# πŸ‡ΊπŸ‡Έ US Legal MCP Server > **Comprehensive US legal data in your AI workflow.** Search Congress bills, Federal Register documents, court opinions, and committees. No API keys required (optional for enhanced access). An [MCP (Model Context Protocol)](https://modelcontextprotocol.io) server that brings authoritative US legal information into AI coding environments like Cursor and Claude Desktop. ## Why Use US Legal MCP? - πŸ†“ **No API Keys Required** – Works out of the box (optional keys for enhanced access) - 🎯 **Jev High-Confidence Filter** – Optional TypeSafe Jev scoring drops poor matches - πŸ“œ **Comprehensive Sources** – Congress, Federal Register, CourtListener - ⚑ **Easy Setup** – One-click install in Cursor or simple manual setup - πŸ” **Multi-Source Search** – Search across all legal sources simultaneously - πŸ“Š **Real-time Data** – Recent bills, regulations, and court opinions ## Quick Start Ready to explore US legal data? Install in seconds: **Install in Cursor (Recommended):** [πŸ”— Install in Cursor](cursor://anysphere.cursor-deeplink/mcp/install?name=legal-mcp&config=eyJsZWdhbC1tY3AiOnsiY29tbWFuZCI6Im5weCIsImFyZ3MiOlsiLXkiLCJ1cy1sZWdhbC1tY3AiXX19) **Or install manually:** ```bash npm install -g us-legal-mcp # Or from source: git clone https://github.com/JamesANZ/legal-mcp.git cd legal-mcp && npm install && npm run build ``` ## Features ### πŸ“œ Congress.gov - **`search-congress-bills`** – Search bills and resolutions - **`get-recent-bills`** – Get recently introduced legislation - **`get-congress-committees`** – List Congressional committees ### πŸ“‹ Federal Register - **`search-federal-register`** – Search regulations and executive orders - **`get-recent-regulations`** – Get recently published documents ### βš–οΈ CourtListener - **`search-court-opinions`** – Search court opinions (federal and state) - **`get-recent-court-opinions`** – Get recent court decisions ### 🎯 Jev Relevance Filter (optional) When `TYPESAFE_API_KEY` (or `JEV_API_KEY`) is set in the MCP server env, query-based search tools send each hit to [Jev](https://docs.typesafe.ai) (TypeSafe System One) and **only return high-confidence matches**. Poor or low-confidence results are dropped. Without a key the server keeps its existing keyword scoring. Filtered tools: `search_congress_bills`, `search_federal_register`, `search_all_legal`, `search_court_opinions`, `search_regulator_news`, `search_digital_asset_regulation`. Lookup tools (`get_bill_details`, recent lists, curated acts) are unchanged. ### πŸ” Multi-Source - **`search-all-legal`** – Comprehensive search across all sources - **`search_digital_asset_regulation`** – Aggregate search (Congress + Federal Register + all regulator feeds) scoped to crypto/stablecoin topics ### πŸͺ™ Digital Asset & Crypto Legislation - **`get_genius_act_info`** – Curated reference for the GENIUS Act (S.1582, 119th Cong., Pub. L. 119-27) β€” US payment stablecoin framework - **`get_clarity_act_info`** – Curated reference for the Digital Asset Market CLARITY Act (H.R.3633, 119th Cong.) β€” SEC/CFTC digital-asset jurisdiction - **`get_curated_act`** – Fetch any curated act by slug (`genius-act`, `clarity-act`) - **`get_bill_details`** – Live Congress.gov metadata for any bill (by `billId` like `s1582-119` or `hr3633-119`) - **`get_bill_actions`** – Full chronological action history for a bill - **`get_bill_text`** – All text versions (Introduced, Engrossed, Enrolled…) with PDF/HTML/XML links - **`get_public_law_text`** – GovInfo public law