Italian statistics,
one prompt away.
An MCP server that connects your AI assistant to ISTAT — the Italian National Institute of Statistics — so you can discover, query and analyse official data with natural language.
Why it exists
ISTAT publishes thousands of datasets through a powerful but complex SDMX API. This server hides the complexity, caches results aggressively and gives Claude exactly the surface it needs to be useful — no more, no less.
Two-layer cache
In-memory and persistent disk cache. Once a dataflow is explored, every follow-up question is instant.
Rate limit friendly
Automatic queuing respects ISTAT limits so your conversations never hit an unexpected error.
Italian or English
All labels and descriptions are available in both languages, matching the way ISTAT publishes them.
Works with any MCP client
A few lines of config and ISTAT becomes a first-class tool for the AI assistant you already use.
Eight focused tools
Each tool has a single responsibility — combine them to move from curiosity to a ready-to-read data table.
discover_dataflows Find ISTAT datasets by keywords, with smart filtering.
get_constraints One call returns every dimension with valid values and labels.
get_structure Inspect dimensions and codelists for any datastructure.
get_codelist_description Human-readable labels in Italian or English.
get_concepts Describe an ISTAT concept by its identifier.
get_data Fetch actual statistical data as a compact TSV table.
get_territorial_codes Resolve REF_AREA codes: Italy, regions, provinces, municipalities.
get_cache_diagnostics Inspect cache state for debugging and observability.
The three-step workflow
A recommended path that turns a vague question into real numbers.
Discover
Ask your AI a question. It calls discover_dataflows and proposes the most relevant datasets.
Inspect
A single get_constraints call returns all dimensions with valid, labelled values.
Fetch
get_data pulls the exact slice as a compact TSV table, ready for analysis.
Get started in two minutes
Python 3.11+ and uv recommended. Full instructions — and a Windows PowerShell helper — live in the repository.
git clone https://github.com/ondata/istat_mcp_server.git cd istat_mcp_server uv syncFull setup guide