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Independent measurements of remote MCP servers. Every observation has a timestamp.

Read-only probes

MCP server · Code & DevOps

io.github.rpconroy/gdex-mcp

MCP server for the GDEX (Geoscience Data Exchange) data portal: datasets, files, metrics, subsetting

Checks passed
11 / 22

3 failed · 8 not measured

Median response
584 ms

Median of successful probes over 7 days

30-day uptime
Not measured

Share of countable probes over 30 days, including daily rollups. Auth challenges are excluded.

Discovered tools
30

Tool definitions returned by this server

Independent monitoring

Health & checks

Status history

Responded

The server completed its last measured handshake. This is an observation, not a guarantee.

Last checked
Check summary by test group
Test areaPassedFailedUnmeasured
ConnectionCan a client connect and discover tools?
500
Reliability & speedDoes it respond consistently and quickly?
004
Access & authenticationWhat is required to use this server?
102
Tool qualityAre the tool definitions usable by an agent?
220
Publisher identityCan the publisher be traced to its source?
312

Unmeasured means there is not enough evidence to decide. How these checks work

Inspect individual checks 22 recorded

Core

  • Pass
    Reachable

    Latest probe returned HTTP 200 in 584 ms.

  • Pass
    Valid handshake

    protocolVersion 2025-11-25, serverInfo.name gdex.

  • Pass
    Lists tools

    tools/list returned 30 tools.

  • Pass
    Current protocol

    Negotiated 2025-11-25. The bar is 2025-06-18 or newer.

  • Pass
    HTTPS

    The endpoint URL is https.

Performance

  • Not measured
    Fast (p50)

    Median latency 584 ms over 1 samples in 7 days. The bar is 1000 ms. Need at least 5 samples.

  • Not measured
    Consistent (p95)

    95th percentile 584 ms over 1 samples in 7 days. The bar is 3000 ms. Need at least 20 samples.

  • Not measured
    Reliable (uptime)

    1 of 1 attempts returned a tool list in 30 days (100%). The bar is 99%. Need at least 30 samples.

  • Not measured
    Stable tool list

    Fewer than two successful probes in 30 days, so tool-list stability is not measured.

Access

  • Pass
    Open access

    tools/list succeeded with no credential, and the record declares none.

  • Not measured
    Standard auth

    Auth is not required, so the OAuth metadata check does not apply.

  • Not measured
    Free tier cited

    No publisher quote has been checked.

Tools

  • Pass
    Tools described

    Every tool description is at least 20 characters.

  • Pass
    Valid input schemas

    Every inputSchema is a JSON Schema object.

  • Fail
    Parameters documented

    0 of 67 parameters have a description (0%). The bar is 80%.

  • Fail
    Safety hints

    30 tools set neither readOnlyHint nor destructiveHint.

Publisher

  • Pass
    Verified namespace

    Listed in the Official MCP Registry.

  • Not measured
    Website matches publisher

    This namespace is not a reverse domain, so the website comparison does not apply.

  • Pass
    Source repo linked

    A repository URL is on file.

  • Fail
    Repo owner matches

    The GitHub repository owner does not match the namespace login.

  • Pass
    Recently updated

    Updated 2026-09-24T18:55:03.485959Z, within 180 days.

  • Not measured
    Open-source licence

    The GitHub licence lookup has not returned an OSI result yet.

Start using io.github.rpconroy/gdex-mcp

Connect to this server

Choose your client, copy the configuration, then enable the server in your client’s MCP settings.

Run this command in your terminal, then restart Claude Code.

Claude Code

claude mcp add --transport http io-github-rpconroy-gdex-mcp https://gdex-mcp.k8s.ucar.edu/mcp

Capabilities

Tools 30

check_request_status

Check the status of a specific subsetting request. Requires GDEX_TOKEN. Args: rindex: Request index/ID

Discovered
describe_dataset

Return a combined overview of a dataset — abstract, temporal coverage, spatial coverage, variables, data formats, and volume — in a single call. Prefer this over calling get_dataset_field repeatedly when the user wants a general summary of a dataset. If one of the underlying fields fails to load, it's returned as {"error": ...} rather than failing the whole call. Args: dsid: Dataset ID (dNNNNNN), e.g. d083002

