@cyanheads/openchargemap-mcp-server
Find EV charging stations worldwide by location and connector from the global Open Charge Map registry — full station detail, reference-ID resolution, and community reliability check-ins via MCP. STDIO or Streamable HTTP.
4 Tools • 2 Resources
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**Public Hosted Server:** [https://openchargemap.caseyjhand.com/mcp](https://openchargemap.caseyjhand.com/mcp)
---
## Overview
EV charging stations worldwide from Open Charge Map. Search by location, connector, and network, pull full station detail, and read community check-ins on whether a charger actually works.
### Tools
| Tool | Description |
|:---|:---|
| `openchargemap_find_stations` | Find charging stations near a point or within a bounding box, filtered by connector, power, network, usage, status, and charge points. Coordinate-native. |
| `openchargemap_get_station` | Full record for one station by numeric OCM ID — every connection, operator, access rules, charge points, cost, media, and a computed reliability note. |
| `openchargemap_lookup_reference` | Resolve connector/operator/usage/status/country names to the integer filter IDs `find_stations` needs. Served from a bundled snapshot — offline and instant. |
| `openchargemap_get_station_comments` | Community check-ins for one station alongside the registry status and last-verified date, so registry-vs-reality mismatch is visible. |
### Resources
| Resource | Description |
|:---|:---|
| `openchargemap://station/{id}` | Full station record (with community comments) by numeric OCM ID — the URI-addressable twin of `openchargemap_get_station`. |
| `skill://openchargemap-guide/SKILL.md` | Guide to recommending compatible, accessible chargers, assessing reliability evidence, and checking search coverage. Also ships with plugin, npm, Docker, and MCPB installs. |
All station data is also reachable via the tools; the station corpus (~200k locations, geo-scoped) isn't exposed as a listable resource, and reference data is served by `openchargemap_lookup_reference` rather than a resource.
## Capability reference
### `openchargemap_find_stations` tool
- Radius search (`latitude` + `longitude` + `distance`, `distanceUnit` `KM` or `Miles`, max 500) or `boundingbox` — exactly one mode per call; optional `countrycode` (ISO 3166-1 alpha-2) and filters `connectiontypeid`, `minpowerkw`, `operatorid`, `usagetypeid`, `levelid`, `statustypeid`, `minchargepoints` (the ID filters take one integer ID or an OR-matched array, resolved via `openchargemap_lookup_reference`)
- `maxresults` caps the page (default 25, max 200) and `offset` pages through a fixed cached pool of up to 500 candidates per search. A 501st record only detects an upstream remainder: `totalCount` is exact without that sentinel and a floor when it is present; the `notice` says which
- No matches returns a successful empty list with search recovery guidance. Unknown country codes are not applied and are disclosed in the summary and notice. Fails with `invalid_location` (no search area, half a center, or a coordinate beside a `boundingbox`), `auth_failed`, or `upstream_unavailable`
---
### `openchargemap_get_station` tool
- Full record for one station by numeric OCM `id` — every connection, operator/network, usage and access rules, charge-point count, usage cost, data provider, media, and `dateLastVerified`; `includeComments` adds every check-in inline, unpaged (use `openchargemap_get_station_comments` for a heavily-commented station)
- `reliabilityNote` is plain prose computed from observable facts (verification age, registry status, operational flag, fault-vs-positive check-ins), omitted when there is nothing to flag; fails with `not_found`, `auth_failed`, or `upstream_unavailable`
---
### `openchargemap_lookup_reference` tool
- `category` (`connectiontypes`, `operators`, `usagetypes`, `statustypes`, `currenttypes`, `levels`, `countries`) plus an optional case-insensitive `query` naming a title, code, or alias (`"CCS"`, `"Tesla Supercharger"`, `"FR"`); omit `query` to browse the category (`limit` max 100, default 25, paged via `offset`/`nextOffset`)
- Returns the matching `id`(s), the `filterParam` they feed into `openchargemap_find_stations`, and `source` (`live` or `bundled`) with a `snapshotDate` — answered offline from the bundled snapshot unless `OPENCHARGEMAP_REFERENCE_REFRESH` refreshed it at startup. A miss returns a successful empty list with spelling/browse guidance
---
### `openchargemap_get_station_comments` tool
- Check-ins for one station by numeric OCM `id`, newest first, each with rating, date, and recorded outcome — `maxresults` caps the page (default 25, max 100), paged via `offset`/`nextOffset`; `totalComments` counts the station's whole set, and `reliabilityNote`'s fault ratio is computed over all of it
- Returns the registry status, `isOperational`, and `dateLastVerified` beside the comments; an empty `comments: []` is not an error (no reports is not evidence the charger works); fails with `not_found`, `auth_failed`, or `upstream_unavailable`
---
### `openchargemap://station/{id}` resource
- Full record for one station by numeric OCM ID, community comments always included — the URI-addressable twin of `openchargemap_get_station`, cached for 600 seconds, and not listable
