Pota MCP README

pota-mcp

MCP server for Parks on the Air (POTA) — live activator spots, park info, activator/hunter stats, and scheduled activations through any MCP-compatible AI assistant.

Part of the qso-graph project. No authentication required — all POTA endpoints are public.

Install

bash

uvx pota-mcp            # run it; nothing to install

Tools

Tool	Description
`pota_spots`	Current activator spots with park/grid enrichment and optional filters
`pota_park_info`	Park details by reference code (name, grid, type, agencies, website)
`pota_park_stats`	Activation and QSO counts for a park
`pota_park_activations`	A park's recent activations — who, when, and QSOs by mode
`pota_park_leaderboard`	A park's top activators, activator QSOs and hunter QSOs
`pota_user_stats`	Activator/hunter stats by callsign (callsign, name, activator, attempts, hunter, awards, endorsements; no address or email-derived fields)
`pota_scheduled`	Upcoming scheduled activations, with optional location, park, activator and time-window filters
`pota_location_parks`	All parks in a state/province/country
`pota_nearby_parks`	Find parks near a point — great for 2-fer planning
`pota_rare_parks_near`	Parks near a point that are rarely or never activated
`get_version_info`	Service version + upstream spec version (fleet identity attestation)

Quick Start

No credentials needed — just install and configure your MCP client.

Configure your MCP client

pota-mcp works with any MCP-compatible client. Add the server config and restart — tools appear automatically.

Claude Desktop

Add to claude_desktop_config.json (~/Library/Application Support/Claude/ on macOS, %APPDATA%\Claude\ on Windows):

config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "pota": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["pota-mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Claude Code

Add to .claude/settings.json:

config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "pota": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["pota-mcp"]
    }
  }
}

ChatGPT Desktop

config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "pota": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["pota-mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Cursor

Add to .cursor/mcp.json (project-level) or ~/.cursor/mcp.json (global):

config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "pota": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["pota-mcp"]
    }
  }
}

VS Code / GitHub Copilot

Add to .vscode/mcp.json in your workspace:

config.json

{
  "servers": {
    "pota": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["pota-mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Gemini CLI

Add to ~/.gemini/settings.json (global) or .gemini/settings.json (project):

config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "pota": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["pota-mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Ask questions

"What POTA activations are happening right now?"

"Tell me about park US-0001 — how many activations has it had?"

"What are K4SWL's POTA stats?"

"Show me all parks in Idaho"

"Are there any CW activators on 20m right now?"

"What activations are scheduled for tomorrow?"

Testing Without Network

For testing all tools without hitting the POTA API:

bash

POTA_MCP_MOCK=1 pota-mcp

MCP Inspector

bash

pota-mcp --transport streamable-http --port 8006

Then open the MCP Inspector at http://localhost:8006.

Development

bash

git clone https://github.com/qso-graph/pota-mcp.git
cd pota-mcp
uv sync --group dev
uv run pytest

License

GPL-3.0-or-later