Colour Memory

by app.railway.up.colour-memory-api-production

Archive Keyword Search

archive_search

Read-only

Full-text keyword search across all archive colour names and notes. Find colours by name fragment, material, cultural reference, pigment type, or historical period. Complements conceptual embedding search with exact keyword matching. Examples: 'cerulean' (28 matches, e.g. Bourton Cerulean), 'Prussian' (187 matches spanning pigment history), 'medieval' (over 1,000 matches across period archives). A genuinely obscure query does not come back bare and empty: result_path in the response is 'direct' (exact keyword hit), 'broadened' (archive restriction dropped) or 'redirected' (fell back to conceptual/semantic search), and states which one fired. entity_mode='exact' searches by botanical identity rather than by word: a plain query for 'Rose' matches any cultivar name containing it (including Sweet Peas called 'Rose Pink'), whereas entity_mode='exact' returns genus Rosa only and discloses how many off-genus records were excluded.

Tool call template

Replace each placeholder with a value matching the input schema. Only required parameters are included; add optional parameters as needed.

{
  "id": 1,
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "method": "tools/call",
  "params": {
    "arguments": {
      "query": "<query>"
    },
    "name": "archive_search"
  }
}

Input Schema

Name	Required	Description	Default
`limit`	No	Alias for n_results
`query`	Yes	Search term e.g. cerulean, Prussian, Ottoman, ochre, medieval
`offset`	No	Skip this many ranked matches before returning results -- collection paging. The response's next_offset gives the value to pass here for the next page; it is absent on the last page. total_found always reports the full collection size.
`archive`	No	Optional archive filter e.g. oxfordshire, japan, pigment, keats, eic, racingsilks
`year_to`	No	Boost entries on or before this year e.g. 1600 for Renaissance, 1901 for Victorian
`n_results`	No	Results per page (default 10, max 50 per call). This is a page size, not a collection limit: a large collection (tens or hundreds of records) is returned across pages, with offset and next_offset, and total_found reports the full size.
`year_from`	No	Boost entries on or after this year e.g. 1400 for Renaissance, 1837 for Victorian
`entity_mode`	No	'text' (default): ordinary keyword search -- 'rose' finds any name containing the word, across genera. 'exact': resolve the query to a botanical entity and return ONLY records whose structured identity matches. 'exact' matches the plant, not the word: entity_mode='exact' with query='Rose' returns genus Rosa only and excludes Sweet Pea cultivars named 'Rose Pink'. The response carries an entity_resolution block showing the resolved genus and how many off-genus rows were excluded.	text
`include_full`	No	Return complete notes and source fields. Default false returns 150-char snippets. Set true for report workflows.

Output Schema

Name	Required	Description	Default
No arguments

Schema Changelog

Changes observed during successful MCP inspections.

Changed2 schema fields changedNov 9, 2026

changedInput schema / properties / entity_mode / description

Previous value: -"'text' (default): ordinary keyword search -- 'rose' finds any name containing the word, across genera. 'exact': resolve the query to a botanical entity and return ONLY records whose structured identity matches. Use 'exact' when you mean the plant, not the word: entity_mode='exact' with query='Rose' returns genus Rosa only and excludes Sweet Pea cultivars named 'Rose Pink'. The response carries an entity_resolution block showing the resolved genus and how many off-genus rows were excluded."New value: +"'text' (default): ordinary keyword search -- 'rose' finds any name containing the word, across genera. 'exact': resolve the query to a botanical entity and return ONLY records whose structured identity matches. 'exact' matches the plant, not the word: entity_mode='exact' with query='Rose' returns genus Rosa only and excludes Sweet Pea cultivars named 'Rose Pink'. The response carries an entity_resolution block showing the resolved genus and how many off-genus rows were excluded."

changedInput schema / properties / n_results / description

Previous value: -"Results per page (default 10, max 50 per call). This is a PAGE size, not a collection limit -- for a large collection (tens or hundreds of records) page with offset until next_offset disappears, and never tell the user the product caps out at one page."New value: +"Results per page (default 10, max 50 per call). This is a page size, not a collection limit: a large collection (tens or hundreds of records) is returned across pages, with offset and next_offset, and total_found reports the full size."

