swisstopo-mcp 0.1.0

MCP server for Swiss federal geodata (Swisstopo APIs)

swisstopo-mcp

MCP server for Swiss federal geodata (Swisstopo APIs)

Gives AI assistants (Claude, etc.) access to Switzerland's official geodata infrastructure — maps, elevation, geocoding, cadastral extracts, and downloadable datasets — through 13 tools across 6 API families.

---

Features

• 13 tools across 6 API families (REST, Geocoding, Height, STAC, WMTS, ÖREB)
• Geocode Swiss addresses and reverse-geocode coordinates
• Query elevation and compute elevation profiles
• Discover and download geodatasets (orthophotos, 3D buildings, historical maps)
• Identify map features at coordinates across 500+ Swisstopo layers
• Generate shareable map.geo.admin.ch links
• Look up cadastral property IDs (EGRID) and retrieve ÖREB land-use restriction extracts

---

Quick Start

Installation

pip install swisstopo-mcp

Claude Desktop Configuration

Add the following to your Claude Desktop claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "swisstopo": {
      "command": "swisstopo-mcp",
      "env": {
        "SWISSTOPO_OEREB_CANTONS": "ZH"
      }
    }
  }
}

On macOS the config file is at ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json. On Windows it is at %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json.

---

Tool Overview

Tool	Title (DE)	Description
swisstopo_geocode	Adresse geocodieren	Convert Swiss addresses, place names, or postal codes to coordinates
swisstopo_reverse_geocode	Koordinaten zu Adresse	Find the nearest address for given coordinates
swisstopo_search_layers	Swisstopo Layer suchen	Search the Swisstopo layer catalog (500+ layers) by keyword
swisstopo_identify_features	Features an Koordinate identifizieren	Find map features at a specific coordinate (spatial query)
swisstopo_find_features	Features nach Attribut suchen	Search features by attribute value within a layer (e.g., buildings by EGID)
swisstopo_get_feature	Feature-Details abrufen	Retrieve full attributes and geometry for a feature by ID
swisstopo_search_geodata	Geodaten suchen	Search the STAC catalog for downloadable geodatasets
swisstopo_get_collection	Geodaten-Details abrufen	Get details and download links for a STAC collection
swisstopo_map_url	Karten-URL generieren	Generate a map.geo.admin.ch URL for browser display
swisstopo_get_height	Höhe abfragen	Get elevation above sea level (m a.s.l.) at a coordinate
swisstopo_elevation_profile	Höhenprofil berechnen	Compute an elevation profile along a line
swisstopo_get_egrid	Grundstück-ID (EGRID) ermitteln	Resolve a cadastral property ID (EGRID) from coordinates
swisstopo_get_oereb_extract	ÖREB-Auszug abrufen	Retrieve public-law land-use restrictions (ÖREB) for a parcel

---

Environment Variables

Variable	Default	Description
SWISSTOPO_OEREB_CANTONS	(none)	Comma-separated list of cantons to use for ÖREB queries (e.g. ZH,BE,LU). Required for swisstopo_get_egrid and swisstopo_get_oereb_extract.
MCP_TRANSPORT	stdio	Transport protocol: stdio (default), sse, or streamable-http
MCP_PORT	8000	Port for SSE or HTTP transport modes

---

Usage Examples

Geocode an address

Ask Claude:

"Where is Bahnhofstrasse 1, Zürich? Give me the coordinates."

Claude will call swisstopo_geocode with the address and return WGS84 coordinates.

Get elevation at a point

Ask Claude:

"What is the elevation at the Uetliberg summit in Zurich?"

Claude will geocode the location and then call swisstopo_get_height.

Identify features on a map layer

Ask Claude:

"What buildings are at coordinates 2683500, 1247500 (LV95)?"

Claude will use swisstopo_identify_features on the buildings layer.

Look up property restrictions

Ask Claude:

"What land-use restrictions apply to the parcel at Musterstrasse 5, Zürich?"

Claude will call swisstopo_get_egrid to find the EGRID, then swisstopo_get_oereb_extract for the full cadastral extract.

---

Running as HTTP Server

For use in web applications or multi-client scenarios:

MCP_TRANSPORT=sse MCP_PORT=8080 swisstopo-mcp

---

Development

Setup

git clone https://github.com/schulamt-zh/swisstopo-mcp.git
cd swisstopo-mcp
pip install -e ".[dev]"

Running Tests

# Unit tests only (no network required)
pytest tests/ -m "not live" -v

# All tests including live API calls
pytest tests/ -v

Code Style

This project uses ruff for linting and formatting:

ruff check src/ tests/
ruff format src/ tests/

---

License

MIT — see LICENSE for details.

Data provided by swisstopo under the Open Government Data terms.