FGDB MCP Server

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for interacting with Esri File Geodatabases (FGDB) through ArcPy. This server provides a comprehensive set of tools for querying, modifying, and managing geodatabase datasets via the MCP protocol.

Version: 0.1.0

See the MCP Quickstart tutorial for more information about the Model Context Protocol.

Table of Contents

• Features
• Requirements
• Installation
• MCP Client Configuration
• Usage
• Configuration
• API Reference
• Contributing
• License
• Support

Features

• Connection Management: Establish and manage connections to File Geodatabases
• Data Querying: Query feature classes and tables with filtering, field selection, and pagination
• Data Modification: Insert, update, and delete records with safety confirmation workflows
• Schema Management: Add and delete fields from datasets
• Metadata Operations: List feature classes, describe datasets, and count records
• Safety System: Built-in confirmation workflow for high-risk operations
• Comprehensive Logging: Configurable logging with rotation support
• Error Handling: Standardized exception handling with custom error types

Requirements

System Requirements

• Python: >= 3.10
• ArcGIS Pro: Installed with ArcPy support (ArcPy is not installable via pip)
• Operating System: Windows (ArcPy is primarily available on Windows)

Python Dependencies

• mcp[cli] >= 1.21.0 - Model Context Protocol server framework
• pydantic >= 2.0.0 - Data validation (installed as dependency of mcp)

ArcPy Requirements

ArcPy is provided by ArcGIS Pro and is only available in the ArcGIS Pro conda environment. It cannot be installed via pip. See the Installation section for setup instructions.

Installation

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone <repository-url>
   cd fgdb-mcp-server

2. Set up ArcPy environment:

   Use the ArcGIS Pro conda environment directly:

   # Activate ArcGIS Pro conda environment
   & "C:\Program Files\ArcGIS\Pro\bin\Python\Scripts\proenv.bat"
   conda activate arcgispro-py3
   
   # Install your project dependencies
   # Note: Run your terminal with Administrator privileges
   pip install -e .

3. Verify ArcPy availability:

   try:
       import arcpy
       print(f"ArcPy version: {arcpy.__version__}")
       print("ArcPy is available!")
   except ImportError:
       print("ArcPy is not available")

Notes

• ArcPy is only available when ArcGIS Pro is installed
• The default ArcGIS Pro Python path is typically: C:\Program Files\ArcGIS\Pro\bin\Python\envs\arcgispro-py3\
• The code already handles ArcPy unavailability gracefully with try/except blocks

MCP Client Configuration

To use this server with an MCP client, add the following configuration to your MCP client's configuration file (typically mcp.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "fgdb-mcp-server": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "C:\\Program Files\\ArcGIS\\Pro\\bin\\Python\\envs\\arcgispro-py3\\python.exe",
      "args": [
        "C:\\{path to}\\fgdb-mcp-server\\fgdb_toolserver.py"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Configuration Notes

• command: Update this path to match your ArcGIS Pro Python executable location
• args: Update the path to point to your fgdb_toolserver.py file location (use full absolute path)
• Windows paths: Use double backslashes (\\) or forward slashes (/) in JSON paths

Example with custom path:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "fgdb-mcp-server": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "C:\\Program Files\\ArcGIS\\Pro\\bin\\Python\\envs\\arcgispro-py3\\python.exe",
      "args": [
        "C:\\your\\custom\\path\\to\\fgdb_toolserver.py"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Usage

Running the Server

The server runs as an MCP server using stdio transport, which allows it to be used with MCP-compatible clients.

Example Workflow

1. Connect to a geodatabase:

   set_database_connection(gdb_path="C:\\data\\mygeodatabase.gdb")
   

2. List available feature classes:

   list_all_feature_classes()
   

3. Query data:

   select(dataset="MyFeatureClass", where="OBJECTID > 100", limit=100, page=1)
   

4. Modify data (with confirmation):

   # First attempt - returns confirmation token
   insert(dataset="MyFeatureClass", rows=1, fields=["Name"], values=["Test"])
   
   # Confirm the operation
   confirm_operation(token="...", endpoint="insert", request={...})
   

Configuration

The server can be configured using environment variables:

