Sciencebase

What Sciencebase MCP server does

Sciencebase provides MCP access to the U.S. Geological Survey’s ScienceBase catalog, which contains datasets, publications, and projects. Agents can search catalog records, retrieve a complete record by item ID, and navigate the catalog’s parent-child structure.

Search results can include summaries, categories, dates, and direct download links. A single item lookup adds details such as item types, contacts, web links, and attached files. The hierarchy tool helps agents inspect collections and folders after determining that an item contains children.

The integration is independent and unofficial, and is delivered through the Pipeworx gateway.

How it works

The hosted MCP endpoint is:

https://gateway.pipeworx.io/sciencebase/mcp

An MCP client connects to that URL and can call the Sciencebase tools directly. The endpoint also exposes shared Pipeworx gateway tools, including routing and discovery functions, so the tool list can be larger than the three Sciencebase-specific tools. The connection’s initialize response identifies the exact scope available at connection time.

The full Pipeworx gateway is another connection option:

https://gateway.pipeworx.io/mcp

For clients that do not use MCP directly, the tools can also be called over HTTP. For example, sciencebase_search_items is available through the Pipeworx tools API.

Setup and configuration

Add the hosted endpoint to an MCP client with a server entry such as:

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

A local stdio option is available through the @pipeworx/mcp-sciencebase npm package. Configure the client to start it with npx:

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

The npm bridge forwards requests to the hosted gateway and therefore requires network access. Anonymous use is available with a daily call limit. Setting PIPEWORX_API_KEY enables an account-backed allowance. PIPEWORX_META_TOOLS=1 adds the shared gateway tools to the local server’s listed tools. Calls can also be routed through an HTTPS proxy when the Node runtime is configured to use environment proxies.

Tools and capabilities

• search_items: Search ScienceBase records using a query and return catalog information, categories, dates, summaries, and download links.
• get_item: Retrieve one catalog item by its ScienceBase ID, including metadata, contacts, web links, and attached files.
• item_children: List the items nested under a collection or folder.

These tools are keyless at the Sciencebase API level. The Pipeworx gateway can still apply anonymous and account-based usage limits.

Limitations and notes

The npm package is a network-dependent bridge rather than an offline catalog copy. Without an API key, calls are capped at 50 per day; a free Pipeworx account raises the allowance to 200 per day. The hosted and local configurations use the same gateway, while the full gateway lists all available Pipeworx packs directly. The integration is unofficial and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or published by the USGS.