Istat It

What Istat It MCP server does

Istat It MCP server provides MCP access to datasets published by Istituto Nazionale di Statistica, Italy’s national statistics institute. Its three pack-specific tools cover dataset discovery, schema inspection, and data retrieval.

list_dataflows browses or searches ISTAT dataflows by keyword. Results include a dataflow identifier and an English dataset name. Because ISTAT publishes roughly 4,800 datasets, keyword filtering is generally more practical than requesting the complete catalog.

dataflow_structure returns the structure of one dataset. It identifies the ordered dimensions and the valid codes for each dimension, which are needed to construct a query key.

get_data retrieves observations from a selected dataflow. Results contain decoded series, dimension labels, and values for each period.

How it works

A typical query starts with list_dataflows, using a term such as unemployment or GDP to find a relevant dataflow. Pass the returned identifier to dataflow_structure to learn the exact dimension order and available codes.

Build the get_data key as a dot-separated SDMX filter with one position for every dimension, in the order reported by the structure tool. Leave a position empty to use a wildcard. For example, a key such as A.IT... selects annual data for Italy while leaving later dimensions unrestricted. start_period and end_period can limit the requested time range.

Omitting the key, or providing an empty key, requests all series in the dataflow. That may produce a large response, so filtered keys and period bounds are preferable when the dataset contains many combinations.

Setup and configuration

Istat It MCP server can be added to an MCP client through the hosted Pipeworx endpoint:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "istat-it": {
      "url": "https://gateway.pipeworx.io/istat-it/mcp"
    }
  }
}

The README names Claude Desktop, Cursor, and Windsurf as clients that can use this configuration. The hosted endpoint does not require an account for the first calls. It also exposes Pipeworx shared meta-tools in addition to the pack tools, including routing through ask_pipeworx.

For a local connection, run the package with npx:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "istat-it": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@pipeworx/mcp-istat-it"]
    }
  }
}

The local process communicates through stdin and stdout and provides only the Istat It tools. No environment variables or Pipeworx account are specified as required.

Tools and capabilities

• Search ISTAT dataflows by keyword.
• Inspect dimensions and valid codes for a dataflow.
• Construct SDMX dimension keys from dataset structure information.
• Retrieve observations for selected series and periods.
• Call the hosted tools directly over HTTP when an MCP client is unavailable.

The hosted HTTP interface includes endpoints such as POST https://gateway.pipeworx.io/v1/tools/istat_it_list_dataflows, using a JSON request body with a query field.

Limitations and notes

The pack-specific tools cover ISTAT dataflows only. A hosted pack connection also lists shared Pipeworx tools, so its tool count is larger than the three tools described here. The gateway’s initialize response is the authoritative source for the tools available at connection time.

The local package does not include those shared gateway meta-tools. It uses the same source and pack tools but does not provide ask_pipeworx routing. Large unfiltered data requests can return substantial results, particularly when get_data is called without a key.