Congressional Tech · Use with AI
Congress Explorer MCP
Congressional data.
Your questions. Your assistant.
Find hearings, witnesses, bills, members, recordings, and related documents through your AI assistant.
Free & open source · macOS and Linux · No data API key
Quick setup
One server.
Your choice of assistant.
Every setup option installs the same versioned PyPI package. The first question downloads the published metadata snapshot. Later sessions reuse it. Queries run on your computer.
About 65 MiB of data as of October 2026, plus Python and dependencies. Windows is not yet supported.
Other clients & manual setup ↓Claude Desktop chat
Download the extension, open it with Claude Desktop, and click Install. Use a current version with support for uv-based extensions; the app manages Python and dependencies.
Download .mcpbIf opening the file does not show an installer, go to Settings → Desktop app → Extensions → Advanced settings → Install Extension.
Claude Code & Cowork
Install uv on the computer running the plugin, then use this command with a current Claude Code:
claude plugin install congress-explorer --marketplace civictechdc/congressional-techIn Cowork desktop, open Customize → Plugins and upload the plugin ZIP. Start a local task, then run /congress-explorer:explore-congress.
The plugin's local server runs in Claude Code and Cowork desktop. For Claude Desktop chat, use the extension above.
ChatGPT & Codex desktop
Install uv and the Codex CLI, then add the marketplace and plugin:
codex plugin marketplace add civictechdc/congressional-tech --ref congress-mcp-v0.4.0
codex plugin add congress-explorer@congressional-techOpen the desktop app and start a local conversation. The button below prepares a question with Congress Explorer selected; review it and send when ready.
Explore Congress in CodexDistributed through our repository marketplace. A public OpenAI directory listing requires separate approval. This server runs in local desktop conversations.
Add the research skill
Already using an agent with skills? Add our research and setup guidance with Node.js 22.20 or later:
npx skills add civictechdc/congressional-tech --skill explore-congressChoose your agent, then ask it to use explore-congress. Add --global to make the skill available across projects.
This installs instructions only. Connect the MCP server using one of the setup paths on this page to query data. The full plugin already includes this skill. Skills CLI documentation ↗
01 / Install
Install Congress Explorer
Install uv, then paste this command into a terminal. It installs the released PyPI package and manages Python 3.12 for you.
uv tool install --python 3.12 congressional-explorer-mcp==0.4.0If your shell cannot find the command afterward, run uv tool update-shell and open a new terminal. Windows is not yet supported.
02 / Prepare
Download the data and check it
congress-explorer-mcp prepare
congress-explorer-mcp checkThe check should report "status": "ok" and six tools. It starts the server and reads a data row over MCP.
The October 30, 2026 snapshot is about 65 MiB. Data goes in ~/.cache/congress-explorer-mcp; Python and dependencies need additional space. Document files are fetched separately when your assistant needs them.
03 / Connect
Choose your assistant
Claude Desktop
congress-explorer-mcp config --client claude-desktopSettings → Developer → Edit Config
Merge the printed congress entry into mcpServers in your configuration. Keep your existing servers. Quit and reopen Claude Desktop.
The command prints settings with the correct paths. It does not edit your client. Client documentation ↗
Codex
congress-explorer-mcp config --client codex~/.codex/config.toml
Add the printed [mcp_servers.congress] section to your config file. Replace an existing congress section rather than adding a duplicate. Restart the client connection.
The command prints settings with the correct paths. It does not edit your client. Client documentation ↗
Cursor
congress-explorer-mcp config --client cursor~/.cursor/mcp.json
Merge the printed congress entry into mcpServers in your configuration. Keep your existing servers. Enable Congress in Cursor’s MCP settings.
The command prints settings with the correct paths. It does not edit your client. Client documentation ↗
Claude Code
congress-explorer-mcp config --client claude-codeA new terminal session
Save the printed JSON to a file, then start Claude Code with --mcp-config /absolute/path/to/that-file.json. Review the requested tool permissions.
The command prints settings with the correct paths. It does not edit your client. Client documentation ↗
Start a conversation
Follow a question
through Congress.
Ask your assistant to use Congress Explorer. It can discover tables, follow documented relationships, and run read-only SQL.
“Find documents related to H.R. 1 in the 119th Congress. Group them by hearing.”
“Find hearings about artificial intelligence and list their witnesses and organizations.”
“Find recordings and saved transcripts for a committee meeting I choose.”
Know your data
Published records.
Clear boundaries.
What can I explore?
Meetings, witness appearances, bills, nominations, members, committees, rosters, recordings, and document records. All published tables and columns are queryable. Availability varies by source, Congress, and record; this is a bounded collection, not a complete record of every congressional activity.
Can it read documents?
The server searches structured data and document metadata, then returns links to saved files. Your assistant needs its own file-fetching and reading tools to read those documents. The server does not provide full-text search or OCR.
How do I get newer data?
With the plugin, ask your assistant to follow the setup skill's data refresh instructions. With a manual install, run congress-explorer-mcp prepare again, then restart the client connection. The extension uses the same default data directory, so a manual install can also refresh its data. Only changed files download. Software updates are separate: install the version linked on this page and restart your client.
What leaves my computer?
The server downloads public data during preparation and queries it locally afterward. Your AI client may send your questions and tool results to its model provider. Fetching linked documents requires an internet connection.
Need help connecting?
Run congress-explorer-mcp check in your terminal. If data is missing, run prepare first. If you chose a custom --data-dir, use that same directory for preparation, checks, and configuration. Report an issue with your operating system, client, and error message.