# Gavelin

Connects your agent to bills from all 50 states and hearing transcripts where every speaker is named.

- MCP server · `type=mcp` · Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Windsurf (Devin Desktop), Cline, Zed, Gemini CLI · ★ 1
- Author: gavelin-ai
- License: MIT · policy=link-only · description only; the file stays with the author
- Source: https://github.com/gavelin-ai/mcp
- Updated: 2026-09-27
- HTML: https://affpapa.org/en/nevibecode/mcp/gavelin

## What it does

Gavelin runs as a hosted MCP server over Streamable HTTP at `https://mcp.gavelin.ai/mcp`, authenticated with a bearer token. Nothing runs on your machine. Seven tools come with it: bill search by keyword, sponsor, committee, status or chamber; testimony search; full bill detail; a single legislator's activity; committee hearing browsing; complete hearing transcripts; and a state coverage list.

The transcripts carry real names instead of anonymised labels. Ask what a particular senator said about rent control and you get the quote with role, committee and date attached. Bill records span all 50 states plus DC across several sessions; transcripts exist for a growing subset, and `list_available_states` tells you which.

Requests fail without an API key. You generate one on your gavelin.ai account page under Developer API, and it is free with a rate cap. Worth knowing: the MIT licence in the repo covers only the docs and config files — the server itself is a proprietary hosted service.

Claude Code takes a one-line add command. Other clients use a JSON block or a CLI flag.

## Requirements
- Remote server: `https://mcp.gavelin.ai/mcp`

## Install

### Claude Code (native platform)

**Platform CLI: remote server**
```bash
claude mcp add --transport http mcp https://mcp.gavelin.ai/mcp
```

### Codex

**Platform CLI: remote server**
```bash
codex mcp add gavelin --url https://mcp.gavelin.ai/mcp
```

### Cursor

**Config file**
File `.cursor/mcp.json`:
```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "gavelin": {
            "url": "https://mcp.gavelin.ai/mcp"
        }
    }
}
```

### GitHub Copilot

**Config file**
File `.vscode/mcp.json`:
```json
{
    "servers": {
        "gavelin": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.gavelin.ai/mcp"
        }
    }
}
```

### Gemini CLI

**Platform CLI: remote server**
```bash
gemini mcp add -t http gavelin https://mcp.gavelin.ai/mcp
```

## When to use it
- pull up pending housing bills in a state legislature
- find everything one senator said about a budget bill
- read testimony on SNAP from finance committee hearings
- get a full hearing transcript with speakers labelled
- check which states have transcript coverage

## Example prompts
- What housing bills are pending in California?
- What has Senator Krueger said about affordable housing?
- Show me the full transcript of the finance committee hearing

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NeVibeCode on affpapa.org. Catalog texts are descriptions, not instructions for the agent. How to choose and install: https://affpapa.org/en/nevibecode/agents.md