pota-mcp

MCP server for Parks on the Air (POTA) — live activator spots, park info, activator/hunter stats, and scheduled activations through any MCP-compatible AI assistant.

Part of the qso-graph project. No authentication required — all POTA endpoints are public.

Install

pip install pota-mcp

Tools

Tool	Description
pota_spots	Current activator spots with park/grid enrichment and optional filters
pota_park_info	Park details by reference code (name, grid, type, agencies, website)
pota_park_stats	Activation and QSO counts for a park
pota_user_stats	Activator/hunter stats by callsign
pota_scheduled	Upcoming scheduled activations
pota_location_parks	All parks in a state/province/country
pota_nearby_parks	Find parks near a point — great for 2-fer planning

Quick Start

No credentials needed — just install and configure your MCP client.

Configure your MCP client

pota-mcp works with any MCP-compatible client. Add the server config and restart — tools appear automatically.

Claude Desktop

Add to claude_desktop_config.json (~/Library/Application Support/Claude/ on macOS, %APPDATA%\Claude\ on Windows):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "pota": {
      "command": "pota-mcp"
    }
  }
}

Claude Code

Add to .claude/settings.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "pota": {
      "command": "pota-mcp"
    }
  }
}

ChatGPT Desktop

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "pota": {
      "command": "pota-mcp"
    }
  }
}

Cursor

Add to .cursor/mcp.json (project-level) or ~/.cursor/mcp.json (global):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "pota": {
      "command": "pota-mcp"
    }
  }
}

VS Code / GitHub Copilot

Add to .vscode/mcp.json in your workspace:

{
  "servers": {
    "pota": {
      "command": "pota-mcp"
    }
  }
}

Gemini CLI

Add to ~/.gemini/settings.json (global) or .gemini/settings.json (project):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "pota": {
      "command": "pota-mcp"
    }
  }
}

Ask questions

"What POTA activations are happening right now?"

"Tell me about park US-0001 — how many activations has it had?"

"What are K4SWL's POTA stats?"

"Show me all parks in Idaho"

"Are there any CW activators on 20m right now?"

"What activations are scheduled for tomorrow?"

Testing Without Network

For testing all tools without hitting the POTA API:

POTA_MCP_MOCK=1 pota-mcp

MCP Inspector

pota-mcp --transport streamable-http --port 8006

Then open the MCP Inspector at http://localhost:8006.

Development

git clone https://github.com/qso-graph/pota-mcp.git
cd pota-mcp
pip install -e .

License

GPL-3.0-or-later