OpenStreetMap Tagging Schema MCP Server

What is this?

This is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server designed specifically for AI agents and LLM applications. It acts as a bridge between artificial intelligence systems and the comprehensive OpenStreetMap tagging knowledge base provided by the official @openstreetmap/id-tagging-schema library.

Current Status: Production-ready MCP server, actively maintained and continuously improved. The service is deployed and accessible at https://mcp.gander.tools/osm-tagging/.

We welcome your feedback! Have ideas for improvements? Found a bug? Want to discuss features? Please open an issue or start a discussion.

What this is NOT

⚠️ Important clarifications:

• Not a standalone application: This server requires integration with AI systems (like Claude Code or Claude Desktop) to be useful. It has no user interface or web frontend.
• Not for direct human use: Without an AI agent as an intermediary, this tool provides no value to end users. It's designed exclusively for programmatic access by LLM applications.
• Not a public API for general use: The deployed service at mcp.gander.tools is intended for integration with AI agents, not for direct HTTP requests or high-volume automated queries. Please do not attempt to abuse the service with DDoS attacks or excessive traffic.

If you're looking for a user-facing OSM tagging tool, consider iD editor or JOSM instead.

Features

7 MCP Tools organized into 3 categories:

• Tag Query (2 tools): Query tag values and search tags
• Preset Discovery (2 tools): Search and explore OSM presets with detailed configurations
• Validation (3 tools): Validate tags, check for deprecated tags, suggest improvements

📖 Full tool reference: docs/api/

Installation

Using npx (Recommended)

# No installation needed - run directly
npx @gander-tools/osm-tagging-schema-mcp

Using Docker

# Run with stdio transport
docker run -i ghcr.io/gander-tools/osm-tagging-schema-mcp:latest

📖 More options: docs/user/installation.md (source installation, verification, troubleshooting)

Quick Start

With Claude Code CLI

# Add to Claude Code
claude mcp add --transport stdio osm-tagging-schema -- npx -y @gander-tools/osm-tagging-schema-mcp

# Use in conversations
# Ask Claude: "What OSM tags are available for restaurants?"
# Ask Claude: "Validate these tags: amenity=parking, capacity=50"

With Claude Desktop

Add to your Claude Desktop configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "osm-tagging-schema": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["@gander-tools/osm-tagging-schema-mcp"]
    }
  }
}

📖 Next steps:

• Configuration Guide - Setup for Claude Code/Desktop and custom clients
• Usage Guide - Tool examples and workflows
• API Reference - Complete tool documentation
• Deployment Guide - Production HTTP/Docker deployment

Testing with MCP Inspector

Test and debug the server using the official MCP Inspector:

# Test published package (quickest)
npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector npx @gander-tools/osm-tagging-schema-mcp

# Test Docker image
npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector docker run --rm -i ghcr.io/gander-tools/osm-tagging-schema-mcp

The Inspector provides an interactive web UI to test all tools, inspect responses, and debug issues.

📖 Complete inspection guide: docs/development/inspection.md (includes HTTP transport testing)

Development

Built with Test-Driven Development (TDD) and Property-Based Fuzzing:

• Comprehensive test suite (unit + integration) with 100% pass rate
• Property-based fuzz tests with fast-check for edge case discovery
• Continuous fuzzing in CI/CD (weekly schedule + on every push/PR)

npm install      # Install dependencies
npm test         # Run all tests
npm run test:fuzz # Run fuzz tests
npm run build    # Build for production

📖 Development guides: docs/development/development.md | docs/development/fuzzing.md

Contributing

Contributions welcome! This project follows Test-Driven Development (TDD).

1. Fork and clone the repository
2. Install dependencies: npm install
3. Create a feature branch
4. Write tests first, then implement
5. Ensure all tests pass: npm test
6. Submit a pull request

📖 Guidelines: docs/development/contributing.md

Documentation

Quick Navigation

Choose your path:

Complete Documentation

User Guides:

• Installation - Setup guide (npx, Docker, source)
• Configuration - Claude Code/Desktop configuration
• Usage - Tool examples and workflows
• API Reference - Complete tool documentation
• Troubleshooting - Common issues and solutions