Discovered
find_dataset_files

Search a dataset's file-group hierarchy for files matching a name pattern (e.g. a date like "20220808"), without ever pulling a large, context-blowing file listing. Automates the pattern described in get_file_groups: recursively calls get_file_groups, descending into every child gindex, until a gindex returns no further children (a leaf group) — then calls get_dataset_files there with filter_wfile=name_pattern and keeps only the matches. Prefer this over manually drilling with get_file_groups/get_dataset_files when you don't already know roughly where in the hierarchy to look. A dataset's hierarchy can be large (hundreds of leaf groups), and this tool has no way to know in advance which branches might contain a match, so it may need to visit many groups to be thorough. Pass start_gindex if you already know a good starting point (e.g. from a prior get_file_groups call, or a related dataset's structure) to narrow and speed up the search. If the number of groups visited hits max_groups_visited, the search stops early and `stopped_early` comes back true — narrow with start_gindex and retry, or raise the cap. Args: dsid: Dataset ID (dNNNNNN), e.g. d083002 name_pattern: Filename substring/pattern to match, e.g. "20220808" for a date start_gindex: Optional group index to start the search from, instead of the dataset root max_groups_visited: Safety cap on groups traversed before giving up (default 300)

Discovered
get_arco_variables

Return the list of ARCO variables available for a dataset. Each row's type (index 2) is either "zarr" or "reference" (kerchunk). A "reference" variable is often listed multiple times, once per kerchunk reference variant (plain, "-remote-https", "-remote-osdf", etc.) — always pick the "-osdf" variant's URL; the others' chunk targets can be internal paths that only resolve on NCAR's network. Open it with xr.open_dataset(url, engine="kerchunk", storage_options={"remote_protocol": "https", "lazy": True}) — that's better behaved than hand-building an fsspec reference filesystem. A "zarr" row needs no variant picking — its URL already routes through the OSDF director (rewritten automatically); open it directly with xr.open_dataset(url, engine="zarr"). Results are capped at 300 rows (look for "truncated": true); narrow with search_arco_variables if you hit the cap. Args: dsid: Dataset ID (dNNNNNN), e.g. d083002

Discovered
get_control_file_template

Return the control file template for building a subsetting request for a dataset. Args: dsid: Dataset ID (dNNNNNN), e.g. d083002

Discovered
get_data_access

Return data access options for a dataset — download links, Globus URLs, access methods. Args: dsid: Dataset ID (dNNNNNN), e.g. d083002

Discovered
get_dataset_field

Return one metadata field for a dataset. Prefer describe_dataset when the user wants a general summary covering several of these at once (abstract, temporal, spatial_coverage, variables, data_formats, volume) — this tool is for pulling a single field, including the fields describe_dataset doesn't cover (publications, contributors, related_datasets, documentation). Args: dsid: Dataset ID (dNNNNNN), e.g. d083002 field: One of: abstract, variables, temporal, spatial_coverage, publications, contributors, data_formats, volume, related_datasets, documentation

Discovered
get_dataset_files

Return a paginated file listing for a dataset or a specific group. Depending on how deep gindex is in the group hierarchy, this returns either actual file rows or another layer of subgroup summaries — there's no way to tell in advance which you'll get. If you get subgroups, read the gindex (or url) off a row and call again with that gindex to go one level deeper; gindex values are dataset-specific and can't be guessed. A shallow gindex on a large dataset can return a very large response (thousands of files) — the file-row portion of the response is capped at 500 rows (look for "_truncated": true). Two ways to avoid hitting that cap instead of drilling down group by group: pass filter_wfile with a filename pattern (e.g. a date like "20220808") to filter down to matching files, or page through a known group's results with `page`. filter_wfile only filters actual file rows, so it has no effect at a gindex that's still returning a subgroup summary rather than files — if a first attempt comes back unfiltered, descend one level (see get_file_groups) and retry there. Args: dsid: Dataset ID (dNNNNNN), e.g. d083002 gindex: Optional group index to filter files page: Page number to fetch (for a group with more files than fit on one page) filter_wfile: Filter files by name pattern, e.g. "20220808" to match a date fl: File list source (defaults to "web" server-side)

Discovered
get_dataset_metadata

Return full metadata for a GDEX dataset (parameters, temporal range, spatial coverage, etc.). Args: dsid: Dataset ID (dNNNNNN), e.g. d083002

Discovered
get_dataset_metrics

Return a per-dataset metric. Args: dsid: Dataset ID (dNNNNNN), e.g. d083002 metric: One of: users_month, users_year, volume_month, volume_year

