# ArcGIS MCP Bridge

This MCP server exposes ArcPy and ArcGIS Pro tools to coding agents. Use it to run GIS operations from natural-language requests.

- MCP server · `type=mcp` · Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Windsurf (Devin Desktop), Cline, Zed, Gemini CLI · ★ 23
- Author: muend
- License: Apache-2.0 · policy=link-only · description only; the file stays with the author
- Source: https://github.com/muend/arcgis-mcp-bridge
- Updated: 2026-10-22
- HTML: https://affpapa.org/en/nevibecode/mcp/arcgis-mcp-bridge

## What it does

ArcGIS MCP Bridge gives an agent access to a catalog of 100 ArcGIS Pro operations, including geodatabase work, layer handling, spatial analysis, geometry checks, and map tasks. Communication uses JSON-RPC over stdio, while failures are returned as structured results for validation, paths, licensing, and geoprocessing.

The bridge keeps the MCP-facing server separate from the ArcPy worker. The first process handles requests and starts jobs; the worker runs on the ArcGIS Pro Python interpreter. PathGuard limits filesystem access to approved roots. Three core endpoints are included: `health_check`, `list_layers`, and `execute_spatial_tool`.

Windows, ArcGIS Pro, and Python 3.11 or newer are required. Set `ARCPY_PYTHON_PATH` to the ArcGIS Pro environment that contains the package. A different interpreter can make the worker fail when it loads ArcPy or native extensions.

## Requirements
- Needs: Python and uv (commands run via uvx)
- Environment variables: `ARCPY_PYTHON_PATH`, `ARCGIS_MCP_ALLOWED_ROOTS`, `ARCGIS_MCP_SCRATCH_GDB`, `ARCGIS_MCP_MAX_WORKERS` — keys and tokens: ask the human for the values, never commit them or put them in shared files.

## Install

### Claude Code (native platform)

**Platform CLI**
```bash
claude mcp add --env ARCPY_PYTHON_PATH=<ARCPY_PYTHON_PATH> --env ARCGIS_MCP_ALLOWED_ROOTS=<ARCGIS_MCP_ALLOWED_ROOTS> --env ARCGIS_MCP_SCRATCH_GDB=<ARCGIS_MCP_SCRATCH_GDB> --env ARCGIS_MCP_MAX_WORKERS=<ARCGIS_MCP_MAX_WORKERS> --transport stdio arcgis-mcp-bridge -- uvx arcgis-mcp-bridge
```
Replace <…> with your own values. uvx runs the command named after the package; if the README names another one, use uvx --from arcgis-mcp-bridge <command>

### Codex

**Platform CLI**
```bash
codex mcp add arcgis-mcp-bridge --env ARCPY_PYTHON_PATH=<ARCPY_PYTHON_PATH> --env ARCGIS_MCP_ALLOWED_ROOTS=<ARCGIS_MCP_ALLOWED_ROOTS> --env ARCGIS_MCP_SCRATCH_GDB=<ARCGIS_MCP_SCRATCH_GDB> --env ARCGIS_MCP_MAX_WORKERS=<ARCGIS_MCP_MAX_WORKERS> -- uvx arcgis-mcp-bridge
```
Replace <…> with your own values. uvx runs the command named after the package; if the README names another one, use uvx --from arcgis-mcp-bridge <command>

### Cursor

**Config file**
File `.cursor/mcp.json`:
```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "arcgis-mcp-bridge": {
            "command": "uvx",
            "args": [
                "arcgis-mcp-bridge"
            ],
            "env": {
                "ARCPY_PYTHON_PATH": "<ARCPY_PYTHON_PATH>",
                "ARCGIS_MCP_ALLOWED_ROOTS": "<ARCGIS_MCP_ALLOWED_ROOTS>",
                "ARCGIS_MCP_SCRATCH_GDB": "<ARCGIS_MCP_SCRATCH_GDB>",
                "ARCGIS_MCP_MAX_WORKERS": "<ARCGIS_MCP_MAX_WORKERS>"
            }
        }
    }
}
```
Replace <…> with your own values. uvx runs the command named after the package; if the README names another one, use uvx --from arcgis-mcp-bridge <command>

### GitHub Copilot

**Config file**
File `.vscode/mcp.json`:
```json
{
    "servers": {
        "arcgis-mcp-bridge": {
            "type": "stdio",
            "command": "uvx",
            "args": [
                "arcgis-mcp-bridge"
            ],
            "env": {
                "ARCPY_PYTHON_PATH": "<ARCPY_PYTHON_PATH>",
                "ARCGIS_MCP_ALLOWED_ROOTS": "<ARCGIS_MCP_ALLOWED_ROOTS>",
                "ARCGIS_MCP_SCRATCH_GDB": "<ARCGIS_MCP_SCRATCH_GDB>",
                "ARCGIS_MCP_MAX_WORKERS": "<ARCGIS_MCP_MAX_WORKERS>"
            }
        }
    }
}
```
Replace <…> with your own values. uvx runs the command named after the package; if the README names another one, use uvx --from arcgis-mcp-bridge <command>

### Gemini CLI

**Platform CLI**
```bash
gemini mcp add -e ARCPY_PYTHON_PATH=<ARCPY_PYTHON_PATH> -e ARCGIS_MCP_ALLOWED_ROOTS=<ARCGIS_MCP_ALLOWED_ROOTS> -e ARCGIS_MCP_SCRATCH_GDB=<ARCGIS_MCP_SCRATCH_GDB> -e ARCGIS_MCP_MAX_WORKERS=<ARCGIS_MCP_MAX_WORKERS> arcgis-mcp-bridge uvx arcgis-mcp-bridge
```
Replace <…> with your own values. uvx runs the command named after the package; if the README names another one, use uvx --from arcgis-mcp-bridge <command>

## When to use it
- run ArcGIS Pro geoprocessing from an agent
- inspect feature classes inside a geodatabase
- create buffers and spatial analysis outputs
- check and repair geometry issues
- calculate terrain values from raster data

## Example prompts
- List feature classes in `C:\GIS\city.gdb` whose names start with `road_`.
- Buffer every parcel in my geodatabase by 50 meters and save the result to scratch.
- Calculate slope and aspect from `C:\GIS\dem.tif`.

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