Connect an AI Assistant to the Harvest Portal

The Harvest Portal MCP server lets AI chat assistants — Claude, ChatGPT, Perplexity, or any other MCP-compatible client — search datasets, read metadata, and query DataStore tables on your behalf. It works with any MCP client that supports remote HTTP servers.

Server URL: https://mcp.harvestportal.org/mcp

Option 1 — Public data, no setup

Use this if you just want to search and browse public Harvest Portal datasets, with nothing to configure.

  1. In your AI assistant, find its connector/plugin settings and add a custom remote MCP server with the URL above.
  2. Authentication: None
  3. You can search datasets, read metadata, and query DataStore tables for anything public — not private datasets or restricted organizations.

Option 2 — Your own Harvest Portal account

Use this if you want the assistant to see everything your Harvest Portal account can see, including private datasets and restricted organizations.

  1. Log into your account, go to your profile → Manage → API Tokens, and create one. Copy it somewhere safe.
  2. Add the same server URL, but set authentication to API key (or "Request headers", depending on the client). If the client lets you name the header, use X-CKAN-API-Token. If it only offers a generic API key/bearer token field, that works too — the server also accepts the standard Authorization header.
  3. You now see everything your Harvest Portal account can see, exactly as if you were logged in directly.

Connecting from your assistant

Steps for adding a custom or remote MCP connector vary by product and change often — check your AI assistant's own documentation for the current instructions on adding one and configuring authentication.