@cyanheads/faa-aircraft-registry-mcp-server
Decode N-numbers to aircraft, engine, status, and owner; search the US civil aircraft registry by owner, type, or state; resolve active/deregistered/reserved status — offline via MCP. STDIO or Streamable HTTP.
5 Tools • 1 Resource
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**Public Hosted Server:** [https://faa-aircraft-registry.caseyjhand.com/mcp](https://faa-aircraft-registry.caseyjhand.com/mcp)
---
## Overview
The US civil aircraft registry, searchable offline from the FAA's Releasable Aircraft Database. Decode an N-number to its aircraft, engine, and registered owner; check whether it's active, deregistered, or reserved; and search by owner, make and model, state, or Mode S code.
### Tools
| Tool | Description |
|:---|:---|
| `faa_lookup_registration` | Decode one N-number to its full pre-joined active record — aircraft make/model, engine, year, airworthiness, registration status, Mode S code, and registered owner (when redaction is off). |
| `faa_get_registration_status` | Resolve an N-number across all three status files (active, deregistered, reserved) in priority order, returning a definitive `recordType`. |
| `faa_search_registrations` | Search active registrations by owner name, make/model, exact manufacturer/model code, state, aircraft type, or Mode S code. |
| `faa_search_aircraft_types` | Search the aircraft reference table by manufacturer/model name, type, or category to discover manufacturer-model codes. |
| `faa_get_aircraft_type` | Decode a 6–7-character manufacturer/model/series code to aircraft specs — category, type, engine, seats, weight class, cruise speed, type-certificate data. |
### Resources
| Resource | Description |
|:---|:---|
| `faa://registration/{nNumber}` | Full registration record for one N-number — the same decoded, pre-joined payload as `faa_lookup_registration`. |
Also reachable via `faa_lookup_registration`; search collections aren't exposed as resources.
## Capability reference
### `faa_lookup_registration` tool
- Accepts `N12345` or `12345`; the leading `N` is optional
- Returns decoded aircraft, engine, and status fields as raw code plus label, and the Mode S code in octal and hex (hex is the ICAO 24-bit address)
- Owner name and address appear only when `FAA_REDACT_OWNER_PII=false`; otherwise `ownerRedacted: true`
- Errors: `not_found` (no active registration; try `faa_get_registration_status`), `invalid_n_number`
---
### `faa_get_registration_status` tool
- Checks the active, deregistered, and reserved files in that order
- `recordType` is `active`, `deregistered`, `reserved`, or `unknown`; a never-issued number returns `unknown`, not an error
- Status facts only, no owner data
- Error: `invalid_n_number`
---
### `faa_search_registrations` tool
- Filters: `ownerName`, `makeModel`, `manufacturerModelCode`, `state`, `aircraftType`, `modeSCode`; at least one required, combined with AND
- `limit` 1–200 (default 25) with `offset` paging; responses report `totalCount` and `nextOffset` when truncated
- Each result carries an N-number to pass to `faa_lookup_registration`
- Errors: `no_filters`, `invalid_code`, `invalid_state`, `invalid_mode_s_code`, `invalid_aircraft_type`, and `owner_search_disabled` (owner-name search is off while `FAA_REDACT_OWNER_PII` is on)
---
### `faa_search_aircraft_types` tool
- Filters: `query` (manufacturer/model name), `aircraftType` (1–9/H/O), `category` (1–3); at least one required
- Returns summaries with the code to pass to `faa_get_aircraft_type` or `faa_search_registrations.manufacturerModelCode`
- `limit` 1–200 (default 25) with `offset` paging; responses report `totalCount` and `nextOffset` when truncated
- Errors: `no_filters`, `invalid_aircraft_type`, `invalid_category`
---
### `faa_get_aircraft_type` tool
- Accepts a 6–7-character uppercase alphanumeric manufacturer/model/series code; find codes with `faa_search_aircraft_types`
- Returns manufacturer, model, type, engine, category, seats, engines, weight class, cruise speed, and type-certificate data
- `weightClass` keeps the raw FAA string; `weightClassLabel` decodes it when known
- Errors: `not_found`, `invalid_code`
---
### `faa://registration/{nNumber}` resource
- Same payload as `faa_lookup_registration`; `application/json`, cached 1 hour
- `nNumber` accepts `N12345` or `12345`
- Errors: `not_found`, `invalid_n_number`
## Features
Built on [`@cyanheads/mcp-ts-core`](https://github.com/cyanheads/mcp-ts-core): stdio and Streamable HTTP transports, pluggable auth (`none` / `jwt` / `oauth`), swappable storage (`in-memory`, `filesystem`, `Supabase`, `Cloudflare KV/R2/D1`), structured logging with optional OpenTelemetry tracing.
