Skip to main content
Glama

Read a Napkin interface

napkin_interfaces_get
Read-only

Read one interface: its name, the flows it may run (with the published version each is pinned to), and the contents of its files. READ BEFORE EDITING — napkin_interfaces_write matches text exactly against what is there now. Pass a path to read one file when the interface has several. An interface is plain HTML, CSS and JavaScript in one or more files, served from its own origin. Put styles in a block. LIBRARIES: there is no build step and no CDN, and a to any other site is blocked. A fixed shelf of libraries is served from the interface's own origin instead; load them with exactly these tags (the versions are pinned, and any other /lib/ path is not found): PREACT + HTM, for a page with several screens or a lot of state — components and hooks with no build: then var html = htm.bind(preact.h); var useState = preactHooks.useState; function App(){ var s = useState(0); return html<button onClick=${function(){ s[1](s[0] + 1) }}>${s[0]}</button> } preact.render(html<${App}/>, document.getElementById("app")). Templates are tagged strings (html…), not JSX. CHART.JS, for a chart: then new Chart(canvasElement, { type: "bar" | "line" | "doughnut" | …, data: { labels: [...], datasets: [{ label, data: [...] }] }, options: {} }). Color the datasets from the brand variables, read with getComputedStyle(document.documentElement).getPropertyValue("--brand-accent"). LUCIDE, for icons: . In plain markup, write and call lucide.createIcons() once it's on the page (again after adding more). In a Preact page DON'T — createIcons swaps elements Preact owns; draw the icon from its shapes instead: lucide.icons.Calendar is a list of [tag, attributes], so render with preact.h(tag, attributes) for each (the app starter has an Icon component that does this). Names are lucide.dev's: kebab-case in markup, PascalCase in lucide.icons. A one-screen page needs none of these: plain HTML, CSS and JavaScript is still the default. React, Tailwind and every other library are not available. index.html is the entry point and must exist. THE BRAND: every interface carries the workspace brand as files — link it with and style with its variables: var(--brand-ink), var(--brand-muted), var(--brand-background), var(--brand-surface), var(--brand-accent), var(--brand-accent-2), var(--brand-color-) (napkin_interfaces_view lists the exact names this brand defines), var(--brand-font-heading), var(--brand-font-body), var(--brand-radius). Never hard-code the brand's colours or font names. brand.css already loads the brand's own font files; web fonts (Google Fonts or any other) are BLOCKED, so linking one leaves the page in a system font. The brand's logos are files under brand/ (brand.css lists them at the top): . Use the logo rather than typing the name, and real icons (inline SVG) rather than emoji. Read the brand with napkin_brand_get first, and say only what the brand kit or the user tells you. PICTURES: a picture from anywhere on the web is BLOCKED and draws as a broken image, so never use an external image URL. Show a picture from the workspace's files with (in CSS, url(file:)) — PNG, JPEG, GIF or WebP, up to 5 MB. Write the reference literally; a file id assembled in JavaScript is not found. When the user gives you a picture in chat, save it with workspace_files_save_from_chat and use the file id it returns. A picture that's only on a website has to be attached in chat first, or uploaded in the interface's Files panel. LOOK before you hand it over: napkin_interfaces_view draws the page as it is now. Fix anything that doesn't look like the brand and look again. Load the client with . Then zw.ready() resolves with the context { viewer, grants, flows, tables, metrics, tasks }; ctx.flows lists the flow grants, each with its id, name and variables. zw.flows.run(flow.id, input) runs one. Call it inside zw.ready().then(...), and handle the rejection — it rejects only when the page isn't open in ZeroWidth, so show "Open this from ZeroWidth" there instead of a dead button. A run can take up to two minutes; show it working (stream it, below), and show the error's message when one fails — err.message is a sentence written for the person using the page. Input is {kind:"chat", messages:[{role:"user", content:"…"}]} or {kind:"form", values:{…}} — the same shapes the public API takes. zw.replyText(result) pulls the assistant text out of a chat result. SOURCES: when the flow searches a knowledge base, zw.sources(result) lists the documents the run actually read, as [{ name, documentId }], once each. Show those under the answer for "where did this come from" — never ask the model to write a sources line and parse it out of the text. The flow needs the knowledge base attached BEFORE it is published (workbench_flows_attach_knowledge_base, then workbench_flows_publish, then re-grant the new version here); the interface runs the published version it was granted. FEEDBACK: to let someone rate an answer or flag a wrong one, call zw.feedback.send(result, { rating: "up" | "down", correction, comment }) with the result zw.flows.run returned. It goes to Caliper, into the flow's feedback dataset, with the question and the answer taken from the run itself; correction is what the answer should have been. Needs no extra grant and no table — never make a table to log flagged answers. It returns