UK Government Technology Standards MCP Server

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server providing access to 102 curated UK Government technology standards for AI assistants. Get context-aware recommendations for accessibility, APIs, security, cloud strategy, and more.

What This Provides

• 102 Curated Standards: Carefully selected UK Government tech standards URLs
• Context-Aware Recommendations: Get standards based on your work type and project phase
• Hybrid Search: Combines exact keyword matching with semantic understanding
• Multiple Access Methods: MCP protocol, HTTP API, and command-line tools
• Real-time Updates: Keep standards current with automated refresh capabilities

Quick Start

Prerequisites

• Node.js 18+
• npm (comes with Node.js)

Installation

# Clone the repository
git clone <repository-url>
cd uk-gov-tech-standards-mcp

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Build the project
npm run build

# Setup database with curated standards (takes 2-3 minutes)
npm run setup

Usage

Start MCP Server:

npm run serve

Start HTTP API Server:

npm run serve:http
# API available at http://localhost:3001

Docker Deployment

Prerequisites

• Docker and Docker Compose

Quick Start with Docker

# Clone the repository
git clone <repository-url>
cd uk-gov-tech-standards-mcp

# Copy environment template
cp docker.env.template .env

# Build and start services
docker-compose up -d

# Check status
docker-compose ps

The setup includes:

• MCP Server: localhost:3000
• HTTP API: localhost:8080
• ChromaDB: localhost:8000 (vector database)

Docker Services

MCP Server (default):

docker-compose up -d uk-gov-standards-mcp

HTTP Server (alternative):

docker-compose --profile http-only up -d

Both servers:

docker-compose up -d uk-gov-standards-mcp uk-gov-standards-http

Data Persistence

Docker volumes persist data in:

• ./data/ - SQLite database
• ./logs/ - Application logs
• ./models/ - ML models cache
• chromadb_data - Vector embeddings

Docker Configuration

Environment Variables (.env file):

NODE_ENV=production
LOG_LEVEL=info
DB_PATH=/app/data/standards.db
CHROMA_HOST=chromadb
CHROMA_PORT=8000

Health Checks:

# Check MCP server health
curl http://localhost:3000/health

# Check HTTP API health  
curl http://localhost:8080/health

# Check ChromaDB health
curl http://localhost:8000/api/v1/heartbeat

Logs:

# View all logs
docker-compose logs -f

# View specific service logs
docker-compose logs -f uk-gov-standards-mcp
docker-compose logs -f chromadb

MCP Client Configuration

Claude Desktop

Add to your claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "uk-gov-standards": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/absolute/path/to/uk-gov-tech-standards-mcp/dist/index.js"],
      "env": {
        "DATABASE_URL": "sqlite:/absolute/path/to/uk-gov-tech-standards-mcp/standards.db",
        "NODE_ENV": "production",
        "LOG_LEVEL": "info"
      }
    }
  }
}

Other MCP Clients

The server implements the full MCP specification. Use these connection details:

• Command: node
• Args: ["/path/to/dist/index.js"]
• Working Directory: Project root
• Environment: Set DATABASE_URL to your database path

🛠 MCP Tools

The server provides 8 context-aware tools:

Core Search Tools

search_uk_gov_standards

• Search across all 102 curated standards
• Hybrid search: exact keywords + semantic understanding
• Parameters: query (required), category, organisation

get_standard_by_id

• Get detailed information about a specific standard
• Parameters: standardId (required)

list_categories

• Get all available categories with counts
• No parameters required

get_recent_updates

• Get recently updated standards
• Parameters: daysBack (default: 30)

Context-Aware Tools

get_applicable_standards

• Get standards for specific work context
• Parameters: workType[], serviceType[], developmentPhase[]

get_mandatory_standards

• Get all mandatory/critical standards
• No parameters required

get_standards_by_priority

• Filter by priority level
• Parameters: priority (critical, high, medium, low)

get_category_hierarchy

• Get hierarchical category structure
• Parameters: categoryId (optional)

Compliance Tool

check_compliance

• Generate compliance checklist for your service
• Parameters: serviceDescription (required)

