# hdx.datasets.search

Search the Humanitarian Data Exchange catalog for datasets by free-text query, country, and/or publishing organization. Returns each dataset's id, title, notes, organization, resource count, dataset date range, license, and tags. Covers population, displacement, food security, health, conflict, and climate data for humanitarian response. Data: HDX CKAN Action API (data.humdata.org), no auth required.

Agent View of the PolicyLayer registry record for `hdx.datasets.search`. HTML page: https://policylayer.com/tools/io-github-whiteknightonhorse-apibase/hdx.datasets.search

## Facts

- Tool: `hdx.datasets.search`
- Server: Apibase (`apibase-mcp-client`) — https://policylayer.com/tools/io-github-whiteknightonhorse-apibase.md
- Install: `npx -y apibase-mcp-client`
- Homepage: https://github.com/whiteknightonhorse/APIbase
- Risk category: Read (Low risk)
- Registry record: grade F, identity unverified
- Server auth posture: open
- Server rate-limited: no
- Parameters: 4
- Recommended policy verdict: Allowed

## Parameters

| Parameter | Type | Required | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `rows` | integer | no | Number of datasets to return (1-20, default 10) |
| `query` | string | no | Free-text search across dataset title/description (e.g. "food security") |
| `country` | string | no | HDX location slug to filter by (e.g. "som" for Somalia, "ukr" for Ukraine) |
| `organization` | string | no | HDX organization slug to filter by (e.g. "who", "unhcr", "ocha-fts") |

Parameters from the server's own tool schema.

## Example call (MCP tools/call, JSON-RPC 2.0)

```json
{
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "id": 1,
  "method": "tools/call",
  "params": {
    "name": "hdx.datasets.search",
    "arguments": {}
  }
}
```

## Why hdx.datasets.search is rated Low

Tool queries and retrieves public humanitarian dataset metadata without side effects.

From the tool's own definition: "Search humanitarian data exchange catalog, returns dataset metadata, no auth required"

## Use case

AI agents call hdx.datasets.search to retrieve information from Apibase without modifying anything. It is typically the context-gathering step in research, monitoring, and reporting workflows, before the agent takes action elsewhere.

## Recommended policy (PolicyLayer)

Verdict: **Allowed**. Enforced by the PolicyLayer MCP gateway (https://policylayer.com/mcp-gateway) before a call reaches Apibase:

```json
{
  "version": "1",
  "default": "deny",
  "tools": {
    "hdx.datasets.search": {}
  }
}
```

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## For agents

This record is a snapshot. Live verdicts and the full registry:

- Check every server in your MCP config at once: `npx -y policylayer stack`
- Vet a server before you add it: install the mcp-precheck skill — `npx skills add https://policylayer.com` (skill text: https://policylayer.com/skill.md)
- Query the registry over MCP: endpoint `https://api.policylayer.com/mcp` — tools `check_mcp_server`, `check_mcp_stack`, `check_tool`, `search_registry`, `get_change_events`

---

Source: the PolicyLayer MCP registry — one continuously verified record per MCP server. Full record: https://policylayer.com/registry?q=io-github-whiteknightonhorse-apibase · API: https://policylayer.com/registry/api · Policy library: https://policylayer.com/policies/io-github-whiteknightonhorse-apibase