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Connector · Geographic information system (GIS)

Esri ArcGIS MCP Server & Agent Skill

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ibl.ai publishes a free Esri ArcGIS agent skill: a SKILL.md that teaches an AI agent to read and write Esri ArcGIS data and expose it as an MCP tool. Download it, connect your own Esri ArcGIS credentials, and run the agent on ibl.ai Agentic OS, where you own all the code and the data.

ArcGIS Online and ArcGIS Enterprise host an organization's maps, feature layers (parcels, assets, incidents, zoning) and imagery, plus Esri location services for geocoding, routing, elevation and basemaps.

What is the Esri ArcGIS API, and what can an agent read from it?

Query and edit feature layers, search portal items, and call location services such as geocoding, routing, places, elevation and static maps. Also covers analysis services and Enterprise administration.

  • API: ArcGIS REST APIs (location services, feature services, portal/sharing API) (REST)
  • Access: Public, self-serve
  • Base URL: https://{root}/{serviceName}/FeatureServer/{layerId}/query; portal: https://{org}.arcgis.com/sharing/rest/
  • Authentication: API key; OAuth 2.0 user authentication; OAuth 2.0 app authentication (client credentials)

Anyone with an ArcGIS Location Platform or ArcGIS Online account can create developer credentials in their portal. Private org data needs a user in that organization; Enterprise is reached at the agency's own host.

API key credentials are portal items whose privileges and expiration you set. User auth signs in an ArcGIS account via OAuth 2.0; app auth gets a short-lived token from a client ID and secret. Send it as the token parameter or header.

What can an agent read from Esri ArcGIS?

  • Feature layer records — .../FeatureServer/{layerId}/query with where, outFields, f=json|geojson, resultOffset and resultRecordCount.
  • Portal items — /sharing/rest/search with q, num (max 100) and start; returns only items the caller may access.
  • Geocoding — World GeocodeServer findAddressCandidates converts addresses to coordinates; a token is required.
  • Routing and elevation — Location services for routes, directions and elevation values.

What can an agent write to Esri ArcGIS?

  • Add or update features — POST .../FeatureServer/{layerId}/applyEdits with adds and updates arrays.
  • Delete features — applyEdits deletes takes the object IDs of features to remove. Confirm with the user first.

Limits: Feature queries are capped by the layer's maxRecordCount; exceededTransferLimit signals more data, so page with resultOffset. Portal search returns at most 100 items per call. Stored geocodes need forStorage=true.

Layers can hold resident addresses and other PII, critical infrastructure locations, or CUI in agency deployments. Geocoding results cannot be stored unless requested with forStorage=true.

How do I connect Esri ArcGIS to an AI agent over MCP?

Esri publishes an official MCP server: MCP for ArcGIS Location Services (beta).

Esri-hosted, in beta. Exposes geocoding, reverse geocoding, routing, elevation and static maps. Needs an ArcGIS Location Platform or Online account; does not cover org feature layers.

You can register that server on ibl.ai as it is, or use the SKILL.md below when you want the agent to call the ArcGIS REST APIs (location services, feature services, portal/sharing API) directly.

On ibl.ai an MCP connection is three records, and a working integration always needs all three:

  1. Register the server — POST …/mcp-servers/ with its URL, a transport (sse, websocket or streamable_http) and an auth_type of none, token or oauth2.
  2. Create a connection that holds the credential, scoped to the whole organization (platform), to a single agent, or to each user (user).
  3. Enable it on the agent — mcp-tool in tool_slugs and the server id in mcp_servers. Both lists are replaced, not merged, so read the settings first.

For an API key or a service credential, one token connection at platform scope serves the whole organization; scope a connection to a single agent when that agent needs narrower access than the rest.

The field reference is in MCP server connections, and the /iblai-api-agent-mcp skill runs all three steps from a coding agent.

What does the Esri ArcGIS agent skill do?

The Esri ArcGIS skill is one SKILL.md file named iblai-connect-esri-arcgis. It gives an agent the auth conventions, what to read, which writes need a person's confirmation, the ibl.ai MCP wiring, example prompts and guardrails.

Download the Esri ArcGIS SKILL.md

Save it as .claude/skills/iblai-connect-esri-arcgis/SKILL.md, or in your agent's skills folder. The ibl.ai platform skills it calls come from one install:

$ npx skills add iblai/vibe --all

This connector skill is a starting point maintained on ibl.ai, not part of the iblai/vibe repository.

It was checked against Esri's documentation on October 20, 2026. Test it against your own Esri ArcGIS setup before you rely on it.

What can I ask an Esri ArcGIS agent to do?

  • “How many open potholes are in the street maintenance layer within District 4?”
  • “Geocode these 25 permit addresses and return their coordinates”
  • “Mark hydrant H-2231 as out of service in our hydrants feature layer”
  • “Find all parcels zoned C-2 that touch Main Street”

How do I run an Esri ArcGIS agent on ibl.ai?

Agentic OS is where the agent runs on ibl.ai: it holds the Esri ArcGIS MCP connection, the model the agent uses, its instructions and its conversation history.

On ibl.ai you own all the code and the data, run it model-agnostic across any LLM, and pay with no per-seat pricing — so you can deploy anywhere, from your own cloud to a fully air-gapped network.

Which ibl.ai agents work with Esri ArcGIS data?

Which ibl.ai platform skills does an Esri ArcGIS agent use?

What else should I know before connecting Esri ArcGIS to an AI agent?

Is there an official Esri ArcGIS MCP server?

Yes. Esri publishes MCP for ArcGIS Location Services (beta).

You can register it on ibl.ai as an MCP server, or use the SKILL.md when you want the agent to call the ArcGIS REST APIs (location services, feature services, portal/sharing API) directly.

Who can get Esri ArcGIS API credentials?

Anyone with an ArcGIS Location Platform or ArcGIS Online account can create developer credentials in their portal. Private org data needs a user in that organization; Enterprise is reached at the agency's own host.

Does Esri ArcGIS data leave my infrastructure when an ibl.ai agent uses it?

On ibl.ai, you own all the code and the data. Self-hosted in your cloud or data center, the agent, its MCP connections and its conversation logs stay inside your perimeter.

Because the platform is model-agnostic, you can point the agent at a model you host, so Esri ArcGIS records need not reach a third-party model provider.

Is the Esri ArcGIS agent skill free to use?

Yes. The SKILL.md is a free download with no sign-up. It assumes you already have Esri ArcGIS credentials, and your agreement with Esri still governs how you use its API.

Which other data sources can an AI agent connect to alongside Esri ArcGIS?

Which other Government systems have a connector?

Which other Enterprise systems have a connector?

Every connector, grouped by sector, is on the connectors hub.