Portuguese MCP Server

Portuguese legislation via MCP — full-text search across statutes and provisions

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What is the Portuguese MCP server?

Portuguese legislation via MCP — full-text search across statutes and provisions. That is what the portuguese mcp server brings to an AI assistant: the same capability, reachable through the Model Context Protocol rather than a separate app or dashboard.

The short version

First request opens an OAuth signup flow (setup details: ansvar.eu/docs/quickstart). After signup, your client is bound to your account; tier (free / premium / team / company) determines fan-out, quota, and which downstream MCPs are reachable.

We build AI-accelerated compliance and legal research tools for the European market. This MCP server started as our internal reference tool for Portuguese law -- turns out everyone building compliance tools for the Iberian and Lusophone market has the same research frustrations.

  • A lawyer validating citations in a brief or contract
  • A compliance officer checking RGPD implementation or Código do Trabalho requirements
  • A legal tech developer building tools on Portuguese law
  • A researcher tracing EU directives through to Portuguese legislation

The tools it exposes

The server publishes 14 tools. What each one is for:

  • search_legislation — FTS5 search on 81,012 provisions with BM25 ranking
  • get_provision — Retrieve specific provision by lei/decreto-lei identifier + artigo
  • validate_citation — Validate citation against database (zero-hallucination check)
  • build_legal_stance — Aggregate citations from statutes and preparatory works
  • format_citation — Format citations per Portuguese conventions (full/short/pinpoint)
  • check_currency — Check if statute is in force, amended, or repealed
  • list_sources — List all available statutes with metadata and data provenance
  • about — Server info, capabilities, dataset statistics, and coverage summary
  • get_eu_basis — Get EU directives/regulations for Portuguese statute
  • get_portuguese_implementations — Find Portuguese laws implementing EU act
  • search_eu_implementations — Search EU documents with Portuguese implementation counts
  • get_provision_eu_basis — Get EU law references for specific provision

Getting it running

@anthropic/mcp-inspector on npm is all you need. Most clients run it directly, so configuration is a few lines and a restart.

How it compares

This sits in the database access group, where several servers overlap in what they claim to do but differ sharply once you actually set them up. Portuguese's toolset — search_legislation, get_provision, validate_citation and 11 more — is a fair guide to whether it matches your workflow. It is maintained by eu.ansvar; worth a glance at recent repository activity before you build anything load-bearing on it.

We check each listing at SyncDev against the project's documentation before it goes live — if something here drifts out of date, it is a bug worth reporting.

Things to watch

  • It runs with your machine's permissions. That is convenient and also the reason to think about what you point it at before you approve a tool call.
  • With 14 tools registered it takes up a noticeable share of the context window; turn it off in projects that never touch Portuguese.
  • Keep per-call confirmation enabled while you learn its behaviour; it is the cheapest safeguard you have.

Available tools

ToolWhat it does
search_legislationFTS5 search on 81,012 provisions with BM25 ranking
get_provisionRetrieve specific provision by lei/decreto-lei identifier + artigo
validate_citationValidate citation against database (zero-hallucination check)
build_legal_stanceAggregate citations from statutes and preparatory works
format_citationFormat citations per Portuguese conventions (full/short/pinpoint)
check_currencyCheck if statute is in force, amended, or repealed
list_sourcesList all available statutes with metadata and data provenance
aboutServer info, capabilities, dataset statistics, and coverage summary
get_eu_basisGet EU directives/regulations for Portuguese statute
get_portuguese_implementationsFind Portuguese laws implementing EU act
search_eu_implementationsSearch EU documents with Portuguese implementation counts
get_provision_eu_basisGet EU law references for specific provision
validate_eu_complianceCheck implementation status (requires EU MCP)
ConnectFirst request opens an OAuth signup flow (setup details: [ansvar.eu/docs/quickstart](https://ansvar.eu/docs/quickstart)). After signup, your client is bound to your account; tier (free / premium / team / company) determi

How to install the Portuguese MCP server

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "portuguese-law": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@anthropic/mcp-inspector"]
    }
  }
}

Add to claude_desktop_config.json, then restart Claude Desktop.

Example prompts to try

  • Use Portuguese to search legislation.
  • Use Portuguese to get provision.
  • Use Portuguese to validate citation.

Frequently asked questions

It connects Portuguese to MCP-compatible AI assistants such as Claude and Cursor, exposing 14 tools (search_legislation, get_provision, validate_citation, and more) that the assistant can call on your behalf. Instead of copying data back and forth by hand, the assistant works with Portuguese directly.