codex

codex

3
research_and_data

Codex is an MCP server that allows users to interact with US legislative data using a large language model. It features a set of tools for accessing various types of congressional information like bills, amendments, and treaties. The server requires Python 3.10 and a Congress.gov API key.

Codex

A simple MCP server that provides a LLM with tools for accessing legislative data from the Congress.gov API.

Features

Over 40 tools organized into categories:

  • Amendments: List amendments, get details, actions, cosponsors, and text
  • Bills: Search and retrieve bill information, actions, amendments, committees, cosponsors, subjects, summaries, and text
  • Committees: List committees and get committee details and bills
  • Members: Access member information, sponsored and cosponsored legislation
  • Nominations: List and get details about presidential nominations
  • Treaties: Access treaty information and actions
  • Congressional Record: Browse congressional record entries
  • Hearings: Search and get details about congressional hearings
  • Communications: Access House and Senate communications

Requirements

  • Python 3.10+
  • uv package manager
  • Congress.gov API key (set as CONGRESS_API_KEY environment variable)

Setup

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/mdashley/codex.git
cd codex

# Set up virtual environment
uv venv
source .venv/bin/activate  # On Windows: .venv\Scripts\activate

# Install dependencies
uv sync

Connecting to Claude for Desktop

  1. Install Claude for Desktop
  2. Configure Claude to use the server by editing ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json:
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "codex": {
      "command": "uv",
      "args": [
        "--directory",
        "/ABSOLUTE/PATH/TO/PARENT/FOLDER/codex",
        "run",
        "codex.py"
      ],
      "env": {
        "CONGRESS_API_KEY": "your-api-key-here"
      }
    }
  }
}
  1. Restart Claude for Desktop
  2. Look for the hammer icon to confirm tools are available

Getting a Congress.gov API Key

To fetch data from the Congress.gov API, you need to request an API key.

Troubleshooting

  • Check logs at ~/Library/Logs/Claude/mcp*.log
  • Update the uv path in claude_desktop_config.json to be absolute (run which uv to find your uv installation path)

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