Environment Variables

Database Settings

• FGDB_MAX_SELECT_LIMIT: Maximum number of records to return in a single select query (default: 50000)

Logging Settings

• FGDB_LOG_FILE: Path to the log file (default: fgdb_server.log)
• FGDB_LOG_LEVEL: Logging level - DEBUG, INFO, WARNING, ERROR (default: INFO)
• FGDB_LOG_MAX_BYTES: Maximum log file size in bytes before rotation (default: 10485760 = 10MB)
• FGDB_LOG_BACKUP_COUNT: Number of backup log files to keep (default: 5)

API Versioning

• FGDB_API_VERSION: Current API version (default: v1)
• FGDB_SUPPORTED_VERSIONS: Comma-separated list of supported API versions (default: v1)

Feature Flags

• FGDB_FEATURE_EXPERIMENTAL: Enable experimental features (default: false)

Note: Mutating operations (insert, update, delete, add_field, delete_field) do not use feature flags. They are controlled by the safety confirmation system, which requires explicit user confirmation for each operation.

Example Configuration

# Database settings
$env:FGDB_MAX_SELECT_LIMIT = "20000"

# Logging settings
$env:FGDB_LOG_LEVEL = "DEBUG"
$env:FGDB_LOG_FILE = "logs/fgdb_server.log"

# API versioning
$env:FGDB_API_VERSION = "v1"
$env:FGDB_SUPPORTED_VERSIONS = "v1"

# Feature flags - experimental features (optional)
$env:FGDB_FEATURE_EXPERIMENTAL = "false"

Version Information

Product Version

• Current Release: 0.1.0

API Versioning

This server currently supports API Version 1 (v1). All endpoints are part of the v1 API.

Note: Product version (0.1.0) and API version (v1) are independent:

• Product version tracks the software release (semantic versioning: major.minor.patch)
• API version tracks the API contract (v1, v2, etc.) and changes when breaking API changes occur

API Version Information

• Current API Version: v1
• Supported API Versions: v1
• Deprecation Policy: Endpoints will be marked as deprecated at least one version before removal

Version Configuration

The API version can be configured via environment variables:

# Set the default API version (default: v1)
$env:FGDB_API_VERSION = "v1"

# Specify supported API versions (comma-separated, default: v1)
$env:FGDB_SUPPORTED_VERSIONS = "v1"

Feature Flags

The server supports feature flags for experimental features. Mutating operations (insert, update, delete, add_field, delete_field) do not use feature flags - they are controlled by the safety confirmation system, which requires explicit user confirmation for each operation.

Available Feature Flags

Feature	Environment Variable	Default	Description
Experimental	FGDB_FEATURE_EXPERIMENTAL	false	Enable experimental features

Why No Feature Flags for Mutating Operations?

Mutating operations are protected by the safety confirmation system:

• All mutating operations require explicit user confirmation via tokens
• The agent cannot bypass the confirmation requirement
• User confirmation is the authorization mechanism
• Feature flags would be redundant since confirmation already provides the necessary control

Configuring Feature Flags

Feature flags can be set via environment variables:

# Enable experimental features (if any)
$env:FGDB_FEATURE_EXPERIMENTAL = "true"

API Reference

The server provides 11 MCP tools for geodatabase operations:

API Version 1 (v1) - Current

All endpoints below are part of the v1 API:

Connection & Discovery

• set_database_connection (v1): Establishes a connection to a File Geodatabase using an absolute path
• list_all_feature_classes (v1): Lists all feature classes available in the connected geodatabase
• describe (v1): Returns metadata and schema information for a specified dataset (feature class or table)
• count (v1): Returns the total number of records in a specified dataset

Data Querying

• select (v1): Queries records from a dataset with optional filtering, field selection, and pagination support
  • Supports SQL WHERE clauses
  • Field selection (returns all fields if not specified)
  • Pagination with configurable page size
  • Maximum limit protection (configurable, default: 50,000 records)

Data Modification

• insert (v1): Inserts new records into a dataset (requires confirmation for medium-risk operations)
• update (v1): Updates existing records based on WHERE clause (requires confirmation for medium-risk operations)
• delete (v1): Deletes records from a dataset based on WHERE clause (requires confirmation for high-risk operations)