a promise: say it was sent only once it resolves, and show the error's message if it rejects. Tell the user flagged answers are in Caliper, in the dataset named after the flow, under Datasets. VARIABLES: a flow grant lists variables — the values the flow reads besides the conversation, usually the {{key}} tokens in its prompt (who the user is, their plan, the page they are on). Send them on the same chat run: {kind:"chat", messages:[…], values:{: value}}, using each variable's exact name and its type (string, number, boolean, array, object). A variable left out reaches the prompt empty. Read them from napkin_interfaces_get while you write the page, or at run time from ctx.flows[i].variables. A SHIM is not a flow and takes a different call: zw.shims.run(shimId, text), which decides on the viewer's own device with no network and no cost. It resolves with the same envelope a flow does, so read the decision with zw.decision(result) — NOT result.decision, which is undefined and makes an interface show one answer for every input. The decision is { answer, confidence, familiarity, action, probs, gates }; branch on action, the shim's own call about whether it was sure enough. Calling zw.flows.run with a shim id is refused. ctx.grants tells you which you have: each entry carries a kind of "flow" or "shim" alongside its id and name. DATA: an interface can be granted a sheet TABLE or a Ledger METRIC with napkin_interfaces_grant_data. ctx.tables lists each table with its fields (name, type, options) and access ("read", "add" or "edit"); ctx.metrics lists each metric with its unit and access ("read" or "record"). Records travel keyed by field NAME, choices by option NAME. zw.tables.query(table, { where: [{ field, op, value }], sort: [{ field, dir }], limit }) resolves { records: [{ id, fields }], total }; zw.tables.add(table, { Field: value }) or a list adds records; zw.tables.update(table, id, fields) and zw.tables.remove(table, ids) need "edit". zw.metrics.read(metric, { from, to }) resolves { metric, readings: [{ value, at, note }] }; zw.metrics.record(metric, value, { note }) needs "record". Name a table or metric by its id or its name. Through a share link a guest can read and add, never change or delete — so an intake form works when shared, a triage board needs a signed-in viewer. A granted Workbench TASK (ctx.tasks; each says whether it takesInput) starts with zw.tasks.start(task, input), which resolves { runId, status } at once — the run carries on after the page closes — and zw.tasks.get(task, runId) reads { status, output } for runs this page started. Running a shim on every keystroke is fine — it costs nothing and there is no rate limit. Debounce ~150ms and COALESCE: remember the latest text and run it when the current call finishes, so the answer matches what is on screen. Clear any in-flight guard on failure as well as success, or one call that doesn't come back wedges the interface. d.action is "act" | "suggest" | "refuse" — those three strings, nothing else. Branch on it rather than on a confidence threshold you invent; "refuse" means the shim doesn't recognise the input well enough to answer, so say so rather than showing a low-confidence guess. If you run a requestAnimationFrame loop, remove CSS transitions from any property it writes — the two fight and the property looks frozen. A flow answers in markdown: render it with el.replaceChildren(zw.markdown(text)). It builds DOM nodes, so model output is never treated as markup. STREAM chat answers: zw.flows.run(id, input, { onEvent: fn }) delivers the text token by token, and a flow that takes several seconds reads as broken without it. Use zw.textDelta(event) for each chunk — it returns null for anything that isn't text, so pass it every event — and accumulate. The promise still settles at the end with the whole result; take the final text from there. onEvent also sees node_start / node_complete / node_error if you want to name the step. Don't name a top-level variable history, name, status, length, origin or top: those are already window properties, so var history = [] leaves you with the browser's History object and history.push fails. Prefix it, or keep it inside a function. THE KIT: every new interface also has kit.css, components built only from the brand's variables — link it after brand.css () and build from its classes rather than styling from scratch: layout (.page, .page.wide, .header, .stack, .row, .grid), type (h1, h2, h3, .muted, .small, .label, .num, .stat), buttons (.btn, .btn.secondary, .btn.quiet, .btn.sm, .btn.icon), fields (.field with a .label, then .input / .select / .textarea, then a .hint or .error; .check for a checkbox), .chips and .chip, .badge (.up, .down, .accent), .card, .list, .meter, states (.empty, .skeleton, .spinner, .notice, .notice.error), chat (.thread, .bubble.me, .bubble.them, .typing, .composer), and .icon for a Lucide icon. Its tokens are var(--ink), var(--muted), var(--bg), var(--surface), var(--accent), var(--line), var(--tint), var(--radius) and spacing var(--s1)…var(--s7). The starters show the kit used well; read one before writing a page of your own. Design it the way a good product is designed: a clear hierarchy, real spacing, states for loading, empty and failure, and a layout that works on a phone first. Use the brand kit (napkin_brand_get) for what the brand looks like and how it sounds.

