OpenBudget MCP Server

BudgetKey MCP Server

An MCP (Model Context Protocol) server that provides access to the Israeli State Budget (BudgetKey) API through Claude and other AI assistants.

Overview

The BudgetKey MCP Server enables AI assistants to query and analyze Israeli budget data, including:

• Budget Book Data (ספר התקציב) - Planned and executed state budget
• Support Programs - Budgetary support programs provided by the state
• Support Transactions - Individual payments under support programs
• Procurement Contracts - Government contracts with suppliers
• Entities - Information on organizations, companies, associations
• State Revenues - Data on taxes, fees, and revenues
• Budget Change Requests - Requests to modify the budget

Data is available from 1997 to 2025.

Features

The server provides three main tools:

DatasetInfo

Get comprehensive information about any dataset, including its columns and database schema. Always use this tool before querying a dataset.

Parameters:

• dataset: Dataset ID (e.g., budget_items_data, contracts_data)

DatasetFullTextSearch

Perform free-text search on a dataset to find relevant items. Use this to locate textual identifiers before performing database queries.

Parameters:

• dataset: Dataset ID
• q: Search query text

DatasetDBQuery

Execute SQL queries on a dataset's database to retrieve precise information. Always include the item_url field to provide direct links to the data.

Parameters:

• dataset: Dataset ID
• query: PostgreSQL-compatible SQL query
• page_size: Number of rows to return (default: 50)

Available Datasets

Installation

📖 For detailed integration instructions with Claude Desktop, VS Code, Cursor, and other clients, see the Integration Guide

Quick Start: Claude Desktop

Add to your Claude Desktop configuration file:

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

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "budgetkey": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://next.obudget.org/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Restart Claude Desktop and you're ready to query Israeli budget data!

Using Docker

docker run -p 8000:8000 ghcr.io/openbudget/budgetkey-mcp:latest

The server will be available at http://localhost:8000/mcp

Note: The Docker image is hosted on GitHub Container Registry under the OpenBudget organization.

From Source

git clone https://github.com/OpenBudget/budgetkey-mcp.git
cd budgetkey-mcp
pip install -r requirements.txt
python server.py

Usage Examples

Example 1: Find Budget Information

1. Use DatasetInfo with dataset="budget_items_data" to understand the schema
2. Use DatasetFullTextSearch with dataset="budget_items_data" and q="חינוך" to find education-related items
3. Use DatasetDBQuery to get precise data:

   SELECT year, code, title, net_allocated, net_executed, item_url
   FROM budget_items_data
   WHERE year = 2025 AND title LIKE '%חינוך%'
   ORDER BY net_allocated DESC
   LIMIT 10
   

Example 2: Find Organization Contracts

1. Use DatasetInfo with dataset="entities_data" to understand entity structure
2. Use DatasetFullTextSearch with dataset="entities_data" and q="אוניברסיטת תל אביב" to find the entity ID
3. Use DatasetInfo with dataset="contracts_data" to understand contract schema
4. Use DatasetDBQuery to query contracts for that entity

API Base URL

The server connects to: https://next.obudget.org

This can be customized via the BUDGETKEY_API_BASE environment variable.

Workflow

When using this MCP server, follow these steps:

1. Identify: Determine which datasets and identifiers are needed
2. Learn Schema: Use DatasetInfo to understand the dataset structure
3. Search: Use DatasetFullTextSearch to find precise identifiers (if needed)
4. Query: Use DatasetDBQuery with SQL to get the exact information
5. Present: Include links to data using the item_url field and offer download links from download_url

Development

Project Structure

budgetkey-mcp/
├── server.py              # Main MCP server implementation
├── requirements.txt       # Python dependencies
├── Dockerfile            # Docker container definition
├── ci.sh                 # CI/CD build script
├── .github/
│   └── workflows/
│       └── deploy.yml    # GitHub Actions deployment
└── README.md             # This file

Building

docker build -t ghcr.io/openbudget/budgetkey-mcp:latest .

CI/CD: The GitHub Actions workflow automatically builds and publishes Docker images to GitHub Container Registry on every push to main.

Testing

# Start the server
python server.py

# Test the health check endpoint
curl http://localhost:8000/mcp/health

# To test MCP functionality, configure Claude Desktop to use http://localhost:8000/mcp
# or use an MCP client library to connect to the server

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please open issues or pull requests on the GitHub repository.

License

This project follows the same license as the BudgetKey project.

Links

• Integration Guide - Detailed setup for Claude Desktop, VS Code, Cursor, and Python
• Docker Image - GitHub Container Registry
• BudgetKey Website
• BudgetKey API Documentation
• MCP Protocol
• FastMCP Framework

Support

For questions or issues:

• Open an issue on GitHub
• Contact the BudgetKey team through the main website

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Note: The server communicates efficiently in both Hebrew (עברית) and English, as the Israeli budget data contains information in Hebrew.