ABS Data (observed)

Australian Bureau of Statistics data: 1,227 tables, offering only options confirmed to serve data

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What it can do

    What data it sees

    Do you need an account

    No: the server works without sign-in

    Australian Bureau of Statistics data: 1,227 tables, offering only options confirmed to serve data

    How to connect

    How to connect ABS Data (observed) to Claude

    The server address to paste into Claude settings:

    https://abs-data-front-door.aicolab.workers.dev/mcp

    1. Open Claude (claude.ai or the desktop app).
    2. Go to Settings → Connectors.
    3. Click Add custom connector.
    4. Paste the server address copied below into Remote MCP server URL and click Add.
    5. In a chat, click + → Connectors and switch the new connector on.

    Custom connectors are available on Free, Pro, Max, Team and Enterprise plans (Free is limited to one). On Team and Enterprise an organization Owner adds the connector first under Organization settings → Connectors.

    Authorization

    After you click Add, a sign-in window for the service opens. Sign in with your own account and approve access. Claude never sees your password.

    How to connect ABS Data (observed) to ChatGPT

    The server address to paste into ChatGPT settings:

    https://abs-data-front-door.aicolab.workers.dev/mcp

    1. Open ChatGPT in a browser (chatgpt.com). A Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise or Edu plan is required.
    2. Turn on developer mode once: Settings → Apps → Advanced settings → Developer mode.
    3. Open Settings → Connectors and click Create.
    4. Fill in the form: Name (anything), Description (one line about what the service does), MCP server URL (copy it below).
    5. Under Authentication choose OAuth if the service requires sign-in, otherwise None. Click Create.
    6. In a new chat open + → Apps/Connectors and enable the connector.

    OpenAI has renamed this section before (Connectors → Apps/Plugins). If the label differs, search settings for "developer mode". On Business/Enterprise workspaces an admin must allow custom connectors first.

    Authorization

    On first use ChatGPT opens the service's sign-in window. Sign in and approve access.

    How to connect ABS Data (observed) to Cursor

    The server address to paste into Cursor settings:

    https://abs-data-front-door.aicolab.workers.dev/mcp

    Fastest: click Open in Cursor below and confirm the prompt.

    Manually:

    1. In Cursor open Settings → Cursor Settings → MCP and click Add new global MCP server.
    2. Paste the JSON copied below into ~/.cursor/mcp.json (per project: .cursor/mcp.json in the repo root).
    3. Save the file. The server appears in the MCP list; authorize it there if asked.

    Authorization

    If the service needs sign-in, an authorize button appears next to the server in the MCP list.

    Server tool list (6)

    Raw names from tools/list. Only developers need these.

    search_tablesFind ABS statistical tables (dataflows) by topic words, geography level or frequency. Matches table names, topics and dimension names, and also option labels inside dimensions — a search for 'rent' finds CPI through its INDEX option 'Rents' and reports the match in matchedOptions. Census tables published at several geography levels are collapsed to one result with familyGeographies listing the others (use the geography filter to pick one). Every result is confirmed to serve data — nothing here comes from documentation alone. Start here, then describe_table.
    describe_tableA table's dimensions in key order, its coverage dates, and its observed options. Dimensions with up to 64 options list them inline with labels; larger ones (geography, occupations) say how many and are searchable with search_options.
    search_optionsFind option codes by label text within one dimension of one table — e.g. a suburb name in a geography dimension. Returns codes to use in get_data's select.
    get_dataFetch observations. `select` maps dimension ids to option codes or labels (several allowed); omitted dimensions match everything. The selection is verified live against ABS before fetching, so a call that succeeds always returns real data. Returns up to maxRows observations (default 500, most recent 12 periods per series unless a period range is given), a summary, and the URL for the complete pull. If an option or combination does not exist you are asked to choose from the valid ones.
    searchRun JavaScript against the whole catalogue document — every table, its dimensions, coverage and small-dimension options — in an isolated sandbox with no network. Use it to answer questions the fixed verbs make awkward: 'which tables have both an SA2 geography and a quarterly frequency?', 'list every dimension name and how often it appears', 'find codelists whose labels mention rent'. Your code runs inside an async function with `catalogue` in scope; `return` a JSON-serialisable value; console.log output is captured. // The `catalogue` object available in search(): interface Catalogue { provenance: { runId: string; observedAt: string }; corpus: { tables: number; seriesConfirmed: number; seriesImpliedByMetadata: number; density: number }; tables: Record<string, { // keyed by table id, e.g. catalogue.tables.CPI id: string; name: string|null; description: string|null; seriesCount: number; frequencies: string[]; coverage: { from: string|null; to: string|null }; density: number|null; family: string|null; geography: string|null; topics: string[]; dimensions: { id: string; position: number; codelist: string|null; optionCount: number; literal: boolean }[]; }>; options: { literal: Record<string, Record<string, string|null>>; // codelist id -> { code: label } for small codelists (<=64 options) branded: Record<string, number>; // large codelists -> option count (use abs.searchOptions in execute) }; }
    executeRun JavaScript in an isolated sandbox whose only capability is `abs`, a client with the same four verbs as this server (searchTables, describeTable, searchOptions, getData) and the same guarantees: every selection is verified against ABS before fetching. Use it for multi-series or multi-table analysis — fetch several series, compute growth rates, rank capitals, join tables — and `return` only the computed result, so large payloads never reach the conversation. No network beyond `abs`. Budgets: 10s CPU, 50 calls, 25s wall clock, 200KB result. Your code runs inside an async function; use `await`; console.log is captured. // The `abs` object available in execute(): interface Abs { searchTables(input: { query?: string; geography?: string; frequency?: "A"|"S"|"Q"|"M"|"W"|"D"; limit?: number }): Promise<{ results: TableSummary[]; total: number }>; describeTable(table: string): Promise<{ table: TableSummary; dimensions: { id: string; position: number; optionCount: number; options?: { code: string; label: string|null }[] }[]; keyFormat: string }>; searchOptions(input: { table: string; dimension: string; query: string; limit?: number }): Promise<{ options: { code: string; label: string|null; parent?: string|null }[]; total: number }>; getData(input: { table: string; select?: Record<string, string|string[]>; startPeriod?: string; endPeriod?: string; lastN?: number; firstN?: number; maxRows?: number }): Promise<{ key: string; rows: { series: string; period: string; value: number|null; unit?: string|null }[]; rowsReturned: number; truncated: boolean; seriesMatched: number; fullDataUrl: string }>; } interface TableSummary { id: string; name: string|null; seriesCount: number; frequencies: string[]; coverage: { from: string|null; to: string|null }; dimensions: string[]; family: string|null; geography: string|null; matchedOptions?: { dimension: string; code: string; label: string|null }[] } // getData throws an Error whose message is JSON: { reason, dimensi