CanLII — Claude Code MCP server: what it does, how to install
Connects AI assistants to the CanLII database for Canadian case law and statutory metadata across federal and provincial jurisdictions.
claude mcp add --transport http canlii https://canlii-mcp.vaquill.ai/mcpWhat CanLII does
The server exposes endpoints to query Canadian courts, administrative tribunals, and statutory databases through the Model Context Protocol. It retrieves decision titles, keywords, formal dates, and cross-citation links between legal authorities.
The API does not return full texts. The system strictly yields metadata and citation links. Every request requires an individual CanLII API token, so queries count directly against your personal quota of 5,000 daily calls.
You can connect directly to the hosted HTTP endpoint at https://canlii-mcp.vaquill.ai/mcp. Self-hosting is also supported on Node.js 22, Docker environments, or Cloudflare Workers.
What it helps with
- Query Canadian court and tribunal database registries
- Trace citations and precedents referencing a specific decision
- Inspect statute and regulation metadata across provinces
- Retrieve keywords and judgment dates for legal records
Example prompts for the agent
- List all Canadian tribunal and court databases available in CanLII.
- Retrieve citation records and referenced legislation for this decision.
- Look up metadata and subject keywords for the specified case.
How to install CanLII
Platform CLI: remote server
claude mcp add --transport http canlii https://canlii-mcp.vaquill.ai/mcpPlatform CLI: remote server
codex mcp add canlii --url https://canlii-mcp.vaquill.ai/mcpConfig file
{
"mcpServers": {
"canlii": {
"url": "https://canlii-mcp.vaquill.ai/mcp"
}
}
}Config file
{
"servers": {
"canlii": {
"type": "http",
"url": "https://canlii-mcp.vaquill.ai/mcp"
}
}
}Platform CLI: remote server
gemini mcp add -t http canlii https://canlii-mcp.vaquill.ai/mcpStep by step, with commands for each platform: How to add an MCP server to Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, VS Code, Gemini CLI and more
Questions about CanLII
How to install CanLII in Claude Code?
Run claude mcp add --transport http canlii https://canlii-mcp.vaquill.ai/mcp. Pass your personal token using the X-CanLII-Token header or append ?token= to the URL.
What does the CanLII MCP server do?
It enables AI agents to query metadata on Canadian statutes and case law. It provides dedicated tools to inspect court databases, decisions, and citation trees.
Can this MCP server fetch the full text of legal rulings?
No, the CanLII API provides metadata only. You receive citations, titles, keywords, and dates, but not full document bodies.
