Global Forest Watch MCP Server

@pipeworx/global-forest-watch

The Global Forest Watch Data API (WRI / UMD) — the catalogue and query surface behind GFW: annual tree cover loss and gain, primary forest extent, GLAD and RADD deforestation alerts, VIIRS/MODIS fire alerts, carbon flux, protected areas, concessions and Aqueduct water risk.

Part of Pipeworx — an MCP gateway connecting AI agents to 1683+ live data sources.

Tools

• gfw_datasets(query?, limit?, page?) — list or keyword-search the catalogue (382 datasets as of 2026-09). With a query the whole catalogue is walked, capped at 5 upstream pages. Keyless.
• gfw_dataset(dataset, version?) — one dataset's metadata (source, citation, resolution, coverage, update frequency, cautions, licence) and version list; with a version, also that version's status, assets and field/band list. Keyless.
• gfw_query(dataset, sql, version?, limit?, _apiKey) — read-only SELECT over one dataset version. Needs a caller key.

Auth

Catalogue browsing is keyless and verified so (2026-09-17). The /query endpoint requires an x-api-key and answers 403 "Request is missing valid API key" without one.

No platform key is provisioned. The intended env var when one lands is PLATFORM_GFW_KEY; sign up at https://globalforestwatch.org and mint a key with POST /auth/token then POST /auth/apikey on the data API.

platformKeyEnv is deliberately NOT declared while the key is unset, for the same reason as copernicus-cds — see that README's Auth section. Add it in the same change that lands the secret.

Data sources

• https://data-api.globalforestwatch.org/datasets — catalogue. Paging is page[number] / page[size] (JSON:API style, square brackets); the response carries meta.total_items and meta.total_pages.
• https://data-api.globalforestwatch.org/dataset/{d} — dataset metadata.
• https://data-api.globalforestwatch.org/dataset/{d}/{version} — version metadata. latest is a valid version alias, but it 307-redirects to the concrete version, so the fetch must follow redirects. A bare curl without -L sees a 307 with an empty body, which reads as an outage.
• https://data-api.globalforestwatch.org/dataset/{d}/{version}/fields — columns/bands. Raster datasets report the column name under pixel_meaning rather than name.
• https://data-api.globalforestwatch.org/dataset/{d}/{version}/query — SQL. The table is always called data.

Quick Start

Add to your MCP client (Claude Desktop, Cursor, Windsurf, etc.):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "global-forest-watch": {
      "url": "https://gateway.pipeworx.io/global-forest-watch/mcp"
    }
  }
}

What this endpoint actually serves

tools/list at https://gateway.pipeworx.io/global-forest-watch/mcp returns the tools in the table above plus the shared Pipeworx meta-tools — ask_pipeworx, discover_tools, search_within, remember/recall and the rest of the gateway-wide set. So the tool count you see is larger than this table: a single-pack endpoint currently lists roughly 30 shared tools alongside the pack's own. The connection's initialize response states its exact scope, and is the authoritative answer for a given day.

This is deliberate, not multiplexing by accident. The meta-tools are what let a scoped connection answer a question this pack does not cover — via ask_pipeworx, which routes across the whole catalog — without you adding a second MCP server. There is currently no way to mount a pack endpoint without them; if the extra schemas cost you more context than the routing is worth, connect to the full gateway once rather than to several pack endpoints.

Or connect to the full Pipeworx gateway to get every pack's tools listed directly, instead of just this one's:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "pipeworx": {
      "url": "https://gateway.pipeworx.io/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Both URLs reach the same gateway and the same 1683+ data sources. The only difference is which pack's tools are listed directly; ask_pipeworx reaches all of them from either one.

No MCP client? Call it over HTTP

curl -X POST https://gateway.pipeworx.io/v1/tools/gfw_datasets \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{"query":"tree cover loss","limit":5}'

No account needed for the first calls. Inspect any tool: GET https://gateway.pipeworx.io/v1/tools/gfw_datasets. Find one: POST https://gateway.pipeworx.io/v1/tools/search_packs with {"query":"..."}.

Standalone (no gateway account)

This package also runs as a local stdio MCP server — no Pipeworx account, no gateway round-trip:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "global-forest-watch": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@pipeworx/mcp-global-forest-watch"]
    }
  }
}

Or run it directly to confirm it starts:

npx -y @pipeworx/mcp-global-forest-watch

It speaks MCP over stdin/stdout and answers initialize/tools/list/tools/call for only this pack's tools — none of the shared meta-tools the gateway connection above adds. Same source, same tools, no ask_pipeworx routing.

Using with ask_pipeworx

Instead of calling tools directly, you can ask questions in plain English — this works on the pack endpoint above as well as on the full gateway:

ask_pipeworx({ question: "your question about Global Forest Watch data" })

The gateway picks the right tool and fills the arguments automatically.

More

• Docs and guides
• pipeworx.io

License

MIT