FAA registry-specific:
- Offline and keyless at runtime: queries hit a local SQLite + FTS5 index with no API key or rate limit
- Daily index refresh under HTTP transport, aligned to the FAA's nightly re-release
- Pre-joined records: one call returns decoded aircraft, engine, and status
- Owner name and address are redacted by default, and owner-name search is disabled until `FAA_REDACT_OWNER_PII=false`
- Mode S hex codes match the ICAO 24-bit addresses used by flight-tracking feeds
Agent-friendly output:
- Coded fields carry both the raw FAA code and the decoded label
- Capped search results flag `truncated` with `shown` and `cap`
- Fields the FAA leaves blank stay absent rather than filled in
- `recordType` and `ownerRedacted` let callers branch on data
## Getting started
### Public Hosted Instance
A public instance is available at `https://faa-aircraft-registry.caseyjhand.com/mcp` — no installation required. Point any MCP client at it via Streamable HTTP:
```json
{
"mcpServers": {
"faa-aircraft-registry-mcp-server": {
"type": "streamable-http",
"url": "https://faa-aircraft-registry.caseyjhand.com/mcp"
}
}
}
```
### Self-Hosted / Local
> **First run requires building the local index — see [First-run setup](#first-run-setup) below.** The package does not ship the FAA data; until `mirror:init` has run once, queries fail with a clear "run mirror:init" error.
The Desktop MCPB includes Node's SQLite driver and its cross-platform prebuilts. Build the local index with the bundle's mirror CLI before querying.
Add the following to your MCP client configuration file:
```json
{
"mcpServers": {
"faa-aircraft-registry-mcp-server": {
"type": "stdio",
"command": "bunx",
"args": ["@cyanheads/faa-aircraft-registry-mcp-server@latest"],
"env": {
"MCP_TRANSPORT_TYPE": "stdio",
"MCP_LOG_LEVEL": "info",
"FAA_MIRROR_PATH": "/path/to/faa-registry.db"
}
}
}
}
```
Or with npx (no Bun required):
```json
{
"mcpServers": {
"faa-aircraft-registry-mcp-server": {
"type": "stdio",
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "@cyanheads/faa-aircraft-registry-mcp-server@latest"],
"env": {
"MCP_TRANSPORT_TYPE": "stdio",
"MCP_LOG_LEVEL": "info",
"FAA_MIRROR_PATH": "/path/to/faa-registry.db"
}
}
}
}
```
Or with Docker (mount a volume at `/usr/src/app/.mirror` so the built index persists across containers — build it once with `docker exec … bun run mirror:init`):
```json
{
"mcpServers": {
"faa-aircraft-registry-mcp-server": {
"type": "stdio",
"command": "docker",
"args": [
"run", "-i", "--rm",
"-e", "MCP_TRANSPORT_TYPE=stdio",
"-v", "faa-registry:/usr/src/app/.mirror",
"ghcr.io/cyanheads/faa-aircraft-registry-mcp-server:latest"
]
}
}
}
```
For Streamable HTTP, set the transport and start the server:
```sh
MCP_TRANSPORT_TYPE=http MCP_HTTP_PORT=3010 bun run start:http
# Server listens at http://localhost:3010/mcp
```
`FAA_MIRROR_PATH` points the server at the index that `mirror:init` builds — set it to a persistent path so the index survives across runs. Owner PII is redacted by default; set `FAA_REDACT_OWNER_PII=false` only on a trusted local install to expose owner detail.
