Decode N-numbers to aircraft, engine, status, and owner; search the US civil aircraft registry by owner, type, or state; resolve active/deregistered/reserved status — offline via MCP. STDIO or Streamable HTTP.\n
\n\n[](https://github.com/cyanheads/faa-aircraft-registry-mcp-server/releases/latest/download/faa-aircraft-registry-mcp-server.mcpb) [](https://cursor.com/en/install-mcp?name=faa-aircraft-registry-mcp-server&config=eyJjb21tYW5kIjoibnB4IiwiYXJncyI6WyIteSIsIkBjeWFuaGVhZHMvZmFhLWFpcmNyYWZ0LXJlZ2lzdHJ5LW1jcC1zZXJ2ZXIiXX0=) [](https://vscode.dev/redirect?url=vscode:mcp/install?%7B%22name%22%3A%22faa-aircraft-registry-mcp-server%22%2C%22command%22%3A%22npx%22%2C%22args%22%3A%5B%22-y%22%2C%22%40cyanheads%2Ffaa-aircraft-registry-mcp-server%22%5D%7D)\n\n[](https://www.npmjs.com/package/@cyanheads/mcp-ts-core)\n\n
\n\n---\n\n## Overview\n\nThe entire US civil aircraft registry as an offline lookup server. Resolve a tail number to its aircraft, make/model, engine, year, and registered owner; search by owner, type, or state; decode manufacturer and engine codes to specs; and resolve registration status across active, deregistered, and reserved records.\n\nThe data is the FAA's [Releasable Aircraft Database](https://registry.faa.gov/database/ReleasableAircraft.zip) — the full registry published by the FAA Civil Aviation Registry as a public-domain bulk download (a US Government work, no copyright). There is no keyless live FAA registry API, so the server builds a local index from that download instead: `MASTER` → `ACFTREF` → `ENGINE` are pre-joined into an embedded SQLite + FTS5 index, and every coded field is decoded at query time. Queries hit that local index — keyless, no runtime network, no per-request rate limit.\n\nThe index is **not bundled** with the package. On first use the operator runs `mirror:init` to download and build it (see [First-run setup](#first-run-setup)). Owner name and address are **redacted by default** (see [Owner-PII redaction](#owner-pii-redaction)).\n\nComposes with live flight-tracking data: the Mode S (hex) code this server returns is the ICAO 24-bit address that OpenSky and similar feeds key on, so a tail number or transponder code seen in the air decodes here to its aircraft and status.\n\n## Tools\n\nFive tools covering the registry — two exact-key lookups, two full-text searches, and one cross-file status resolver. Searches return decoded summaries with N-numbers (or 6–7-character reference codes) to drill into via the matching lookup.\n\n| Tool | Description |\n|:---|:---|\n| `faa_lookup_registration` | Decode one N-number to its full pre-joined active record — aircraft make/model, engine, year, airworthiness, registration status, Mode S code, and registered owner (when redaction is off). |\n| `faa_get_registration_status` | Resolve an N-number across all three status files (active, deregistered, reserved) in priority order, returning a definitive `recordType`. |\n| `faa_search_registrations` | Search active registrations by owner name, make/model, state, aircraft type, or Mode S code. |\n| `faa_search_aircraft_types` | Search the aircraft reference table by manufacturer/model name, type, or category to discover manufacturer-model codes. |\n| `faa_get_aircraft_type` | Decode a 6–7-character manufacturer/model/series code to aircraft specs — category, type, engine, seats, weight class, cruise speed, type-certificate data. |\n\n### `faa_lookup_registration`\n\nThe primary tool. Decode one N-number to its full record in a single call.\n\n- Accepts `N12345` or `12345` — the leading `N` is optional, and the number is normalized before lookup\n- Resolves the `MASTER` → `ACFTREF` → `ENGINE` join and decodes every coded field (aircraft type, engine type, status, airworthiness class, region) — each surfaced as both the raw FAA code and the decoded label\n- Returns the Mode S code in both octal and hex; the hex form is the ICAO 24-bit address used by live flight-tracking feeds\n- Owner name/address are included only when `FAA_REDACT_OWNER_PII=false`; otherwise `ownerRedacted: true` flags that they were withheld\n- A known-but-inactive number (deregistered or reserved) is *not found* here — use `faa_get_registration_status` for the cross-file answer\n\n---\n\n### `faa_get_registration_status`\n\nResolve where an N-number stands across the registry, even when it is no longer active.