---
description: List and filter organizations in the National Data Platform
---

# NDP Organizations

List all organizations contributing data to the National Data Platform.

This command provides access to organization discovery functionality through the NDP MCP.

## Available MCP Tool

### `list_organizations`
Lists all organizations in NDP with optional filtering:

**Parameters**:
- **name_filter** (optional): Filter organizations by name substring match
  - Case-insensitive partial matching
  - Example: "climate" matches "Climate Research Center", "NOAA Climate Lab"
- **server** (optional): Server to query
  - `'global'` (default) - Public global NDP server
  - `'local'` - Local/institutional NDP server
  - `'pre_ckan'` - Pre-production server

**Returns**: List of organization names and metadata including:
- Total count of organizations
- Organization names matching filter
- Server queried

## Usage Patterns

### Discover All Organizations
```
"List all organizations in the National Data Platform"
```
Uses: `list_organizations()` - No filter, returns all organizations

### Filter by Keyword
```
"Show me all organizations with 'climate' in their name"
```
Uses: `list_organizations(name_filter="climate")`

### Multi-Server Query
```
"Compare organizations on global and local servers"
```
Uses: `list_organizations(server="global")` and `list_organizations(server="local")`

### Research-Specific Discovery
```
"Find organizations related to oceanographic research"
```
Uses: `list_organizations(name_filter="ocean")` and `list_organizations(name_filter="marine")`

## Why Use This Command

1. **Verify Organization Names**: Get exact names before using in dataset searches
2. **Explore Data Sources**: Understand what organizations contribute to NDP
3. **Guide Searches**: Identify relevant organizations for your research domain
4. **Server Comparison**: See organizational differences between servers
5. **Data Coverage**: Understand breadth of data providers

## Workflow Integration

1. **Start Here**: Use this command before searching datasets
2. **Identify Providers**: Find organizations relevant to your research
3. **Use in Search**: Pass organization names to `search_datasets`
4. **Iterate**: Refine organization filters as needed

## Example Interactions

### Example 1: General Exploration
```
User: "List all organizations available on the local NDP server"
Claude uses: list_organizations(server="local")
Result: Complete list of local organizations with count
```

### Example 2: Targeted Discovery
```
User: "Find organizations related to satellite data"
Claude uses: list_organizations(name_filter="satellite")
Result: Organizations with "satellite" in their name
```

### Example 3: Multi-Keyword Search
```
User: "Show me organizations working on Earth observation"
Claude uses:
  - list_organizations(name_filter="earth")
  - list_organizations(name_filter="observation")
Result: Combined results from both searches
```

### Example 4: Before Dataset Search
```
User: "I want to search for NOAA climate data"
Claude uses: list_organizations(name_filter="noaa")
Result: Exact NOAA organization name(s)
Then: Can proceed with search_datasets(owner_org="<verified_name>")
```

## Tips

- **Use partial names**: "ocean" will match "Oceanographic Institute", "Ocean Research Lab", etc.
- **Try variations**: Search both "climate" and "atmospheric" to find all relevant organizations
- **Check both servers**: Global and local may have different organizations
- **Verify before searching**: Always confirm organization name before using in dataset searches
- **Multiple keywords**: Try related terms to discover all relevant providers