Uk Ons

What Uk Ons does

Uk Ons provides MCP access to the UK Office for National Statistics API at https://api.beta.ons.gov.uk/v1/. It is intended for agents that need to find official UK statistical datasets and retrieve the specific releases and observations associated with them.

The Uk Ons MCP server exposes five pack-specific tools:

• list_datasets returns available datasets with optional limit and offset parameters.
• get_dataset retrieves a dataset using its identifier.
• list_editions lists editions for a selected dataset.
• get_version retrieves a particular dataset version using the dataset ID, edition, and version values.
• get_observations retrieves observations for a specified dataset version and set of dimensions.

How it works

The Uk Ons MCP server is available in two forms. The hosted option uses the Pipeworx gateway at https://gateway.pipeworx.io/uk-ons/mcp. A client connecting to this endpoint receives the ONS tools plus shared Pipeworx meta-tools, including ask_pipeworx, discover_tools, search_within, and remember/recall. The exact tool scope is reported by the connection's initialize response and may include roughly 30 shared tools in addition to the pack tools.

The gateway's ask_pipeworx tool can route a plain-language question across the wider Pipeworx catalog, including sources beyond ONS. The full gateway is also available at https://gateway.pipeworx.io/mcp; both gateway URLs use the same underlying service and data sources, while the listed pack-specific tools differ.

For direct access without an MCP client, gateway tools can be called over HTTP. For example, dataset listing is available through POST https://gateway.pipeworx.io/v1/tools/uk_ons_list_datasets with a JSON body containing optional limit and offset values.

Setup and configuration

Add the hosted endpoint as an MCP server in a compatible client:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "uk-ons": {
      "url": "https://gateway.pipeworx.io/uk-ons/mcp"
    }
  }
}

The standalone Uk Ons MCP server runs locally through npm and communicates over stdin/stdout:

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

Run npx -y @pipeworx/mcp-uk-ons directly to check that the local process starts. The local package requires no Pipeworx account and exposes only the five ONS tools, without gateway meta-tools or cross-catalog routing.

Tools and capabilities

The Uk Ons MCP server supports the dataset discovery sequence commonly needed for structured ONS queries: list datasets, select a dataset, inspect its editions, select a version, and request observations using dimensions. Tool arguments are supplied through MCP when using an MCP client, or as JSON when using the gateway HTTP interface.

The gateway also provides tool inspection through GET https://gateway.pipeworx.io/v1/tools/uk_ons_list_datasets.

Limitations and notes

The hosted pack endpoint cannot be mounted without the shared Pipeworx meta-tools. If their schemas add more context than desired, the standalone package avoids them, while the full gateway exposes the broader catalog directly. The gateway's tool count and exact scope can change, so the initialize response is authoritative for a particular connection. The local and hosted forms use the same ONS source and pack tools, but only the hosted form provides ask_pipeworx routing.