### First-run setup
The FAA Releasable Aircraft Database is not bundled with the package — it is a public dataset (~70 MB compressed, refreshed daily by the FAA) that the operator downloads and indexes once before first use. Building the index produces a local SQLite file of a few hundred MB.
Build the index out-of-band (never on server startup — a full parse of ~1M rows must not block start). From a source checkout, run `bun install && bun run build` first. Then, from the checkout, installed package directory, or extracted MCPB directory, run the compiled commands below. Node and Bun both work; replace `node` with `bun` to use Bun's built-in SQLite. The Docker image supports `bun run mirror:init`, `mirror:verify`, and `mirror:refresh`.
```sh
# Build the local index from the live FAA download (idempotent, resumable)
FAA_MIRROR_PATH=/path/to/faa-registry.db node dist/cli/faa-mirror-init.js
# Verify it built (readiness + integrity check)
FAA_MIRROR_PATH=/path/to/faa-registry.db node dist/cli/faa-mirror-verify.js
# Rebuild from the latest FAA release (run on a schedule, or out-of-band for stdio)
FAA_MIRROR_PATH=/path/to/faa-registry.db node dist/cli/faa-mirror-refresh.js
```
- **Keep the path stable.** Point `FAA_MIRROR_PATH` (and the same env var in your MCP client config) at a persistent location so the built index is reused across runs. Default: `.mirror/faa-registry.db`.
- **Daily refresh.** Under HTTP transport the server schedules a daily `mirror:refresh` aligned to the FAA's nightly re-release (~11:30 PM Central). If an interrupted rebuild leaves the index empty, queries fail loudly with `ServiceUnavailable` until the rebuild succeeds. Under stdio, run `mirror:refresh` out-of-band (e.g. a cron job).
- **Docker.** The image ships the mirror CLI and a writable `.mirror` data directory owned by the runtime user. Mount a volume there and run `mirror:init` once (e.g. `docker exec bun run mirror:init`, or a one-shot init job against the shared volume) so the index persists across container restarts.
- **Until the index exists,** every query fails with a `ServiceUnavailable` error whose recovery hint points to `mirror:init` — there is no live API to fall back to, so the cold state surfaces loudly rather than returning empty results.
The source URL is overridable via `FAA_DATABASE_URL` (for a private or cached mirror); it is read only at ingest time, never per request.
### Prerequisites
- [Bun v1.4](https://bun.sh/) or higher (or Node.js v24+). Bun uses built-in `bun:sqlite`; Node uses the included `better-sqlite3` dependency, with bundled N-API prebuilts for macOS, Windows, and Linux (glibc/musl), on x64 and arm64.
- Disk space for the built index (a few hundred MB) at `FAA_MIRROR_PATH`.
- Network access at `mirror:init` / `mirror:refresh` time to download the FAA ZIP. Not needed at query time.
### Installation
For local development or self-hosting from source:
1. **Clone the repository:**
```sh
git clone https://github.com/cyanheads/faa-aircraft-registry-mcp-server.git
```
2. **Navigate into the directory:**
```sh
cd faa-aircraft-registry-mcp-server
```
3. **Install dependencies:**
```sh
bun install
```
4. **Compile the server and build the index** (see [First-run setup](#first-run-setup)):
```sh
bun run build
bun run mirror:init
```
## Configuration
| Variable | Description | Default |
|:---|:---|:---|
| `FAA_REDACT_OWNER_PII` | Redact owner name and address and disable owner-name search. Unset, empty, or malformed counts as `true`. | `true` |
| `FAA_MIRROR_PATH` | Path to the SQLite index file; use a persistent location. | `.mirror/faa-registry.db` |
| `FAA_DATABASE_URL` | Source URL for the FAA database ZIP, read only by `mirror:init` / `mirror:refresh`. | FAA registry ZIP |
| `MCP_TRANSPORT_TYPE` | Transport: `stdio` or `http`. | `stdio` |
| `MCP_SESSION_MODE` | Session mode: `auto`, `stateful`, or `stateless`. | `stateless` |
| `MCP_HTTP_PORT` | Port for the HTTP server. | `3010` |
| `MCP_HTTP_ENDPOINT_PATH` | HTTP endpoint path where the MCP server is mounted. | `/mcp` |
| `MCP_AUTH_MODE` | Auth mode: `none`, `jwt`, or `oauth`. | `none` |
| `MCP_LOG_LEVEL` | Log level (RFC 5424). | `info` |
| `LOGS_DIR` | Directory for log files (Node.js only). | `/logs` |
| `LOG_TOOL_FAILURE_PAYLOADS` | Log each failed tool call's arguments and result (cap: `LOG_TOOL_FAILURE_PAYLOAD_MAX_BYTES`, default `16384`). | `false` |
| `OTEL_ENABLED` | Enable [OpenTelemetry instrumentation](https://github.com/cyanheads/mcp-ts-core/tree/main/docs/telemetry). | `false` |
See [`.env.example`](./.env.example) for the full list of optional overrides.