\n\n- Checks the active (`MASTER`), deregistered (`DEREG`), and reserved (`RESERVED`) files in priority order, returning a discriminated `recordType`: `active`, `deregistered`, `reserved`, or `unknown`\n- A number that was never issued resolves to `recordType: \"unknown\"` — a valid, informative answer rather than an error\n- Each branch carries the fields relevant to that state (active: status + airworthiness + dates; deregistered: cancel date + serial; reserved: reservation type + reserve/purge dates)\n- Owner-PII–free — returns status facts only\n\n---\n\n### `faa_search_registrations`\n\nFull-text search over active registrations, returning decoded summaries with N-numbers for follow-up.\n\n- Filter by `ownerName`, `makeModel`, `state`, `aircraftType`, or `modeSCode`; at least one filter is required\n- **Owner-name search is disabled when `FAA_REDACT_OWNER_PII` is on** — search by make/model, state, type, or Mode S code instead\n- Free-text terms are column-scoped: `makeModel` matches make/model only, never owner name or city\n- Each result carries an N-number to pass to `faa_lookup_registration` for full detail\n- Every response reports `totalCount` across all matches, so a partial result set is never mistaken for complete; page through it with `limit` (1–200, default 25) and `offset` — a truncated response names the `nextOffset` to request\n\n---\n\n### `faa_search_aircraft_types`\n\nDiscover the 6–7-character manufacturer/model/series codes by name before decoding them.\n\n- Filter by `query` (manufacturer/model name, full-text), `aircraftType` code, or `category` code; at least one filter is required\n- Returns reference summaries with the code to pass to `faa_get_aircraft_type`\n- Every response reports `totalCount` across all matches; page through it with `limit` (1–200, default 25) and `offset` — a truncated response names the `nextOffset` to request\n\n## Resources\n\n| Type | Name | Description |\n|:---|:---|:---|\n| Resource | `faa://registration/{nNumber}` | Full registration record for one N-number — the same decoded, pre-joined payload as `faa_lookup_registration`. |\n\nAll registry data is also reachable via tools — the resource is a convenience for clients that inject resources as context. Tool-only clients (the majority) reach the same record through `faa_lookup_registration`, so no data is locked behind the resource. Search collections are not exposed as resources; use the search tools instead.\n\n## Features\n\nBuilt on [`@cyanheads/mcp-ts-core`](https://www.npmjs.com/package/@cyanheads/mcp-ts-core):\n\n- Declarative tool and resource definitions — single file per primitive, framework handles registration and validation\n- Unified error handling — handlers throw, framework catches, classifies, and formats, with typed per-tool error contracts and recovery hints\n- Pluggable auth: `none`, `jwt`, `oauth`\n- Swappable storage backends: `in-memory`, `filesystem`, `Supabase`, `Cloudflare KV/R2/D1`\n- Structured logging with optional OpenTelemetry tracing\n- STDIO and Streamable HTTP transports\n- MCP protocol revision 2026-07-28 alongside initialize-negotiated 2025-era clients\n\nFAA-registry-specific:\n\n- Offline and keyless at runtime — every query hits the local SQLite + FTS5 index; no API key, no runtime network, no rate limit\n- Built on the framework `MirrorService`: `mirror:init` builds the index out-of-band, and the HTTP server schedules a daily refresh aligned to the FAA's nightly re-release\n- Pre-joined `MASTER` → `ACFTREF` → `ENGINE` records, so one call returns \"2008 Cessna 172S, Lycoming IO-360, valid