imf_list_databasesLABSCO SUMMARY
The four steps SDMX makes you take, made askable.
Getting one IMF series normally means finding the database, then its dimensions, then the codes, then writing the query. All four are tools here, so the discovery happens in the conversation rather than in the API docs.
What it is
A query path into the IMF's SDMX API at data.imf.org, built on imfp. Roughly 155 databases are searchable, each one's dimensions and valid codes are discoverable, and the series comes back filtered by year range and dimension.
What you get
- All ~155 IMF databases listed with their ids, or filtered by keyword such as inflation or trade
- The query dimensions a given database accepts — country, frequency, index type and the rest
- Valid codes for a dimension, searchable, so a country name becomes the code the API expects
- Time series fetched with a start and end year and dimension filters applied
- Rate limiting and retries handled underneath, against an API that allows roughly 10 requests / 5 seconds
Requirements
Python with uv or pip; uvx runs it straight from the repository. No account and no key. A recent release moved off dataservices.imf.org, which the IMF has decommissioned — earlier versions time out on every request.
Setup effort
One command — uvx --from git+https://github.com/c-cf/imf-data-mcp imf-data-mcp
USE CASES
01
Finding which IMF database holds what you need
Search by keyword — consumer prices, trade, fiscal — and get database ids back instead of scanning a list of 155.
02
Working out how to query a database you have never used
Its dimensions first, then the valid codes for each — the two lookups that stand between you and a query that returns anything.
03
Pulling a country's inflation history
Resolve the country to its code, then fetch the series across the year range you want.
04
Comparing several countries on one measure
One fetch carrying several codes in the dimension filter, rather than a request per country.
5 tools
Listed in project docs. Your client may show a different list.
imf_search_databasesimf_get_parameter_defsimf_get_parameter_codesimf_fetch_dataBEFORE YOU INSTALL
What to know first
Tools you get
5 tools named in the project's documentation.
Where it runs
Both documented setups run the server on your machine.
INSTALLATION
Connect your client
Server setup
TERMINAL
uvx --from git+https://github.com/c-cf/imf-data-mcp imf-data-mcpMCP Clients
Claude Desktop — uvx
CLAUDE DESKTOP — UVX · JSON
{
"mcpServers": {
"imf": {
"command": "uvx",
"args": [
"--from",
"git+https://github.com/c-cf/imf-data-mcp",
"imf-data-mcp"
]
}
}
}Claude Desktop — pip
CLAUDE DESKTOP — PIP · JSON
{
"mcpServers": {
"imf": {
"command": "imf-data-mcp"
}
}
}