Discovered
get_file_groups

Return file groups for a dataset. Pass gindex to get child groups under a parent. Groups nest (dataset -> format -> year -> month, or similar, varying by dataset) and there's no way to predict a child's gindex in advance — each group's gindex/url is dataset-specific and only knowable from the parent response. To drill down, read the gindex (or url) off a row in this response and pass that as the next call's gindex. This never returns file rows, only groups — every response stays small regardless of how many files the dataset holds, unlike get_dataset_files. Descend until a call returns empty ({} or []): that means the gindex you just called with is a leaf with no further subgroups, so it's safe to call get_dataset_files there for the actual files. find_dataset_files automates exactly this walk if you'd rather not do it by hand. At the top level, watch for a "Kerchunk Reference Files" (or similar ARCO-related) group alongside the raw-format groups. For an analysis task, prefer pulling from there (see also has_arco/get_arco_variables) over a raw data file when one's available — it avoids downloading a whole file just to read a subset of it. Args: dsid: Dataset ID (dNNNNNN), e.g. d083002 gindex: Optional group index to fetch child groups

Discovered
get_filesearch_cyclone_fix_files

Search for data files containing "cyclone_fix" datatype data, optionally filtered by time range. Results are paginated; use get_filesearch_result_page with the returned result_id to fetch additional pages. Args: dsid: Dataset ID (dNNNNNN), e.g. d083002 valid_datetime_min: Restrict to data valid on/after "YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM" valid_datetime_max: Restrict to data valid on/before "YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM"

Discovered
get_filesearch_cyclone_fix_filters

Return the valid date range and other filters for "cyclone_fix" datatype file search on a dataset. Args: dsid: Dataset ID (dNNNNNN), e.g. d083002 valid_datetime_min: Restrict to data valid on/after "YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM" valid_datetime_max: Restrict to data valid on/before "YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM"

Discovered
get_filesearch_datatypes

Return the file-search datatypes available for a dataset (a subset of "grid", "cyclone_fix", "sensor"). Call this before the other filesearch_* tools to know which one(s) apply — a dataset only supports search for the datatypes it actually contains. Args: dsid: Dataset ID (dNNNNNN), e.g. d083002

Discovered
get_filesearch_grid_files

Search for data files containing "grid" datatype data, filtered by parameter code(s) and optionally by time range, product, grid, or level. Results are paginated; use get_filesearch_result_page with the returned result_id to fetch additional pages. Use get_filesearch_grid_filters first to find valid parameter/product/grid/level codes for this dataset. Args: dsid: Dataset ID (dNNNNNN), e.g. d083002 parameters: Parameter code(s) to search for (required, at least one) valid_datetime_min: Restrict to data valid on/after "YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM" valid_datetime_max: Restrict to data valid on/before "YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM" products: Restrict to specified product code(s) grids: Restrict to specified grid code(s) levels: Restrict to specified vertical level code(s)

Discovered
get_filesearch_grid_filters

Return the valid parameter/product/grid/level codes and date range for "grid" datatype file search on a dataset. Use this to discover the codes to pass to get_filesearch_grid_files, optionally narrowed by any filters you already know you want. Args: dsid: Dataset ID (dNNNNNN), e.g. d083002 valid_datetime_min: Restrict to data valid on/after "YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM" valid_datetime_max: Restrict to data valid on/before "YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM" parameters: Restrict to specified parameter code(s) products: Restrict to specified product code(s) grids: Restrict to specified grid code(s) levels: Restrict to specified vertical level code(s)

Discovered
get_filesearch_result_page

Return a page of results from a previous get_filesearch_*_files call, by its result_id. Use this to page through file-search results beyond the first page (see the "pagination" block of a files/results response for num_pages and next_page). Args: dsid: Dataset ID (dNNNNNN), e.g. d083002 result_id: The result_id from a previous filesearch files/results response page_num: Page number to retrieve

Discovered
get_filesearch_sensor_files

Search for data files containing "sensor" datatype data, optionally filtered by date range. Results are paginated; use get_filesearch_result_page with the returned result_id to fetch additional pages. Args: dsid: Dataset ID (dNNNNNN), e.g. d083002 valid_date_min: Restrict to data valid on/after "YYYY-MM-DD" valid_date_max: Restrict to data valid on/before "YYYY-MM-DD"

