MCP OSCAL Server
Provides AI assistants with specialized tools to interact with NIST's Open Security Controls Assessment Language (OSCAL) framework. It enables agents to retrieve schemas, explore models, and generate valid OSCAL documentation for security compliance
What is MCP OSCAL Server?
MCP OSCAL Server is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that allows AI assistants like Claude, Cursor, and VS Code to provides ai assistants with specialized tools to interact with nist's open security controls assessment language (oscal) framework. it enables agents to retrieve schemas, explore models, and generate ...
Provides AI assistants with specialized tools to interact with NIST's Open Security Controls Assessment Language (OSCAL) framework. It enables agents to retrieve schemas, explore models, and generate valid OSCAL documentation for security compliance
This server falls under the Security category on MCPgee, the world's largest MCP server directory with 33,000+ servers.
Features
- Provides AI assistants with specialized tools to interact wi
Use Cases
Maintainer
Works with
Installation
PIP
pip install mcp-server-for-oscalManual Installation
pip install mcp-server-for-oscalConfiguration
Configuration Details
claude_desktop_config.json
Performance
Response Metrics
Resource Usage
How to Set Up and Use MCP OSCAL Server
The MCP Server for OSCAL (Open Security Controls Assessment Language) gives AI assistants specialized tools to interact with NIST's OSCAL framework, enabling them to retrieve schemas, explore security control models, query AWS component definitions, and generate valid OSCAL documentation for compliance use cases. Built by AWS Labs, it supports OSCAL document types including catalogs, System Security Plans (SSPs), profiles, assessment plans, and POA&Ms. Security engineers and compliance teams can use it to automate the creation of FedRAMP, FISMA, and other compliance artifacts through natural language.
Prerequisites
- Python 3.11 or higher (tested on 3.11 and 3.12)
- uv package manager installed (see https://docs.astral.sh/uv/getting-started/installation/)
- No API keys required — the server bundles OSCAL schemas and AWS component definitions locally
- An MCP-compatible client such as Claude Desktop
Install uv
The recommended installation method uses uvx, which requires uv. Install it using the official installer.
curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | shConfigure Claude Desktop
Add the OSCAL MCP server to your Claude Desktop configuration. uvx will download the latest version from PyPI automatically on first run — no separate install step needed.
{
"mcpServers": {
"oscal": {
"command": "uvx",
"args": ["mcp-server-for-oscal@latest"]
}
}
}Optionally configure a custom OSCAL documents directory
To load your own OSCAL JSON files into the server, set the OSCAL_DOCUMENTS_DIR environment variable to a directory path. The server scans it recursively. You can also configure a persistent SQLite index with OSCAL_STORE_DB_PATH.
{
"mcpServers": {
"oscal": {
"command": "uvx",
"args": ["mcp-server-for-oscal@latest"],
"env": {
"OSCAL_DOCUMENTS_DIR": "/path/to/your/oscal-files",
"OSCAL_STORE_DB_PATH": "/path/to/oscal-index.db",
"OSCAL_STORE_CACHE_SIZE": "200"
}
}
}
}Restart Claude Desktop
Fully quit and reopen Claude Desktop. The OSCAL server should appear in the MCP tools list. On first launch uvx will download the package which may take a moment.
Verify integrity
The server automatically validates its bundled OSCAL content using SHA-256 hash manifests at startup. If you see a hash mismatch warning, re-install with 'uvx mcp-server-for-oscal@latest --reinstall'.
MCP OSCAL Server Examples
Client configuration
Complete claude_desktop_config.json block for the OSCAL MCP server, with optional environment variables for custom document directories.
{
"mcpServers": {
"oscal": {
"command": "uvx",
"args": ["mcp-server-for-oscal@latest"],
"env": {
"OSCAL_DOCUMENTS_DIR": "/path/to/oscal-documents",
"OSCAL_STORE_DB_PATH": "/path/to/oscal-index.db"
}
}
}
}Prompts to try
Example prompts for working with OSCAL compliance frameworks once the server is connected.
- "List all available OSCAL models and their supported document types."
- "Retrieve the OSCAL schema for a System Security Plan."
- "Show me the AWS component definitions for the S3 service."
- "Generate a minimal OSCAL catalog document for the NIST 800-53 Rev 5 controls AC-1 and AC-2."
- "List all open-source OSCAL resources available for FedRAMP compliance."Troubleshooting MCP OSCAL Server
uvx command not found when Claude Desktop starts the server
Install uv using 'curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh' and ensure its bin directory (~/.local/bin or ~/.cargo/bin) is in your PATH. Restart your terminal and Claude Desktop after installation.
OSCAL_DOCUMENTS_DIR is set but custom files are not found
Ensure the path points to a directory (not a file) and that the JSON files inside are valid OSCAL format. The server scans recursively so subdirectories are included. Check that the directory is readable by the process running the server.
SHA-256 integrity check fails at startup
Run 'uvx mcp-server-for-oscal@latest --reinstall' to force a fresh download of the package. This clears any cached but corrupted files.
Frequently Asked Questions about MCP OSCAL Server
What is MCP OSCAL Server?
MCP OSCAL Server is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that provides ai assistants with specialized tools to interact with nist's open security controls assessment language (oscal) framework. it enables agents to retrieve schemas, explore models, and generate valid oscal documentation for security compliance It connects AI assistants to external tools and data sources through a standardized interface.
How do I install MCP OSCAL Server?
Install via pip with: pip install mcp-server-for-oscal. Then configure your AI client to connect to this MCP server.
Which AI clients work with MCP OSCAL Server?
MCP OSCAL Server works with all major MCP-compatible AI clients including Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code (GitHub Copilot), Windsurf, and Cline.
Is MCP OSCAL Server free to use?
Yes, MCP OSCAL Server is open source and available under the Apache 2.0 license. You can use it freely in both personal and commercial projects.
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