# GSA Per Diem (MCP server)

> GSA Per Diem is an MCP server that adds tools to AI assistants such as Claude Desktop, Claude Code and Cursor. GSA Per Diem access readiness, lodging, and meals and incidental expense rates. It has 27 GitHub stars, is released under the MIT license and runs locally with uvx gsa-perdiem-mcp.

Free, open-source MCP server for the GSA Per Diem Rates API. Federal travel lodging and M&IE rates for IGCEs and travel cost estimation.

## Key facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Repository | https://github.com/1102tools-dev/federal-contracting-mcps |
| GitHub stars | 27 |
| License | MIT |
| Language | Python |
| Transport | stdio, streamable-http |
| Packages | pypi: gsa-perdiem-mcp |
| Remote URL | https://gsa-perdiem.1102tools.com/mcp |
| Needs API key | yes |
| Official | yes |
| Works with | Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code, Claude.ai, ChatGPT |
| Category | Other |
| Latest release | v1.0.34 (Oct 21, 2026) |
| Last commit | Oct 25, 2026 |
| MCP registry name | com.1102tools/gsa-perdiem-mcp |

## Install

### Claude Desktop (claude_desktop_config.json)

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "gsa-per-diem": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "gsa-perdiem-mcp"
      ],
      "env": {
        "PERDIEM_API_KEY": "your-value"
      }
    }
  }
}
```

Settings > Developer > Edit Config. macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/, Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\. Restart Claude Desktop afterwards.

### Claude Code

```sh
claude mcp add --env PERDIEM_API_KEY=your-value --transport stdio gsa-per-diem -- uvx gsa-perdiem-mcp
```

### Cursor (.cursor/mcp.json)

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "gsa-per-diem": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "gsa-perdiem-mcp"
      ],
      "env": {
        "PERDIEM_API_KEY": "your-value"
      }
    }
  }
}
```

Project file; use ~/.cursor/mcp.json to enable it in every project.

### VS Code (.vscode/mcp.json)

```json
{
  "inputs": [
    {
      "type": "promptString",
      "id": "perdiem_api_key",
      "description": "PERDIEM_API_KEY",
      "password": true
    }
  ],
  "servers": {
    "gsa-per-diem": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "gsa-perdiem-mcp"
      ],
      "env": {
        "PERDIEM_API_KEY": "${input:perdiem_api_key}"
      }
    }
  }
}
```

### Claude Code (remote)

```sh
claude mcp add --transport http gsa-per-diem "https://gsa-perdiem.1102tools.com/mcp"
```

The same server is also hosted as a remote MCP endpoint, so nothing runs on your machine.

Config formats checked against the official docs on 2026-10-07.

## Environment variables

- `PERDIEM_API_KEY` (secret): Free api.data.gov key; required only for city names bundled data can't place, or unbundled fiscal years. Bundled city-plus-county lookups, estimates…

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