- Fails with `not_found` when the ID doesn't resolve to a station
## 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.
Open Charge Map-specific:
- Type-safe client for the OCM v3 POI API with retry and session-scoped result caching
- Reference data (connectors, operators, usage/status types, countries) bundled as an offline snapshot — name→ID resolution needs no live `/referencedata` call, with an optional startup refresh to prevent drift
- Curated connector aliases (`CCS`, `NACS`/`Supercharger`, `J1772`, `Type 2`, `CHAdeMO`) so the names agents actually use resolve to the right IDs
- Geocoding intentionally delegated — the server is coordinate-native and composes with any geocoding MCP server (e.g. the `openstreetmap` server's `openstreetmap_search_places`) rather than rebuilding place-name lookup
- Stations are addressed by numeric OCM ID, discovered through `openchargemap_find_stations` — the OCM API has no UUID lookup
Agent-friendly output:
- Reliability surfaced as first-class signal — `status`, `statusTypeId`, `isOperational`, and `dateLastVerified` on every station, plus a plain-prose `reliabilityNote` derived only from observable facts (no fabricated confidence score)
- Honest sparsity — heavily-omitted upstream fields are optional with "absence means unknown, not zero/false" descriptions; the server never invents data OCM didn't return
- Attribution to Open Charge Map contributors and station data providers on every response; per-station provider license terms and open-data flags when supplied
## Getting started
### Public Hosted Instance
A public instance is available at `https://openchargemap.caseyjhand.com/mcp` — no installation required. Point any MCP client at it via Streamable HTTP, with this client config:
```json
{
"mcpServers": {
"openchargemap-mcp-server": {
"type": "streamable-http",
"url": "https://openchargemap.caseyjhand.com/mcp"
}
}
}
```
### Self-Hosted / Local
Add the following to your MCP client configuration file. An Open Charge Map API key is required — see [Prerequisites](#prerequisites).
```json
{
"mcpServers": {
"openchargemap-mcp-server": {
"type": "stdio",
"command": "bunx",
"args": ["@cyanheads/openchargemap-mcp-server@latest"],
"env": {
"MCP_TRANSPORT_TYPE": "stdio",
"MCP_LOG_LEVEL": "info",
"OPENCHARGEMAP_API_KEY": "your-api-key"
}
}
}
}
```
Or with npx (no Bun required):
```json
{
"mcpServers": {
"openchargemap-mcp-server": {
"type": "stdio",
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "@cyanheads/openchargemap-mcp-server@latest"],
"env": {
"MCP_TRANSPORT_TYPE": "stdio",
"MCP_LOG_LEVEL": "info",
"OPENCHARGEMAP_API_KEY": "your-api-key"
}
}
}
}
```
Or with Docker:
```json
{
"mcpServers": {
"openchargemap-mcp-server": {
"type": "stdio",
"command": "docker",
"args": [
"run", "-i", "--rm",
"-e", "MCP_TRANSPORT_TYPE=stdio",
"-e", "OPENCHARGEMAP_API_KEY=your-api-key",
"ghcr.io/cyanheads/openchargemap-mcp-server:latest"
]
}
}
}
```
For Streamable HTTP, set the transport and start the server:
```sh
MCP_TRANSPORT_TYPE=http MCP_HTTP_PORT=3010 OPENCHARGEMAP_API_KEY=... bun run start:http
# Server listens at http://localhost:3010/mcp
```
### Prerequisites
- [Bun v1.4](https://bun.sh/) or higher (or Node.js v24+).
- An Open Charge Map API key — free instant signup: register an application at [openchargemap.org](https://openchargemap.org/site/profile/applications). Sent as the `X-API-Key` header on every request; the server fails fast at startup if it's unset.