registration\" rather than raw join codes\n- Fail-safe owner-PII redaction — redaction defaults on and drops owner name/address from output *and* disables owner-name search\n\nAgent-friendly output:\n\n- Coded fields surface both the raw FAA code and the decoded label — the label for reasoning, the code so nothing is lost\n- Truncation disclosure — search tools flag `truncated` with `shown`/`cap` when the result set is capped, so a partial page is never read as the whole\n- Permissible-field honesty — fields the FAA leaves blank (year, cruise speed, co-owner names) stay absent rather than fabricated\n- `ownerRedacted` flag on every affected payload, so the agent knows owner data was withheld and why\n- Discriminated status output (`recordType`) so callers branch on data, not string parsing\n\n## Getting started\n\n### Public Hosted Instance\n\nA public instance is available at `https://faa-aircraft-registry.caseyjhand.com/mcp` — no installation required. Point any MCP client at it via Streamable HTTP:\n\n```json\n{\n \"mcpServers\": {\n \"faa-aircraft-registry-mcp-server\": {\n \"type\": \"streamable-http\",\n \"url\": \"https://faa-aircraft-registry.caseyjhand.com/mcp\"\n }\n }\n}\n```\n\n### Self-Hosted / Local\n\n> **First run requires building the local index — see [First-run setup](#first-run-setup) below.** The package does not ship the FAA data; until `mirror:init` has run once, queries fail with a clear \"run mirror:init\" error.\n\nAdd the following to your MCP client configuration file:\n\n```json\n{\n \"mcpServers\": {\n \"faa-aircraft-registry-mcp-server\": {\n \"type\": \"stdio\",\n \"command\": \"bunx\",\n \"args\": [\"@cyanheads/faa-aircraft-registry-mcp-server@latest\"],\n \"env\": {\n \"MCP_TRANSPORT_TYPE\": \"stdio\",\n \"MCP_LOG_LEVEL\": \"info\",\n \"FAA_MIRROR_PATH\": \"/path/to/faa-registry.db\"\n }\n }\n }\n}\n```\n\nOr with npx (no Bun required):\n\n```json\n{\n \"mcpServers\": {\n \"faa-aircraft-registry-mcp-server\": {\n \"type\": \"stdio\",\n \"command\": \"npx\",\n \"args\": [\"-y\", \"@cyanheads/faa-aircraft-registry-mcp-server@latest\"],\n \"env\": {\n \"MCP_TRANSPORT_TYPE\": \"stdio\",\n \"MCP_LOG_LEVEL\": \"info\",\n \"FAA_MIRROR_PATH\": \"/path/to/faa-registry.db\"\n }\n }\n }\n}\n```\n\nOr with Docker (mount a volume at `/usr/src/app/.mirror` so the built index persists across containers — build it once with `docker exec … bun run mirror:init`):\n\n```json\n{\n \"mcpServers\": {\n \"faa-aircraft-registry-mcp-server\": {\n \"type\": \"stdio\",\n \"command\": \"docker\",\n \"args\": [\n \"run\", \"-i\", \"--rm\",\n \"-e\", \"MCP_TRANSPORT_TYPE=stdio\",\n \"-v\", \"faa-registry:/usr/src/app/.mirror\",\n \"ghcr.io/cyanheads/faa-aircraft-registry-mcp-server:latest\"\n ]\n }\n }\n}\n```\n\nFor Streamable HTTP, set the transport and start the server:\n\n```sh\nMCP_TRANSPORT_TYPE=http MCP_HTTP_PORT=3010 bun run start:http\n# Server listens at http://localhost:3010/mcp\n```\n\n`FAA_MIRROR_PATH` points the server at the index that `mirror:init` builds — set it to a persistent path so the index survives across runs. Owner PII is redacted by default; set `FAA_REDACT_OWNER_PII=false` only on a trusted local install to expose owner detail.\n\n### First-run setup\n\nThe FAA Releasable Aircraft Database is not bundled with the package — it is a public dataset (~70 MB compressed, refreshed daily by the FAA) that the operator downloads and indexes once before first use. Building the index produces a local SQLite file of a few hundred MB.\n\nAfter installing, build the index out-of-band (never on server startup — a full parse of ~1M rows must not block start):\n\n```sh\n# Build the local index from the live FAA download (idempotent, resumable)\nFAA_MIRROR_PATH=/path/to/faa-registry.db bun run mirror:init\n\n# Verify it built (readiness + integrity check)\nFAA_MIRROR_PATH=/path/to/faa-registry.db bun run mirror:verify\n\n# Rebuild from the latest FAA release (run on a schedule, or out-of-band for stdio)\nFAA_MIRROR_PATH=/path/to/faa-registry.db bun run mirror:refresh\n```\n\n- **Keep the path stable.