HTTP API

When running npm run serve:http, access these endpoints:

Search & Discovery

GET /api/search?q=<query>&category=<category>&org=<organisation>
GET /api/standards/<id>
GET /api/categories
GET /api/recent?days=<days>

Context-Aware Endpoints

POST /api/applicable
{
  "workType": ["frontend", "backend"],
  "serviceType": ["citizen-facing"],
  "developmentPhase": ["development", "testing"]
}

GET /api/mandatory
GET /api/priority/<level>
GET /api/hierarchy?categoryId=<id>

POST /api/compliance
{
  "serviceDescription": "Description of your service"
}

Curated Standards Categories

102 standards across 11 focused categories:

Category	Count	When to Use
Design and Build Government Services	30	Any government service development
Standards	21	General compliance and best practices
Secure By Design	14	Security-focused development
Accessibility	10	Frontend/UI development
Open source and open standards	8	Technology selection and architecture
APIs	5	REST, SOAP, GraphQL development
Legacy Technologies	3	Modernization projects
Native or Hybrid Apps	3	Mobile app development
Cloud Strategy	2	Cloud adoption and migration
Data	2	Data management and GDPR
Application Development	1	General development guidance

🔍 Search Capabilities

Hybrid Search System

• FTS Search: Fast exact/partial keyword matching
• Semantic Search: Understanding meaning and context (when available)
• Graceful Fallback: Works even if semantic features unavailable

Context-Aware Recommendations

Get relevant standards based on your specific work:

Work Context	Example Results
Frontend + Citizen-facing	Accessibility standards, WCAG guidelines
Backend + APIs	API technical standards, security guidelines
Mobile + Native apps	iOS/Android security, app store guidelines
Cloud + Data	GDPR compliance, cloud-first policy

Advanced Usage

Custom Database Path

DATABASE_URL="sqlite:/custom/path/standards.db" npm run setup

Update Existing Database

npm run update  # Refresh standards content

Development Mode

npm run dev     # Run with hot reload
npm test        # Run test suite

Logging Configuration

Set LOG_LEVEL environment variable:

• error: Errors only
• warn: Warnings and errors
• info: General information (default)
• debug: Detailed debugging

System Architecture

Focused Approach

This system uses a curated approach rather than broad discovery:

• ✅ 102 specific URLs from carefully selected UK Government standards
• ✅ 11 focused categories with clear applicability context
• ✅ Context-aware recommendations based on your work context
• ✅ Priority-based filtering (critical, high, medium, low)
• ✅ Mandatory vs. optional clearly identified
• ✅ Faster, predictable setup (2-3 minutes vs 10+ minutes)

Technology Stack

• Database: SQLite with FTS5 full-text search
• Search: Hybrid FTS + semantic similarity (optional)
• Web Scraping: Puppeteer with intelligent content processing
• API: Express.js HTTP server
• MCP: Full Model Context Protocol implementation
• Embeddings: Transformers.js with local models (optional)

Data Sources

All 102 standards are sourced from official UK Government websites:

• GDS Service Manual: Design and accessibility standards
• NCSC Guidance: Security and cyber security standards
• Cabinet Office: Digital service and open standards
• Gov.UK Guidance: APIs, cloud, and technical standards
• ICO Resources: Data protection and GDPR compliance

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Database corruption:

rm -f standards.db*
npm run setup

Port already in use:

# Change port in src/http-server.ts or kill existing process
pkill -f "http-server"

Semantic search unavailable:

• This is normal - the system gracefully falls back to FTS search
• Full semantic search requires additional vector database setup

Getting Help

1. Check the logs in logs/server.log
2. Verify Node.js version: node --version (requires 18+)
3. Ensure database exists: ls -la standards.db
4. Test basic functionality: npm test

##� License

MIT License - see LICENSE file for details.

Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Make your changes
4. Add tests if applicable
5. Submit a pull request

Updates

The system automatically tracks when standards are updated. Run npm run update periodically to refresh content.

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Built for AI assistants to provide accurate, up-to-date UK Government technology guidance.