canlii-mcp

# canlii-mcp An [MCP (Model Context Protocol)](https://modelcontextprotocol.io) server for the [CanLII](https://www.canlii.org) Canadian legal information API. Gives AI assistants access to Canadian case law and legislation metadata across all federal, provincial, and territorial jurisdictions. > **Note:** The CanLII API provides metadata only — titles, citations, dates, keywords, and citation relationships. Full document text is not available through the API. ## Tools | Tool | Description | |------|-------------| | `list_case_databases` | List all courts and tribunals in the CanLII collection | | `list_cases` | Browse decisions from a specific court/tribunal database | | `get_case` | Get metadata for a specific case (title, citation, date, keywords) | | `get_case_citations` | Get cases cited by a case, cases citing it, or legislation it references | | `list_legislation_databases` | List all statute and regulation databases | | `list_legislation` | Browse statutes or regulations from a specific database | | `get_legislation` | Get metadata for a specific piece of legislation | ## Requirements - Node.js 22+ - A CanLII API key — [apply here](https://www.canlii.org/en/feedback/feedback.html) ## Usage ### stdio via npx (quickest) ```json { "mcpServers": { "canlii": { "type": "stdio", "command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "@tomilashy/canlii-mcp"], "env": { "CANLII_API": "your_api_key" } } } } ``` ### stdio (from source) ```bash npm install npm run build node dist/index.js ``` Add to your MCP config: ```json { "mcpServers": { "canlii": { "command": "node", "args": ["/path/to/canlii-mcp/dist/index.js"], "env": { "CANLII_API": "your_api_key" } } } } ``` ### HTTP server ```bash PORT=3000 CANLII_API=your_api_key node dist/index.js --transport http ``` The MCP endpoint is available at `http://localhost:3000/mcp`. The server runs in stateless mode — each request is self-contained, no session ID or initialize handshake required. Clients can call tools directly: ```bash curl -X POST http://localhost:3000/mcp \ -H "Content-Type: application/json" \ -H "Accept: application/json, text/event-stream" \ -d '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"method":"tools/call","params":{"name":"list_case_databases","arguments":{"language":"en"}}}' ``` ### Docker ```bash docker run -e CANLII_API=your_api_key -e MCP_AUTH_TOKEN=your_secret -p 3000:3000 ghcr.io/tomilashy/canlii-mcp ``` Or with Docker Compose: ```yaml services: canlii-mcp: image: ghcr.io/tomilashy/canlii-mcp environment: CANLII_API: your_api_key MCP_AUTH_TOKEN: your_secret # optional ports: - "3000:3000" ``` ### Cloudflare Workers The server includes a Workers-compatible entry point (`src/worker.ts`). #### CLI deploy ```bash npx wrangler secret put CANLII_API npx wrangler secret put MCP_AUTH_TOKEN # optional npx wrangler deploy ``` #### Dashboard deploy (Connect to Git) 1. Go to [Cloudflare Dashboard](https://dash.cloudflare.com) → **Workers & Pages** → **Create** → **Connect to Git** 2. Select your `tomilashy/canlii-mcp` repository 3. On the **Set up your application** page: - **Project name**: `canlii-mcp` - **Build command**: `npm install && npm run build` - **Deploy command**: `npx wrangler deploy` (pre-filled) 4. Expand **Advanced settings**: - **Variable name**: `CANLII_API` - **Variable value**: your CanLII API key - Check **Encrypt** to store it as a secret 5. Click **Deploy** The MCP endpoint will be at `https://canlii-mcp.<your-subdomain>.workers.dev/mcp`. ## Configuration | Environment Variable | Required | Default | Description | |---------------------|----------|---------|-------------| | `CANLII_API` | Yes | — | Your CanLII API key | | `PORT` | No | `3000` | HTTP server port (HTTP mode only) | | `MCP_AUTH_TOKEN` | No | — | Bearer token for HTTP authentication. If set, all HTTP requests must include `Authorization: Bearer <token>`. If not set, the server runs without authentication. | ## Rate Limits The server enforces CanLII's API limits automatically: - 1 request at a time - 2 requests per second - 5,000 requests per day Requests that exceed the daily limit return an error rather than hitting the API. ## Development ```bash npm install npm run build # compile TypeScript npm run watch # watch mode ``` ## Release This project uses [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org) via [semantic-release](https://semantic-release.gitbook.io). Commit messages follow the [Conventional Commits](https://www.conventionalcommits.org) spec: | Commit prefix | Release type | |---------------|-------------| | `fix:` | Patch (`1.0.0` → `1.0.1`) | | `feat:` | Minor (`1.0.0` → `1.1.0`) | | `feat!:` or `BREAKING CHANGE` | Major (`1.0.0` → `2.0.0`) | Pushing to `main` triggers the release workflow. If a release is cut, the Docker image is automatically built and published to `ghcr.io`. ## License MIT