** Point `FAA_MIRROR_PATH` (and the same env var in your MCP client config) at a persistent location so the built index is reused across runs. Default: `.mirror/faa-registry.db`.\n- **Daily refresh.** Under HTTP transport the server schedules a daily `mirror:refresh` aligned to the FAA's nightly re-release (~11:30 PM Central). If an interrupted rebuild leaves the index empty, queries fail loudly with `ServiceUnavailable` until the rebuild succeeds. Under stdio, run `mirror:refresh` out-of-band (e.g. a cron job).\n- **Docker.** The image ships the mirror CLI and a writable `.mirror` data directory owned by the runtime user. Mount a volume there and run `mirror:init` once (e.g. `docker exec bun run mirror:init`, or a one-shot init job against the shared volume) so the index persists across container restarts.\n- **Until the index exists,** every query fails with a `ServiceUnavailable` error whose recovery hint points to `mirror:init` — there is no live API to fall back to, so the cold state surfaces loudly rather than returning empty results.\n\nThe source URL is overridable via `FAA_DATABASE_URL` (for a private or cached mirror); it is read only at ingest time, never per request.\n\n### Prerequisites\n\n- [Bun v1.4](https://bun.sh/) or higher (or Node.js v24+). `bun:sqlite` is built into Bun; a Node-only deployment adds `better-sqlite3` (already declared as an optional peer dependency).\n- Disk space for the built index (a few hundred MB) at `FAA_MIRROR_PATH`.\n- Network access at `mirror:init` / `mirror:refresh` time to download the FAA ZIP. Not needed at query time.\n\n### Installation\n\nFor local development or self-hosting from source:\n\n1. **Clone the repository:**\n\n```sh\ngit clone https://github.com/cyanheads/faa-aircraft-registry-mcp-server.git\n```\n\n2. **Navigate into the directory:**\n\n```sh\ncd faa-aircraft-registry-mcp-server\n```\n\n3. **Install dependencies:**\n\n```sh\nbun install\n```\n\n4. **Build the index** (see [First-run setup](#first-run-setup)):\n\n```sh\nbun run mirror:init\n```\n\n## Configuration\n\n| Variable | Description | Default |\n|:---|:---|:---|\n| `FAA_REDACT_OWNER_PII` | Redact owner name/address from output and disable owner-name search. Fail-safe: unset, empty, or malformed resolves to redacted. Set `false` only on a trusted local install. | `true` |\n| `FAA_MIRROR_PATH` | Filesystem path to the SQLite index file. Point at a persistent path; mount a volume here in production. | `.mirror/faa-registry.db` |\n| `FAA_DATABASE_URL` | Source URL for the FAA Releasable Aircraft Database ZIP, used by `mirror:init` / `mirror:refresh` only. Overridable for a private/cached mirror; never read at request time. | FAA registry ZIP |\n| `MCP_TRANSPORT_TYPE` | Transport: `stdio` or `http`. | `stdio` |\n| `MCP_SESSION_MODE` | Session mode: `auto` (resolves to stateful), `stateful`, or `stateless`. The included `.env.example` and Docker image explicitly use stateless mode because this server has no multi-round-trip input. | `stateless` |\n| `MCP_HTTP_PORT` | Port for the HTTP server. | `3010` |\n| `MCP_HTTP_ENDPOINT_PATH` | HTTP endpoint path where the MCP server is mounted. | `/mcp` |\n| `MCP_AUTH_MODE` | Auth mode: `none`, `jwt`, or `oauth`. | `none` |\n| `MCP_LOG_LEVEL` | Log level (RFC 5424). | `info` |\n| `LOGS_DIR` | Directory for log files (Node.js only). | `/logs` |\n| `OTEL_ENABLED` | Enable [OpenTelemetry instrumentation](https://github.com/cyanheads/mcp-ts-core/tree/main/docs/telemetry) (spans, metrics, completion logs). | `false` |\n\nSee [`.env.example`](./.env.example) for the full list of optional overrides.\n\n### Owner-PII redaction\n\nThe FAA registry is releasable public record, but `MASTER`, `DEREG`, and `RESERVED` carry registrant **names and physical addresses** (deregistered records carry both mailing and physical address blocks plus co-owner names). This server ships a first-class redaction mode, **redacted by default**:\n\n- `FAA_REDACT_OWNER_PII` defaults to `true`. Unset, empty, or malformed all resolve to redacted, so a deployment can never leak PII by omission or misconfiguration.