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This tutorial walks through a complete research session using Claude and Atlas MCP. By the end, you’ll have a structured picture of civic work in a city, including who’s active, what sources back them, and where the gaps are. Prerequisites:
  • Atlas account with Pro, Team, or Research Pass
  • Claude Desktop or Claude Code connected to Atlas (setup guide)

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Step 1: Start with a broad question

Open Claude and ask about the city you’re researching:
You: Who’s working on housing and labor issues in Kansas City?
Claude can ask Atlas for matching actors and return a summary. You might see something like:
Claude: I found 31 entities related to housing and labor in Kansas City. Here are the most prominent:
  1. KC Tenants (organization) — Tenant organizing collective fighting for housing justice. Sources: Kansas City Star, KCUR
  2. Stand Up KC (campaign) — Fight for $15 minimum wage campaign. Sources: The Pitch KC, KSHB
  3. Habitat for Humanity KC (organization) — Affordable housing construction. Sources: Kansas City Business Journal …

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Step 2: Drill into specifics

Pick an entity that interests you and ask for details:
You: Tell me more about KC Tenants. What are all the sources?
Claude will use get_entity and get_entity_sources to retrieve the full record:
Claude: KC Tenants is a citywide tenant organizing collective in Kansas City, MO focused on housing justice and tenant rights. Sources (4):
  1. “KC Tenants escalates fight against corporate landlords” — Kansas City Star, March 2026
  2. “Inside Kansas City’s tenant organizing movement” — KCUR, January 2026
  3. “Housing advocates push for rent stabilization” — The Pitch KC, December 2025
  4. “Tenant union wins first eviction moratorium” — Flatland KC, November 2025
Notice that every claim is backed by specific, dated, verifiable sources.

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Step 3: Check coverage gaps

Ask what Atlas doesn’t know about:
You: What issue areas have low coverage in Kansas City?
Claude will use get_place_coverage to analyze gaps:
Claude: Kansas City coverage analysis: Strong coverage: Housing affordability (18 entities), labor and worker power (9 entities), local government (7 entities) Limited coverage: Environmental justice (2 entities), broadband access (1 entity), restorative justice (0 entities), addiction and harm reduction (1 entity) The gaps may indicate areas where Atlas needs more discovery, or where fewer organizations are publicly active.

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Step 4: Explore the broader context

Ask about the city’s profile and issue landscape:
You: What’s the socioeconomic profile of Kansas City? What are the main civic issues?
Claude will use get_place_profile and get_place_issue_signals to provide context.

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Step 5: Follow threads

Use what you’ve learned to go deeper:
You: Find organizations working on environmental justice in the broader Kansas City metro area
You: Are there any worker cooperatives in Kansas City?
You: What other entities are connected to Stand Up KC?
Each question gives Claude a new angle to query Atlas, building up a layered picture of civic work in the city.

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What you’ve accomplished

In a single conversation, you’ve:
  • Identified 30+ people and organizations working on your issues
  • Verified entries against specific, dated sources
  • Discovered coverage gaps that might inform further research
  • Built a contextual understanding of the city’s civic landscape
All without opening a browser tab, scrolling through search results, or maintaining a spreadsheet.

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Next steps

For journalists

How to use Atlas for investigative source discovery.

For organizers

How to use Atlas for scoping a new city.

Atlas capabilities reference

What your assistant can ask Atlas to do, with operation details for compatible clients.

API quickstart

Automate research programmatically.