building-code-mcp 1.0.0

MCP server for searching Canadian Building Codes (NBC, OBC, BCBC, etc.)

Canadian Building Code MCP Server

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that enables Claude to search and navigate Canadian building codes.

What It Does

Ask Claude questions like:

• "Find fire separation requirements for garages in NBC"
• "What are the stair width requirements in OBC?"
• "Show me section 9.10.14 of the Building Code"

Claude will search 20,000+ indexed sections across 13 Canadian building codes and return relevant sections with page numbers.

Supported Codes

Code	Version	Sections	Description
NBC	2025	2,783	National Building Code
NFC	2025	1,044	National Fire Code
NPC	2025	413	National Plumbing Code
NECB	2025	475	National Energy Code for Buildings
OBC	2024	4,108	Ontario Building Code (Vol 1 & 2)
BCBC	2024	2,584	British Columbia Building Code
ABC	2023	2,832	Alberta Building Code
QCC	2020	2,726	Quebec Construction Code
QECB	2020	384	Quebec Energy Code
QPC	2020	428	Quebec Plumbing Code
QSC	2020	1,063	Quebec Safety Code (Fire)
OFC	O. Reg. 213/07	1,906	Ontario Fire Code

Installation

Option A: pip install (Recommended)

# Basic installation
pip install git+https://github.com/DavidCho1999/Canada-AEC-Code-MCP.git

# With PDF text extraction support
pip install "git+https://github.com/DavidCho1999/Canada-AEC-Code-MCP.git#egg=building-code-mcp[pdf]"

Option B: Clone and install

git clone https://github.com/DavidCho1999/Canada-AEC-Code-MCP.git
cd Canada-AEC-Code-MCP
pip install -e .          # Basic
pip install -e ".[pdf]"   # With PDF support

Configure Claude Desktop

Find your Claude Desktop config file:

• Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
• Mac: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

Add this to the config file:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "building-code": {
      "command": "building-code-mcp"
    }
  }
}

Or if using the cloned repository:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "building-code": {
      "command": "python",
      "args": ["C:/full/path/to/Canada-AEC-Code-MCP/src/mcp_server.py"]
    }
  }
}

Restart Claude Desktop

Close and reopen Claude Desktop. You should see "building-code" in the MCP tools.

Usage Examples

Once installed, just ask Claude naturally:

"Search for egress requirements in NBC"
"What does section 3.2.4.1 say in OBC?"
"Find fire resistance ratings for walls"
"List all available building codes"

Available Tools

Tool	Description
list_codes	List all available codes and section counts
search_code	Search by keywords (e.g., "fire separation")
get_section	Get specific section by ID (e.g., "9.10.14.1")
get_hierarchy	Get parent, children, siblings of a section
set_pdf_path	Connect your PDF for full text extraction (BYOD)

How It Works

Mode A: Map Only (Default)

Returns section metadata: ID, title, page number, keywords. Works without any PDF files.

Mode B: BYOD (Bring Your Own Document)

Connect your legally obtained PDF to get full text:

"Connect my NBC PDF at C:/codes/NBC2025.pdf"

The server extracts text from the exact page and coordinates.

Project Structure

Canada-AEC-Code-MCP/
├── maps/               # 12 code index files (JSON)
├── src/
│   └── mcp_server.py   # MCP server
├── scripts/
│   └── generate_map_v2.py  # Map generation tool
└── README.md

For Developers

Adding New Codes

1. Convert PDF with Docling:

pip install docling
python scripts/convert_with_docling.py path/to/code.pdf

2. Generate map:

python scripts/generate_map_v2.py docling_output/code_name/

Disclaimer

This is a structural index for Canadian Building Codes. No copyrighted text is distributed. This is not an official NRC or government product.

Building codes are published by the National Research Council of Canada (NRC) and provincial authorities. Please obtain official copies through proper channels.

Running Tests

# Install test dependencies
pip install pytest

# Run smoke tests
pytest tests/test_smoke.py -v

Troubleshooting

"MCP server not showing in Claude Desktop"

1. Check the path in config is absolute (not relative)
2. Make sure Python is in your PATH
3. Restart Claude Desktop completely

"No results found"

• Try simpler search terms (e.g., "fire" instead of "fire separation requirements")
• Check if the code exists: ask Claude "list available codes"

"PDF text extraction not working"

• Ensure the PDF path is correct and file exists
• The PDF version must match the map version (e.g., NBC 2025 map needs NBC 2025 PDF)

Contributing

Contributions welcome! Please:

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Run tests: pytest tests/test_smoke.py -v
4. Submit a pull request

Changelog

v1.0.0 (2026-01)

• Initial release with 12 Canadian building codes
• 18,000+ indexed sections
• BYOD mode for full text extraction

License

MIT License - See LICENSE file.