\n- When redacted: registrant name, street/physical address, and co-owner names are dropped from every output, **and owner-name search is disabled** (`faa_search_registrations` rejects `ownerName`). Disabling search matters — output-hiding alone would let an agent confirm a person↔aircraft link by probing the search input.\n- Aircraft facts (make/model/engine/year/specs) and registration status still flow, with `ownerRedacted: true` on every affected payload.\n- Full owner detail requires explicitly setting `FAA_REDACT_OWNER_PII=false` — appropriate for a trusted local or self-hosted install, not a shared endpoint.\n\n## Running the server\n\n### Local development\n\n- **Build and run:**\n\n ```sh\n # One-time build\n bun run rebuild\n\n # Build the local index (see First-run setup)\n bun run mirror:init\n\n # Run the built server\n bun run start:stdio\n # or\n bun run start:http\n ```\n\n- **Run checks and tests:**\n\n ```sh\n bun run devcheck # Lint, format, typecheck, security\n bun run test # Vitest test suite\n bun run lint:mcp # Validate MCP definitions against spec\n ```\n\n### Docker\n\n```sh\ndocker build -t faa-aircraft-registry-mcp-server .\ndocker run --rm -e MCP_TRANSPORT_TYPE=http -p 3010:3010 \\\n -v faa-registry:/usr/src/app/.mirror faa-aircraft-registry-mcp-server\n# Build the index once against the mounted volume:\ndocker run --rm -v faa-registry:/usr/src/app/.mirror faa-aircraft-registry-mcp-server bun run mirror:init\n```\n\nThe Dockerfile defaults to HTTP transport with stateless sessions, ships the `mirror:init`/`mirror:refresh`/`mirror:verify` CLI, pre-creates a writable `.mirror` data directory owned by the runtime user (mount a volume there and run `mirror:init` once to build and persist the index), and logs to `/var/log/faa-aircraft-registry-mcp-server`. OpenTelemetry peer dependencies are installed by default — build with `--build-arg OTEL_ENABLED=false` to omit them.\n\n## Project structure\n\n| Directory | Purpose |\n|:---|:---|\n| `src/index.ts` | `createApp()` entry point — registers tools and the resource, inits the registry service, and schedules the daily refresh under HTTP transport. |\n| `src/config` | Server-specific environment variable parsing and validation with Zod. |\n| `src/mcp-server/tools` | Tool definitions (`*.tool.ts`). |\n| `src/mcp-server/resources` | Resource definitions (`*.resource.ts`). |\n| `src/services/registry` | Registry service — the SQLite + FTS5 mirror, ingester, decode maps, N-number normalizer, and the owner-PII redaction gate. |\n| `scripts/faa-mirror-*.ts` | Mirror lifecycle CLI — `mirror:init`, `mirror:refresh`, `mirror:verify`. |\n| `tests/` | Unit and integration tests mirroring `src/`. |\n\n## Development guide\n\nSee [`CLAUDE.md`/`AGENTS.md`](./CLAUDE.md) for development guidelines and architectural rules. The short version:\n\n- Handlers throw, framework catches — no `try/catch` in tool logic\n- Use `ctx.log` for request-scoped logging, `ctx.state` for tenant-scoped storage\n- Register new tools and resources via the barrels in `src/mcp-server/*/definitions/index.ts`\n- The registry index is the source of truth at runtime — there is no upstream API to retry; build and refresh it out-of-band, and never fabricate a value from a blank upstream field\n\n## Contributing\n\nIssues and pull requests are welcome. Run checks and tests before submitting:\n\n```sh\nbun run devcheck\nbun run test\n```\n\n## License\n\nApache-2.0 — see [LICENSE](LICENSE) for details.\n\nThe FAA Releasable Aircraft Database is a public-domain US Government work, published by the FAA Civil Aviation Registry. This project redistributes none of that data; operators download it directly from the FAA at install time.\n",
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