package + truncated full text (e.g., `119-27` for GENIUS Act) ### πŸ›οΈ Regulator News Feeds - **`get_recent_regulator_news`** – Recent press releases from OCC, SEC, CFTC, Federal Reserve, Treasury, or FinCEN - **`search_regulator_news`** – Keyword search across any/all regulator press-release feeds ## Installation ### Cursor (One-Click) Click the install link above or use: ``` cursor://anysphere.cursor-deeplink/mcp/install?name=legal-mcp&config=eyJsZWdhbC1tY3AiOnsiY29tbWFuZCI6Im5weCIsImFyZ3MiOlsiLXkiLCJ1cy1sZWdhbC1tY3AiXX19 ``` ### Manual Installation **Requirements:** Node.js 18+ and npm ```bash # Clone and build git clone https://github.com/JamesANZ/legal-mcp.git cd legal-mcp npm install npm run build # Run server npm start ``` ### Claude Desktop Add to `claude_desktop_config.json`: **macOS**: `~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json` **Windows**: `%APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json` ```json { "mcpServers": { "us-legal-mcp": { "command": "node", "args": ["/absolute/path/to/legal-mcp/dist/index.js"], "env": { "CONGRESS_API_KEY": "", "COURT_LISTENER_API_KEY": "", "GOVINFO_API_KEY": "", "TYPESAFE_API_KEY": "" } } } } ``` Restart Claude Desktop after configuration. In Cursor, the same optional `TYPESAFE_API_KEY` (or `JEV_API_KEY`) can be added under **Settings β†’ MCP β†’ us-legal-mcp β†’ env**. Leave it blank to keep keyword-only ranking. ## Usage Examples ### Search Congress Bills Find bills related to a specific topic: ```json { "tool": "search-congress-bills", "arguments": { "query": "immigration", "congress": 118, "limit": 10 } } ``` ### Search Federal Regulations Find regulations on a topic: ```json { "tool": "search-federal-register", "arguments": { "query": "environmental protection", "limit": 5 } } ``` ### Comprehensive Legal Search Search across all sources simultaneously: ```json { "tool": "search-all-legal", "arguments": { "query": "healthcare", "limit": 20 } } ``` ### Search Court Opinions Find court decisions: ```json { "tool": "search-court-opinions", "arguments": { "query": "immigration asylum", "court": "scotus", "limit": 10 } } ``` ## Data Sources | Source | Description | API | Auth Required | | -------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------- | | **Congress.gov** | Bills, resolutions, committees, bill actions, bill text versions | https://api.congress.gov/v3 | Optional | | **Federal Register** | Regulations, executive orders | https://www.federalregister.gov/api/v1 | No | | **CourtListener** | Court opinions, decisions | https://www.courtlistener.com/api/ | Optional | | **GovInfo** | Public laws, enrolled bill PDFs, XML | https://api.govinfo.gov | Optional (api.data.gov key) | | **OCC** | Office of the Comptroller of the Currency news releases | https://www.occ.gov/rss/occ_news.xml | No | | **SEC** | Securities and Exchange Commission press releases | https://www.sec.gov/news/pressreleases.rss | No | | **CFTC** | Commodity Futures Trading Commission (general, enforcement, speeches) | https://www.cftc.gov/RSS/ | No | | **Federal Reserve** | Federal Reserve Board press releases | https://www.federalreserve.gov/feeds/press_all.xml | No | | **Treasury** | US Treasury press releases (HTML listing) | https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases | No | | **FinCEN** | Financial Crimes Enforcement Network press releases (HTML listing) | https://www.fincen.gov/news/press-releases | No | ## API Keys (Optional) ### Congress.gov API Key 1. Visit [https://api.congress.gov/](https://api.congress.gov/) 