### Installation
1. **Clone the repository:**
```sh
git clone https://github.com/cyanheads/openchargemap-mcp-server.git
```
2. **Navigate into the directory:**
```sh
cd openchargemap-mcp-server
```
3. **Install dependencies:**
```sh
bun install
```
4. **Configure environment:**
```sh
cp .env.example .env
# edit .env and set OPENCHARGEMAP_API_KEY
```
## Configuration
All configuration is validated at startup via Zod schemas in `src/config/server-config.ts`. Key environment variables:
| Variable | Description | Default |
|:---|:---|:---|
| `OPENCHARGEMAP_API_KEY` | **Required.** Open Charge Map API key, sent as the `X-API-Key` header. Free signup at [openchargemap.org](https://openchargemap.org/site/profile/applications). | — |
| `OPENCHARGEMAP_BASE_URL` | OCM API base URL. Override for a private mirror or testing. | `https://api.openchargemap.io/v3` |
| `OPENCHARGEMAP_REFERENCE_REFRESH` | When `true`, refresh reference data from the live `/referencedata` endpoint at startup, falling back to the bundled snapshot on failure. When `false`, stay fully offline on the bundled snapshot. | `false` |
| `OPENCHARGEMAP_CLAMP_LIMITS` | Clamp oversized positive integer page sizes to the tool maximum (stations 200, comments/reference 100), with a notice, log and `openchargemap.pagination.clamps` counter. `false` restores rejection. Zero, negative and fractional sizes always reject. | `true` |
| `MCP_TRANSPORT_TYPE` | Transport: `stdio` or `http`. | `stdio` |
| `MCP_HTTP_PORT` | Port for the HTTP server. | `3010` |
| `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, redacted by key name and capped at `LOG_TOOL_FAILURE_PAYLOAD_MAX_BYTES` (default `16384`). A secret inside a free-form value is not redacted. | `false` |
| `STORAGE_PROVIDER_TYPE` | Storage backend. | `in-memory` |
| `OTEL_ENABLED` | Enable [OpenTelemetry instrumentation](https://github.com/cyanheads/mcp-ts-core/tree/main/docs/telemetry) (spans, metrics, completion logs). | `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
# 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, changelog sync
bun run test # Vitest test suite
bun run lint:mcp # Validate MCP definitions against spec
```
### Docker
```sh
docker build -t openchargemap-mcp-server .
docker run --rm -e OPENCHARGEMAP_API_KEY=your-key -p 3010:3010 openchargemap-mcp-server
```
The Dockerfile defaults to HTTP transport, stateless session mode, and logs to `/var/log/openchargemap-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/resources and inits services. |
| `src/config` | Server-specific environment variable parsing and validation with Zod. |
| `src/data` | Bundled Open Charge Map reference snapshot (`ocm-reference-data.ts`) — the offline source for ID resolution. |
| `src/mcp-server/tools` | Tool definitions (`*.tool.ts`) plus the shared station schema and renderers. |
| `src/mcp-server/resources` | Resource definitions (`*.resource.ts`). |
| `src/services/openchargemap` | OCM POI API client, response normalization, attribution, and the reliability-note helper. |
| `src/services/reference-data` | Reference-data service — snapshot loading, lookup indices, curated aliases, optional live refresh. |
| `tests/` | Unit and integration tests mirroring `src/`. |
## Development guide
See [`AGENTS.md`](./AGENTS.md) (and [`CLAUDE.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 in the `createApp()` arrays
- Wrap external API calls: validate raw → normalize to domain type → return output schema; never fabricate missing fields
## Attribution and data license
Charging-station, connector, and operator data is sourced from **[Open Charge Map](https://openchargemap.org)**, the community-maintained global registry of EV charging locations. License terms vary by data provider. Station records expose `dataProviderLicense` and `isOpenDataLicensed` when supplied; an unspecified license is unknown.
> Station data © Open Charge Map contributors and the providers named on each station (openchargemap.org). License terms vary by provider.
Every tool response carries this `attribution` string, and the server restates it in its session-level `instructions`. Preserve attribution to Open Charge Map, its contributors, and each station's provider, and consult that provider's license terms before reuse. This server's own code is Apache-2.0 (below).
## 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. Open Charge Map data carries its own license; see [Attribution and data license](#attribution-and-data-license).