Schema Management

• add_field (v1): Adds a new field to a dataset schema (requires confirmation for medium-risk operations)
• delete_field (v1): Deletes a field from a dataset schema (requires confirmation for high-risk operations)

Safety & Confirmation

• confirm_operation (v1): Confirms and executes pending high-risk or medium-risk operations using a confirmation token

Safety System

The server implements a safety system that requires confirmation for medium and high-risk operations:

• Low Risk: Operations proceed immediately (e.g., read operations)
• Medium Risk: Requires confirmation (e.g., insert, update, add_field)
• High Risk: Requires confirmation (e.g., delete, delete_field)
• Extreme Risk: Blocked entirely

When a confirmation is required, the operation returns a confirmation token that must be used with the confirm_operation tool to execute the operation.

Error Handling

The server uses standardized exception handling:

• DatabaseConnectionError: Database connection issues
• OperationBlockedError: Operations blocked by safety checks
• ValidationError: Input validation failures
• ArcPyError: ArcPy-related errors
• ConfigurationError: Configuration errors

All errors are logged and returned with descriptive messages.

Logging

The server provides comprehensive logging:

• File Logging: All operations are logged to fgdb_server.log (configurable)
• Log Rotation: Automatic log rotation when file size exceeds the configured limit
• Console Logging: Optional console output for development
• Log Levels: Configurable log levels (DEBUG, INFO, WARNING, ERROR)

Logs include:

• Operation requests and parameters
• Success/failure status
• Error details
• Confirmation token generation
• Database connection events

Contributing

We welcome contributions from the open source community! This project is designed to be extensible and maintainable.

How to Contribute

1. Fork the repository and create a feature branch
2. Follow the code style:
   • Use type hints
   • Add docstrings to functions and classes
   • Follow PEP 8 style guidelines
   • Add logging for important operations
3. Write tests for new features (when test framework is added)
4. Update documentation as needed
5. Submit a pull request with a clear description of changes

Areas for Contribution

• Additional Tools: New MCP tools for geodatabase operations
• Testing: Unit tests, integration tests, and test fixtures
• Documentation: Examples, tutorials, and API documentation
• Performance: Query optimization and caching
• Features:
  • Spatial query enhancements

Code Structure

fgdb-mcp-server/
├── fgdb_toolserver.py    # Main MCP server and tool definitions
├── fgdb_mcp_server/      # Package directory
│   └── __init__.py       # Package initialization and main entry point
├── gdb_ops/
│   ├── __init__.py
│   ├── gdb.py            # FileGDBBackend - ArcPy operations
│   └── gdb_tools.py      # GDBTools - Business logic layer
├── utils/
│   ├── __init__.py
│   ├── config.py         # Configuration management
│   ├── exceptions.py     # Custom exception classes
│   ├── safety.py         # Safety manager for confirmation workflow
│   ├── utility.py        # Utility functions
│   └── validation.py     # Input validation utilities
├── dtos/
│   ├── __init__.py
│   └── requestobjects.py # Data transfer objects
├── tests/                # Test suite
│   ├── conftest.py       # Pytest configuration
│   ├── test_*.py         # Unit and integration tests
│   └── README.md         # Test documentation
├── pyproject.toml        # Project configuration and dependencies
├── LICENSE
├── SECURITY.md
├── CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md
├── CONTRIBUTING.md
└── README.md

Architecture

The server follows a layered architecture:

1. MCP Layer (fgdb_toolserver.py): Tool definitions and MCP protocol handling
2. Business Logic Layer (gdb_tools.py): Operation orchestration and safety checks
3. Backend Layer (gdb.py): ArcPy operations and geodatabase access
4. Utility Layer (utils/): Configuration, exceptions, and safety management

This separation of concerns makes the codebase maintainable and testable.

Reporting Issues

Please report bugs, request features, or ask questions by opening an issue on GitHub. Include:

• Description of the issue
• Steps to reproduce
• Expected vs. actual behavior
• Environment details (Python version, ArcGIS Pro version, OS)

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License.

Copyright (c) 2025 Boustead Geospatial Technologies

See the LICENSE file for the full license text.

Support

For questions, issues, or contributions, please use the GitHub issue tracker.