Owid

What the Owid MCP server does

The Owid MCP server gives AI agents access to selected Our World in Data indicators and their underlying chart data. It provides three pack-specific tools:

• list_popular_indicators(category?) returns a curated list of indicator slugs, optionally narrowed by category.
• fetch_indicator(slug, country?, since_year?, until_year?, limit?) retrieves one indicator in a tidy, long-format structure. Optional filters limit the result by country, year range, or row count.
• get_indicator_metadata(slug) returns descriptive fields including the indicator title, measurement units, source, and last-updated information.

This fits workflows that need data for analysis, comparisons, chart preparation, or fact-finding without building a separate OWID client.

How it works

The server obtains chart data from the public Our World in Data Grapher endpoints. For an indicator slug, the data endpoint follows the ourworldindata.org/grapher/<slug>.csv pattern, while metadata comes from the corresponding .metadata.json endpoint. These sources are public and do not require an API key.

The Owid MCP server is available in two forms. A hosted connection uses the Pipeworx gateway URL and exposes the OWID tools alongside shared gateway tools. Those shared tools can route questions to other sources through ask_pipeworx, so the hosted connection lists more tools than the OWID pack itself. The gateway's initialize response provides the authoritative tool scope for a particular connection.

A local package runs as an MCP stdio process and exposes only the OWID pack tools. It uses the same underlying source and does not require a Pipeworx account or a gateway round trip.

Setup and configuration

For a hosted MCP connection, add the following server URL to a compatible client:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "owid": {
      "url": "https://gateway.pipeworx.io/owid/mcp"
    }
  }
}

The README names Claude Desktop, Cursor, and Windsurf as client options. You can also use the full gateway at https://gateway.pipeworx.io/mcp when you want every pack's tools listed directly.

For local stdio operation, configure the package command instead:

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

The package can also be started directly with npx -y @pipeworx/mcp-owid. For clients without MCP support, the hosted tools can be called over HTTP using the gateway's /v1/tools/<tool-name> routes.

Tools and capabilities

The Owid MCP server supports indicator discovery by category, retrieval of filtered indicator rows, and metadata inspection. Hosted connections also support natural-language routing through ask_pipeworx, plus shared gateway tools such as discovery and search. Those gateway capabilities are not included in the standalone stdio process.

Limitations and notes

The indicator catalog is curated rather than presented as an unrestricted search interface. Requests depend on valid OWID chart slugs and the data available from the public Grapher endpoints. Hosted pack connections always include shared Pipeworx meta-tools, and the exact hosted tool count can change; inspect tools/list or the initialization response when the precise scope matters. No authentication is required for the documented initial calls.