Transport | Local subprocess (stdio) | Local subprocess (stdio) |
| Auth | Not declared | Not declared |
| Pricing | Not declared | Not declared |
| Required env vars | PLATFORM_EPA_AQS_KEY | None listed |
| Verified owner | Community listing | Community listing |
| GitHub stars | 0 | 0 |
| Directory activity | 0 views 0 installs 0 upvotes | 1 views 0 installs 0 upvotes |
| Tools | Not listed | 4 |
| Full listing | View Epa Aqs | View Openaq |
Tools & capabilities
Epa Aqs tools
No tool names declared yet. Check the project README from the listing page.
Openaq tools 4
air_quality_nearGet the latest air-quality readings (PM2.5, PM10, O3, NO2, SO2, CO, etc.) at the monitoring station NEAREST to a latitude/longitude. PREFER for "air quality near me", "what is the air quality at <coordinates>", "is the air bad in <place> right now". Returns the nearest station with its most recent…find_stationsFind OpenAQ air-quality monitoring stations by location: a city or place name, coordinates+radius (nearest first), a country (ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 code), or a bounding box. Returns station id, name, country, coordinates, and the pollutants each measures (with sensor ids), plus resolved_place echoing…get_latestGet the latest reading for every pollutant at a specific OpenAQ station (by location id from find_stations). Returns each parameter (PM2.5, O3, NO2, etc.) with its value, units, and measurement time.get_measurementsGet the most recent time series (hourly or daily aggregates) for a single OpenAQ sensor (sensor id from find_stations), newest first. Use for pollutant trends over time at one station/parameter. Returns the sensor's LAST `limit` readings — note that many OpenAQ sensors are archived and stopped repo…
Ready-to-paste client configs
Paste either block (or both) into your client config, e.g. claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json. We only show a config when the install command is confirmed.
Epa Aqs
{
"mcpServers": {
"epa-aqs": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"@pipeworx/mcp-epa-aqs"
],
"env": {
"PLATFORM_EPA_AQS_KEY": "YOUR_PLATFORM_EPA_AQS_KEY_HERE"
}
}
}
}
Openaq
{
"mcpServers": {
"openaq": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"@pipeworx/mcp-openaq"
]
}
}
}
Frequently asked questions
Epa Aqs is categorized under Environment & Nature and uses a local stdio subprocess. Openaq belongs to Environment & Nature and uses a local stdio subprocess. Pick Epa Aqs for environment & nature work and Openaq for environment & nature.
Copy the mcpServers block from the config section on this page into your client's config (for example claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json), then fully restart the client.
Epa Aqs has no declared pricing — check the project's own site. Openaq has no declared pricing — check the project's own site. If a server needs environment variables such as API keys, define them under the env key in your client's MCP config.
Yes. MCP clients support multiple servers: add epa-aqs and openaq as separate keys in the same mcpServers object, and your assistant will call tools from either one.
On AllMCPs, Epa Aqs has a quality signal of 40/100 (Fair) with 0 views, 0 installs and 0 GitHub stars. Openaq has 49/100 (Fair) with 1 views, 0 installs and 0 GitHub stars.