## Running the server
### Local development
- **Build and run:**
```sh
# One-time build
bun run rebuild
# Build the local index (see First-run setup)
bun run mirror:init
# Run the built server
bun run start:stdio
# or
bun run start:http
```
- **Run checks and tests:**
```sh
bun run devcheck # Lint, format, typecheck, security
bun run test # Vitest unit and integration tests
bun run test:package # npm tarball + cleaned MCPB runtime checks
bun run lint:mcp # Validate MCP definitions against spec
```
### Docker
```sh
docker build -t faa-aircraft-registry-mcp-server .
docker run --rm -e MCP_TRANSPORT_TYPE=http -p 3010:3010 \
-v faa-registry:/usr/src/app/.mirror faa-aircraft-registry-mcp-server
# Build the index once against the mounted volume:
docker run --rm -v faa-registry:/usr/src/app/.mirror faa-aircraft-registry-mcp-server bun run mirror:init
```
The Dockerfile defaults to HTTP transport with stateless sessions, ships the `mirror:init`/`mirror:refresh`/`mirror:verify` CLI, pre-creates a writable `.mirror` data directory owned by the runtime user (mount a volume there and run `mirror:init` once to build and persist the index), and logs to `/var/log/faa-aircraft-registry-mcp-server`. OpenTelemetry peer dependencies are installed by default — build with `--build-arg OTEL_ENABLED=false` to omit them.
## Project structure
| Directory | Purpose |
|:---|:---|
| `src/index.ts` | `createApp()` entry point — registers tools and the resource, inits the registry service, and schedules the daily refresh under HTTP transport. |
| `src/config` | Server-specific environment variable parsing and validation with Zod. |
| `src/mcp-server/tools` | Tool definitions (`*.tool.ts`). |
| `src/mcp-server/resources` | Resource definitions (`*.resource.ts`). |
| `src/services/registry` | Registry service — the SQLite + FTS5 mirror, ingester, decode maps, N-number normalizer, and the owner-PII redaction gate. |
| `src/cli/` | Mirror lifecycle CLI — compiled to `dist/cli/` for `mirror:init`, `mirror:refresh`, `mirror:verify`. |
| `tests/` | Unit and integration tests mirroring `src/`. |
## Development guide
See [`CLAUDE.md`/`AGENTS.md`](./CLAUDE.md) for development guidelines and architectural rules. The short version:
- Handlers throw, framework catches — no `try/catch` in tool logic
- Use `ctx.log` for request-scoped logging, `ctx.state` for tenant-scoped storage
- Register new tools and resources via the barrels in `src/mcp-server/*/definitions/index.ts`
## Contributing
Issues are welcome. Run checks and tests before submitting:
```sh
bun run devcheck
bun run test
```
## License
Apache-2.0 — see [LICENSE](LICENSE) for details.
The FAA Releasable Aircraft Database is a public-domain US Government work, published by the FAA Civil Aviation Registry. This project redistributes none of that data; operators download it directly from the FAA at install time.