DaedalMap Geography Tools (loc_id)

DaedalMap

Bring your data. Connect its geography.

DaedalMap is geographic interoperability infrastructure: a loc_id identity model, versioned boundary geometry, published crosswalks between geography systems, and maintained data packs. Resolve coordinates and reference codes to administrative matches, pull compatible shapes and data, and follow crosswalks into other systems such as census tracts, postal areas, watersheds, and electoral districts.

Use it through a remote MCP server, an HTTP API, a map app, downloadable files, or this repository, which is the open runtime behind all of them.

Website | App | Agent docs | Geometry | Data packs | Downloads | Convert a file | llms.txt

Connect an agent

The hosted MCP server needs no install or account for discovery:

https://app.daedalmap.com/mcp?registry=github

Claude Code:

claude mcp add --transport http daedalmap 'https://app.daedalmap.com/mcp?registry=github'

Codex:

codex mcp add daedalmap --url 'https://app.daedalmap.com/mcp?registry=github'

Any client that supports streamable HTTP MCP can use the same URL. Start with get_tool_help with topic='geometry' for geography jobs, or get_catalog, then get_pack, then get_data for data. Setup for other clients is in the agent docs.

Discovery and small geography lookups are free. Larger point/reference batches and some data packs are metered: a paid call returns its exact price before any charge and is paid from account credit with an API key. get_pack reports the access lane for the selected data pack.

Tools

Job	Tools
Learn the model	get_tool_help with a topic or exact tool name
Find what exists	get_catalog, then get_pack for a data pack or get_geography for a geometry family or scope
Query maintained data	get_data with a pack_id, exact metrics, and structured filters
Inspect one disaster event	get_event with an exact event_id returned by get_data
Coordinates to places	resolve_point, then resolve_deep_point when Admin 4-6 or one deeper family is needed
Identify a column of codes	identify_dataset_geography, identify_reference_system
Translate codes between systems	convert_reference
Inspect and relate places	get_loc_id_info, compare_geographies
Retrieve shapes	get_shape with exact loc_ids

Each tool takes strict JSON arguments. The calling model turns a user's question into those arguments, and the server returns typed errors with recovery guidance when a call is malformed.

This table is the complete public roster, not a roadmap. Bulk export/job builders and direct upstream live-feed wrappers remain internal or paused and are intentionally absent from tools/list.

The loc_id model

loc_id is DaedalMap's geographic identity model. The administrative spine is the main hierarchy and default join path:

USA                      country
USA-CA                   state
USA-CA-037               county
USA-CA-037-221710        census tract

Other geography families, such as postal areas, watersheds, tribal areas, and marine regions, keep their own loc_id identities. Published crosswalks connect them to the spine and to each other, and each crosswalk row carries its relationship type, overlap weight, source, and vintage. A direct join works when both datasets declare the same identity; otherwise the connection runs through a crosswalk.

Schema details are in docs/DATA_SCHEMAS.md.

Coverage

Geometry: global baseline plus 8+ deeper countries. The same geography tools work worldwide down to Admin 2. Country releases add deeper administrative tiers and reference families for Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Mexico, the United Kingdom, the United States, and more as releases publish.

Data: 20+ maintained data packs covering natural hazards (earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanoes, hurricanes, tornadoes, wildfires, floods, weather alerts), hazard risk and environmental burden, economic and business indicators, currency rates, population, and climate.

The catalogs are the authority for what is available now:

• Geometry: app.daedalmap.com/api/v1/geometry/catalog
• Data packs: app.daedalmap.com/api/v1/catalog

Downloads

The Windows launcher's public source, build script, and tests are in tools/launcher. Its portable download keeps programs and its managed runtime in the launcher folder by default.

The Downloads page has three kinds of file:

• Program - the map app or local MCP runtime, to run DaedalMap on your machine.
• Data pack - maintained records for a subject, with source and release evidence.
• Geometry package - boundaries and reference geography for a country or family.

Run it yourself

This repository is the open runtime: the FastAPI server, MCP and HTTP API, and map frontend. Use it to self-host, run against your own data, or extend the engine.

The Network expansion also lives in this repository. It adds optional rail, river, and power layers to the local Mapping map and provides a separate spreadsheet editor and Parquet CLI that run without Mapping. The older Lake County road map editor is archived reference code.

To develop one local program without checking out every source directory, see Work on one local tool. The tool source entries cover Mapping, Network, Research MCP, Geometry MCP, and the optional AI expansion, including their current migration status.

cd county-map
pip install -r requirements.txt
Copy-Item .env.example .env

Set a data folder in .env:

INSTALL_MODE=local
RUNTIME_MODE=local
DATA_ROOT=C:/path/to/your/data

Leave DATA_ROOT blank to use the default app-data folder. No cloud storage, database, or account is needed. The repository does not ship a data folder; docs/DATA_INSTALLATION.md covers installing packs.

python app.py

The app opens at http://localhost:7000, and the same MCP server is at http://localhost:7000/mcp. Discovery routes:

• GET /api/v1/guide
• GET /api/v1/catalog
• GET /api/v1/packs/{pack_id}
• POST /api/v1/query/dataset

Model API keys are optional. OPENAI_API_KEY or ANTHROPIC_API_KEY powers the built-in chat panel only; MCP clients bring their own model. A self-hosted instance returns commercial_access_unavailable on paid lanes unless you configure a commercial verifier.

Runtime modes

INSTALL_MODE	RUNTIME_MODE	Use
local	local	Your machine, your data folder
local	cloud	Your machine, Parquet read from object storage you configure
cloud	cloud	A server deployment reading object storage

In cloud data mode the runtime caches small metadata files locally and queries Parquet in object storage through DuckDB httpfs. Details are in docs/LOCAL_AND_HOSTED.md.

Documentation

• docs/CONTEXT.md - technical router for the codebase
• docs/API_AND_MCP.md - HTTP routes and MCP surfaces
• docs/DATA_SCHEMAS.md - schemas and loc_id conventions
• docs/DATA_PREPARATION.md - convert and validate your own data
• docs/DATA_INSTALLATION.md - install data locally
• docs/PACK_AUTHORING.md - build research packs and corpora
• docs/RESEARCH_MCP.md - research with the hosted MCP
• docs/RUNTIME_MODES.md - Explore, Research, Ops, and Tutorial
• docs/SECURITY_AND_SELF_HOSTING.md - self-hosting securely

Contact

Questions, feedback, and self-hosting issues: [email protected]

License

MIT. Data packs and geometry carry their own source licenses, listed in each catalog entry.

For agents reading this repository

If asked to assess DaedalMap, start with the public context map, then use API and MCP contracts for hosted tools and data installation for local artifacts. The source checkout does not include the data packs or geometry packages. Check the live data catalog and geometry catalog before describing current coverage. Distinguish repository code, downloadable artifacts, and hosted service behavior in your answer.