wspr-mcp

MCP server for WSPR (Weak Signal Propagation Reporter) beacon data — live spots, band activity, top beacons, propagation paths, SNR trends, and more through any MCP-compatible AI assistant.

Data from wspr.live (~2.7 billion spots, 2008-present). Part of the qso-graph project. No authentication required — all public data.

Install

pip install wspr-mcp

Tools

Tool	Description	Key Parameters
wspr_spots	Recent WSPR spots with flexible filtering	callsign, band, hours, grid, min/max SNR, min distance
wspr_band_activity	Per-band spot counts, station counts, distances, and SNR	hours
wspr_top_beacons	Top transmitters ranked by spot count or max distance	band, hours, sort_by (spots/distance), limit
wspr_top_spotters	Top receivers ranked by spot count or max distance	band, hours, sort_by (spots/distance), limit
wspr_propagation	Propagation between two locations (callsign or grid)	tx, rx, band, hours
wspr_grid_activity	All WSPR activity in/out of a Maidenhead grid square	grid (2 or 4 char), band, hours
wspr_longest_paths	Longest distance WSPR paths in a time window	band, hours, min_distance, limit
wspr_snr_trend	Hourly SNR trend for a specific path over time	tx, rx, band, hours

What is WSPR?

WSPR beacons transmit a 2-minute encoded signal at very low power (typically 200 mW to 5 W). Each decoded spot proves a propagation path exists between two locations on a specific band. With thousands of beacons worldwide transmitting 24/7, WSPR provides continuous, automated propagation monitoring across all HF bands.

Good Neighbour Policy

wspr.live is a volunteer-run service that mirrors all wsprnet.org data into a public ClickHouse database. We take our responsibility as a good neighbour seriously:

Measure	Detail
Rate limiting	3 seconds between requests (20 req/min max)
Circuit breaker	Opens after 3 consecutive failures; exponential backoff up to 5 minutes. Prevents hammering a struggling service.
Time-bounded queries	Every query filters by time (max 72 hours). No unbounded full-table scans.
Band filtering	Queries filter by band whenever the user provides one — this hits wspr.live's indexes efficiently.
Column selection	We SELECT only the columns each tool needs (8-10 per query), never SELECT *.
Result limits	All queries cap results (200 spots, 50 leaderboard entries).
Response caching	2-10 minute TTL per tool. Identical queries within the window hit local cache with zero network traffic.
Request timeout	20-second timeout — we don't hold connections open on a shared service.
User-Agent header	Every request identifies itself as wspr-mcp/{version} so the operators can reach us if needed.

If wspr.live is down or overloaded, the circuit breaker backs off automatically. We don't retry in a tight loop.

Quick Start

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

Configure your MCP client

Claude Desktop

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

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

Claude Code

Add to .claude/settings.json:

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

ChatGPT Desktop

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

Cursor

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

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

VS Code / GitHub Copilot

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

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

Gemini CLI

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

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

Ask questions

"Show me recent WSPR spots on 20m"

"What bands are open right now?"

"Who are the top WSPR beacons on 20m today?"

"What are the longest WSPR paths in the last 24 hours?"

"Is there propagation between Idaho (DN13) and central Europe (JN48)?"

"What's happening in grid square JN48?"

"How's the SNR trending between K9AN and G8JNJ on 20m?"

"Who are the best WSPR receivers sorted by distance?"

Testing Without Network

WSPR_MCP_MOCK=1 wspr-mcp

MCP Inspector

wspr-mcp --transport streamable-http --port 8009

Development

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

License

GPL-3.0-or-later