Terrain MCP

Generic terrain analysis over gridded elevation data and point clouds. Analyze a Digital Elevation Model (DEM) for elevation, slope, aspect, and site suitability, or read an x/y/z point cloud and grid it into a DEM-like surface.

Tools

dem_terrain

Analyze a DEM grid. Computes per-cell slope and aspect, then a site-suitability mask from optional elevation_min, elevation_max, and slope_max_degrees criteria.

• Formats: CSV numeric grid, NPY, NPZ (uses a dem array if present).
• GeoTIFF (.tif/.tiff) needs the optional geotiff extra (rasterio).
• Returns {ok, shape, cell_size, metadata, criteria, valid_cell_count, suitable_cell_count, suitable_fraction, elevation, slope_degrees, aspect_degrees, representative_suitable_cells}.

pointcloud_read

Read an x/y/z point cloud and bin it onto a regular grid (mean z per cell) to produce a DEM-like surface.

• Formats: CSV with x,y,z columns, NPY, NPZ (uses x/y/z or points).
• LAS/LAZ needs the optional laz extra (laspy).
• With output_dem_path, writes the gridded surface as a CSV DEM you can feed straight into dem_terrain.
• Returns {ok, point_count, grid_cell_size, metadata, bounds, grid_shape, filled_cell_count, empty_cell_count, output_dem_path, x, y, z, gridded_elevation}.

Optional extras

pip install 'terrain-mcp[geotiff]'   # GeoTIFF DEMs via rasterio
pip install 'terrain-mcp[laz]'       # LAS/LAZ point clouds via laspy

Without the extras, CSV/NPY/NPZ work out of the box; requesting GeoTIFF or LAS/LAZ returns an actionable tool error.

Run

uvx clio-kit terrain   # via the clio-kit launcher
terrain-mcp            # direct entry point

Test

uv run pytest -v

Capabilities

dem_terrain

Description: Analyze a Digital Elevation Model grid for elevation, slope, aspect, and site suitability. Accepts CSV numeric grids, NPY, and NPZ (with a 'dem' array); GeoTIFF requires the optional rasterio extra. Returns grid shape, summary statistics, suitability counts, and representative suitable cells. Hints: read-only, idempotent Tags: dem, slope, suitability, terrain

pointcloud_read

Description: Read an x/y/z point cloud and grid it into a DEM-like surface by averaging z per cell. Accepts CSV with x,y,z columns, NPY, and NPZ; LAS/LAZ requires the optional laspy extra. Optionally writes the gridded surface to a CSV DEM for downstream dem_terrain analysis. Returns point/grid stats and bounds. Hints: idempotent Tags: dem, gridding, pointcloud, terrain

Resources

• terrain://capabilities - Supported input formats, tools, and safety limits for terrain analysis.

Prompts

• terrain_suitability_workflow: Guided workflow for assessing site suitability from terrain data.

Claude Code

claude mcp add clio-terrain -- uvx clio-kit terrain

Or install via the CLIO Kit plugin marketplace:

/plugin marketplace add iowarp/clio-kit
/plugin install clio-terrain@iowarp-clio-kit

Claude Desktop

Add to your Claude Desktop config (claude_desktop_config.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "clio-terrain": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "clio-kit",
        "terrain"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Gemini CLI

Add to ~/.gemini/settings.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "clio-terrain": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "clio-kit",
        "terrain"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Or install the CLIO Kit extension:

gemini extensions install https://github.com/iowarp/clio-kit