Input Schema

NameRequiredDescriptionDefault
pathNoOne file to read, e.g. index.html. Omit for every file.
workspaceNoWorkspace slug. Personal tokens with no default workspace MUST pass this; tokens with a default can override per call. Ignored for workspace API keys.
interfaceIdYesInterface id from napkin_interfaces_list.

Schema Changelog

Changes observed during successful MCP inspections.

  1. First observed

TDQS

A3.5/5.0
Behavior3/5

Does the description disclose side effects, auth requirements, rate limits, or destructive behavior?

Annotations already declare readOnlyHint=true, destructiveHint=false and openWorldHint=false, so the safety profile is covered. The description adds useful context that a grant is pinned to a published version and that the returned files are raw HTML/CSS/JS served from their own origin, but discloses nothing about auth needs, pagination or the exact response shape.

Agents need to know what a tool does to the world before calling it. Descriptions should go beyond structured annotations to explain consequences.

Conciseness2/5

Is the description appropriately sized, front-loaded, and free of redundancy?

The tool-relevant content is correctly front-loaded into the first two sentences, which is the only thing keeping this above a 1. Everything after that — library tags, brand variables, shim semantics, kit.css classes, streaming, feedback — is a build manual for napkin_interfaces_write and buys a reader of a read-only tool nothing.

Shorter descriptions cost fewer tokens and are easier for agents to parse. Every sentence should earn its place.

Completeness4/5

Given the tool's complexity, does the description cover enough for an agent to succeed on first attempt?

With no output schema, the description does carry the return shape, which it does well (name, flow grants plus pinned version, file contents) and it makes the read-before-write ordering clear. What is missing is small and adjacent: no indication of size limits, truncation, or how a multi-file interface is keyed back to `path`.

Complex tools with many parameters or behaviors need more documentation. Simple tools need less. This dimension scales expectations accordingly.

Parameters3/5

Does the description clarify parameter syntax, constraints, interactions, or defaults beyond what the schema provides?

Schema description coverage is 100%, so all three parameters are already documented in the schema. The description adds only a light gloss on `path` ('one file when the interface has several'), which is baseline-consistent rather than compensating for a gap.

Input schemas describe structure but not intent. Descriptions should explain non-obvious parameter relationships and valid value ranges.

Purpose4/5

Does the description clearly state what the tool does and how it differs from similar tools?

The opening sentence is specific: it reads one interface and enumerates what comes back (name, flow grants with the pinned published version, file contents), and it explicitly differentiates from napkin_interfaces_write via 'READ BEFORE EDITING'. It never positions itself against the closest read-side sibling, napkin_interfaces_view, and the following ~2,000 words are about authoring, not reading.

Agents choose between tools based on descriptions. A clear purpose with a specific verb and resource helps agents select the right tool.

Usage Guidelines4/5

Does the description explain when to use this tool, when not to, or what alternatives exist?

Gives a clear trigger condition ('READ BEFORE EDITING') and a per-case rule ('Pass a path to read one file when the interface has several'). It does not name the alternative for previewing the rendered page (napkin_interfaces_view) or for finding an interfaceId (napkin_interfaces_list), both of which an agent must pick between.

Agents often have multiple tools that could apply. Explicit usage guidance like "use X instead of Y when Z" prevents misuse.

Try in Browser

Glama MCP Gateway

Add one secure layer between your agents and this server.

Resources