Summary
Wraps the OpenAQ v2 API to pull live air quality data from monitoring stations worldwide. Part of the Pipeworx gateway, which means you can either connect directly to this OpenAQ endpoint or use the full gateway for 250+ data sources. No authentication required since OpenAQ is free and open. The ask_pipeworx tool lets you query in plain English instead of calling specific endpoints. Reach for this when you need real air quality measurements, pollution levels, or environmental monitoring data in your agent workflows without setting up API keys or parsing responses yourself.
Keeps your Mac awake while Claude Code, Codex or Cursor works. Lets it sleep when they are done.
Try free for 7 days →
Block distracting apps from your iPhone permanently without a 3rd party app. Free and open source.
Block now (100% free) →
Notes, actions and memory. Without a meeting bot. First month 100% off.
Download for free →
belt cli automatically finds the best tools and skills for your agent. image, video, music, tts...
one prompt install →
Free an open-source skills that make AI coding agents easier to understand, verify, and control.
Download for free →
Connect your Claude agent to live crypto prices and trading routes via 1inch
Get the MCP →mcp-openaq
OpenAQ MCP — global air-quality measurements via the OpenAQ v3 API.
Part of Pipeworx — an MCP gateway connecting AI agents to 1683+ live data sources.
Tools
| Tool | Description |
|---|---|
air_quality_near | Get the latest air-quality readings (PM2.5, PM10, O3, NO2, SO2, CO, etc.) at the monitoring station NEAREST to a latitude/longitude. PREFER for "air quality near me", "what is the air quality at ", "is the air bad in right now". Returns the nearest station with its most recent pollutant values, plus other nearby stations. |
find_stations | Find OpenAQ air-quality monitoring stations by location: a city or place name, coordinates+radius (nearest first), a country (ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 code), or a bounding box. Returns station id, name, country, coordinates, and the pollutants each measures (with sensor ids), plus resolved_place echoing the coordinates a city name resolved to. This is the first step for a historical series: find the station here, then pass its sensor_id to get_measurements. At least one location argument is required — the tool will not return an unfiltered global list. |
get_latest | Get the latest reading for every pollutant at a specific OpenAQ station (by location id from find_stations). Returns each parameter (PM2.5, O3, NO2, etc.) with its value, units, and measurement time. |
get_measurements | Get the most recent time series (hourly or daily aggregates) for a single OpenAQ sensor (sensor id from find_stations), newest first. Use for pollutant trends over time at one station/parameter. Returns the sensor's LAST limit readings — note that many OpenAQ sensors are archived and stopped reporting years ago, so "most recent" can legitimately be several years old: always read the returned timestamps rather than assuming the data is current. Use find_stations or get_latest to pick a sensor that is still reporting. |
Quick Start
Add to your MCP client (Claude Desktop, Cursor, Windsurf, etc.):
{
"mcpServers": {
"openaq": {
"url": "https://gateway.pipeworx.io/openaq/mcp"
}
}
}
What this endpoint actually serves
tools/list at https://gateway.pipeworx.io/openaq/mcp returns the tools in the table
above plus the shared Pipeworx meta-tools — ask_pipeworx,
discover_tools, search_within, remember/recall and the rest of the
gateway-wide set. So the tool count you see is larger than this table: a
single-pack endpoint currently lists roughly 30 shared tools alongside the
pack's own. The connection's initialize response states its exact scope, and
is the authoritative answer for a given day.
This is deliberate, not multiplexing by accident. The meta-tools are what let a
scoped connection answer a question this pack does not cover — via
ask_pipeworx, which routes across the whole catalog — without you adding a
second MCP server. There is currently no way to mount a pack endpoint without
them; if the extra schemas cost you more context than the routing is worth,
connect to the full gateway once rather than to several pack endpoints.
Or connect to the full Pipeworx gateway to get every pack's tools listed directly, instead of just this one's:
{
"mcpServers": {
"pipeworx": {
"url": "https://gateway.pipeworx.io/mcp"
}
}
}
Both URLs reach the same gateway and the same 1683+ data sources. The
only difference is which pack's tools are listed directly; ask_pipeworx
reaches all of them from either one.
No MCP client? Call it over HTTP
curl -X POST https://gateway.pipeworx.io/v1/tools/air_quality_near \
-H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
-d '{"latitude":40.785,"longitude":-73.968}'
No account needed for the first calls. Inspect any tool: GET https://gateway.pipeworx.io/v1/tools/air_quality_near. Find one: POST https://gateway.pipeworx.io/v1/tools/search_packs with {"query":"..."}.
Standalone (no gateway account)
This package also runs as a local stdio MCP server — no Pipeworx account, no gateway round-trip:
{
"mcpServers": {
"openaq": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "@pipeworx/mcp-openaq"]
}
}
}
Or run it directly to confirm it starts:
npx -y @pipeworx/mcp-openaq
It speaks MCP over stdin/stdout and answers initialize/tools/list/tools/call
for only this pack's tools — none of the shared meta-tools the gateway
connection above adds. Same source, same tools, no ask_pipeworx routing.
Using with ask_pipeworx
Instead of calling tools directly, you can ask questions in plain English — this works on the pack endpoint above as well as on the full gateway:
ask_pipeworx({ question: "your question about Openaq data" })
The gateway picks the right tool and fills the arguments automatically.
More
License
MIT
Featured
Keeps your Mac awake while Claude Code, Codex or Cursor works. Lets it sleep when they are done.
Try free for 7 days →Block distracting apps from your iPhone permanently without a 3rd party app. Free and open source.
Block now (100% free) →Notes, actions and memory. Without a meeting bot. First month 100% off.
Download for free →belt cli automatically finds the best tools and skills for your agent. image, video, music, tts...
one prompt install →Free an open-source skills that make AI coding agents easier to understand, verify, and control.
Download for free →Connect your Claude agent to live crypto prices and trading routes via 1inch
Get the MCP →