Discovered
get_filesearch_sensor_filters

Return the valid date range and other filters for "sensor" datatype file search on a dataset. Args: dsid: Dataset ID (dNNNNNN), e.g. d083002 valid_date_min: Restrict to data valid on/after "YYYY-MM-DD" valid_date_max: Restrict to data valid on/before "YYYY-MM-DD"

Discovered
get_portal_metrics

Return a GDEX portal-wide metric. Args: metric: One of: volume_downloaded, unique_users, total_datasets, total_citations, gdex_volume, total_requests, top_datasets, ai_datasets

Discovered
get_request_files

Return the output files for a completed subsetting request. Requires GDEX_TOKEN. Args: rindex: Request index/ID

Discovered
get_staff

Return GDEX staff contacts, optionally filtered to a specific dataset. Args: dsid: Optional dataset ID. If omitted, returns all staff.

Discovered
has_arco

Check whether Analysis-Ready Cloud-Optimized (ARCO) data is available for a dataset. For analysis tasks, call this (and check for a "Kerchunk Reference Files" group via get_file_groups) before reaching for raw data files — reading through ARCO/kerchunk references avoids downloading whole files just to subset them. When picking among kerchunk reference variants, always use the one with "-osdf" in its name (see get_arco_variables) — other variants' chunk targets can be internal paths that only resolve on NCAR's network. Open it with xr.open_dataset(url, engine="kerchunk", storage_options={"remote_protocol": "https", "lazy": True}) rather than hand-building an fsspec reference filesystem. Args: dsid: Dataset ID (dNNNNNN), e.g. d083002

Discovered
list_datasets

List datasets available on GDEX, with their IDs and titles. The full catalog has ~1700 datasets — far too many to return at once. Always pass `query` to filter by keyword unless the user specifically wants to browse the whole catalog page by page. Args: query: Keyword(s) to filter by, matched case-insensitively as a substring against dataset id and title. Leave empty to browse unfiltered. limit: Max number of datasets to return (default 50, capped at 500) offset: Number of matching datasets to skip, for paging through results

Discovered
list_request_statuses

List all subsetting request statuses for the authenticated user. Requires GDEX_TOKEN.

Discovered
purge_request

Delete a subsetting request and its output files. Requires GDEX_TOKEN. Args: rindex: Request index/ID to purge

Discovered
search_arco_variables

Search ARCO variables by name for a dataset. As with get_arco_variables, a "reference" (kerchunk) match is often listed once per variant — always pick the "-osdf" variant's URL (reachable from anywhere), and open it with xr.open_dataset(url, engine="kerchunk", storage_options={"remote_protocol": "https", "lazy": True}). A "zarr" match needs no variant picking — its URL already routes through the OSDF director (rewritten automatically); open it directly with xr.open_dataset(url, engine="zarr"). Args: dsid: Dataset ID (dNNNNNN), e.g. d083002 query: Search text to match against variable names

Discovered
submit_and_wait_for_request

Submit a subset request and poll its status until it finishes, fails, or timeout_s elapses — instead of calling submit_subset_request and then manually looping on check_request_status. Requires GDEX_TOKEN. GDEX's API schema doesn't document the exact status vocabulary, so "finished" is a best-effort match on the status text (words like "complete" vs. "error"/"fail"). If the outcome comes back "timeout", that means the request is still pending by our reading, not that it failed — keep polling with check_request_status(rindex), or re-run this tool with a longer timeout_s. If it comes back "unknown", the status payload didn't contain a field we recognize; inspect the raw "status" value yourself. Args: request_json: JSON string of the subsetting request body (see get_control_file_template). poll_interval_s: Seconds between status checks (default 15, minimum 5). timeout_s: Give up and return the last-seen status after this many seconds (default 600).

Discovered
submit_subset_request

Submit a data subset request to GDEX. Requires GDEX_TOKEN. Args: request_json: JSON string of the subsetting request body. Use get_control_file_template to get the expected structure for a dataset, or validate_subset_request to check it before submitting.

Discovered
validate_subset_request

Check a subset request body against the dataset's control file template, without submitting anything. Use this before submit_subset_request to catch missing or unrecognized fields fast, instead of finding out from a failed API call. Args: dsid: Dataset ID (dNNNNNN), e.g. d083002 request_json: JSON string of the subsetting request body to validate

Discovered

Recent measurements

Probe history

View status
Latest stored probes. Raw probe rows are kept for 14 days.
CheckedResultResponseTools
Connected584 ms30