2. Sign up for a free account 3. Get your API key 4. Set `CONGRESS_API_KEY` environment variable ### CourtListener API Key 1. Visit [https://www.courtlistener.com/api/](https://www.courtlistener.com/api/) 2. Create a free account 3. Get your API key from your profile 4. Set `COURT_LISTENER_API_KEY` environment variable ### GovInfo API Key 1. Visit [https://api.data.gov/signup/](https://api.data.gov/signup/) to request a free key 2. Set `GOVINFO_API_KEY` environment variable. Without it the server falls back to `DEMO_KEY` (rate-limited). ### Jev / TypeSafe API Key (optional) Used to check whether each search hit actually matches the user's request. **The server runs without this key.** Add it in your MCP config `env` if you want high-confidence filtering. 1. Create a key in the [TypeSafe console](https://typesafe.ai) (or use a compatible gateway) 2. Set `TYPESAFE_API_KEY` in the MCP server env (alias: `JEV_API_KEY`) 3. Optional overrides: - `JEV_MIN_RELEVANCE` – keep threshold, `0`–`1` (default `0.85`) - `JEV_MODEL` – default `jev-latest` - `TYPESAFE_BASE_URL` – default `https://api.typesafe.ai` When the filter is on, search results include a Jev score (e.g. `Jev 0.94`) and a short note of how many poor matches were dropped. If Jev is unreachable, the server falls back to keyword scoring so tools still return data. ## Use Cases - **Legal Researchers** – Quick access to bills, regulations, and court opinions - **Policy Analysts** – Track legislation and regulatory changes - **Lawyers** – Reference tool for case law and regulations - **Developers** – Build apps with authoritative legal data ## Technical Details **Built with:** Node.js, TypeScript, MCP SDK **Dependencies:** `@modelcontextprotocol/sdk`, `axios`, `fast-xml-parser`, `zod` **Optional:** [Jev](https://docs.typesafe.ai) via `TYPESAFE_API_KEY` for high-confidence search filtering **Platforms:** macOS, Windows, Linux ## Contributing ⭐ **If this project helps you, please star it on GitHub!** ⭐ Contributions welcome! Please open an issue or submit a pull request. ## License MIT License – see LICENSE file for details. ## Support If you find this project useful, consider supporting it: **⚑ Lightning Network** ``` lnbc1pjhhsqepp5mjgwnvg0z53shm22hfe9us289lnaqkwv8rn2s0rtekg5vvj56xnqdqqcqzzsxqyz5vqsp5gu6vh9hyp94c7t3tkpqrp2r059t4vrw7ps78a4n0a2u52678c7yq9qyyssq7zcferywka50wcy75skjfrdrk930cuyx24rg55cwfuzxs49rc9c53mpz6zug5y2544pt8y9jflnq0ltlha26ed846jh0y7n4gm8jd3qqaautqa ``` **β‚Ώ Bitcoin**: [bc1ptzvr93pn959xq4et6sqzpfnkk2args22ewv5u2th4ps7hshfaqrshe0xtp](https://mempool.space/address/bc1ptzvr93pn959xq4et6sqzpfnkk2args22ewv5u2th4ps7hshfaqrshe0xtp) **Ξ Ethereum/EVM**: [0x42ea529282DDE0AA87B42d9E83316eb23FE62c3f](https://etherscan.io/address/0x42ea529282DDE0AA87B42d9E83316eb23FE62c3f) --- Attribution added by YourAIKit. It is not part of the upstream file. - Source: https://github.com/JamesANZ/us-legal-mcp - Credit: JamesANZ, us-legal-mcp - Upstream copy: JamesANZ/us-legal-mcp at commit cde6f3b4ff7ee9ee98b1cc20782f3237bd4d7b7a, README.md - Copyright: Copyright (c) 2025 James Sangalli - License: MIT. Full text: https://youraikit.com/licenses/jamesanz-us-legal-mcp-root/LICENSE.md - The full upstream license text (LICENSE.md) follows. License (LICENSE.md): ```text MIT License Copyright (c) 2025 James Sangalli Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions: The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software. THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE. ```