Changed2 schema fields changedAug 28, 2026

changedInput schema / properties / n_results / description

Previous value: -"Number of results (default 10, max 50)"New value: +"Results per page (default 10, max 50 per call). This is a PAGE size, not a collection limit -- for a large collection (tens or hundreds of records) page with offset until next_offset disappears, and never tell the user the product caps out at one page."

addedInput schema / properties / offset

Added value: +{
+  "default": 0,
+  "description": "Skip this many ranked matches before returning results -- collection paging. The response's next_offset gives the value to pass here for the next page; it is absent on the last page. total_found always reports the full collection size.",
+  "type": "integer"
+}

Changed1 schema field changedAug 9, 2026

addedInput schema / properties / entity_mode

Added value: +{
+  "default": "text",
+  "description": "'text' (default): ordinary keyword search -- 'rose' finds any name containing the word, across genera. 'exact': resolve the query to a botanical entity and return ONLY records whose structured identity matches. Use 'exact' when you mean the plant, not the word: entity_mode='exact' with query='Rose' returns genus Rosa only and excludes Sweet Pea cultivars named 'Rose Pink'. The response carries an entity_resolution block showing the resolved genus and how many off-genus rows were excluded.",
+  "enum": [
+    "text",
+    "exact"
+  ],
+  "type": "string"
+}

Changed1 schema field changedJun 20, 2026

changedOutput schema / (root)

Previous value: -nullNew value: +{
+  "additionalProperties": true,
+  "description": "Structured JSON response. Shape varies by tool; most return an 'ok' boolean plus a 'result' or 'results' field with the tool's data payload.",
+  "type": "object"
+}

Changed1 schema field changedJun 17, 2026

changedOutput schema / (root)

Previous value: -{
-  "properties": {
-    "error": {
-      "type": "string"
-    },
-    "ok": {
-      "type": "boolean"
-    },
-    "result": {
-      "type": [
-        "object",
-        "array",
-        "string",
-        "null"
-      ]
-    }
-  },
-  "type": "object"
-}New value: +null

Changed2 schema fields changedJun 11, 2026

addedInput schema / properties / year_from

Added value: +{
+  "description": "Boost entries on or after this year e.g. 1400 for Renaissance, 1837 for Victorian",
+  "type": "integer"
+}

addedInput schema / properties / year_to

Added value: +{
+  "description": "Boost entries on or before this year e.g. 1600 for Renaissance, 1901 for Victorian",
+  "type": "integer"
+}

Changed3 schema fields changedJun 2, 2026

changedInput schema / properties / archive / description

Previous value: -"Optional archive filter e.g. oxfordshire, japan, pigment"New value: +"Optional archive filter e.g. oxfordshire, japan, pigment, keats, eic, racingsilks"

addedInput schema / properties / include_full

Added value: +{
+  "description": "Return complete notes and source fields. Default false returns 150-char snippets. Set true for report workflows.",
+  "type": "boolean"
+}

addedInput schema / properties / limit

Added value: +{
+  "description": "Alias for n_results",
+  "type": "integer"
+}

AddedMay 31, 2026

TDQS

A4.4/5.0

Behavior5/5

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

Annotations only declare readOnlyHint, so the description carries the behavioral burden and does so: it discloses the result_path fallback ladder ('direct', 'broadened', 'redirected') and that the response states which one fired. It also discloses the entity_mode='exact' semantics and the entity_resolution block reporting excluded off-genus records, which is non-obvious behavior an agent must anticipate.

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

Conciseness4/5

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

Purpose is front-loaded in the first sentence, followed by facets, sibling positioning, and edge-case behavior in a sensible order. The parenthetical match counts (28, 187, over 1,000) are mildly decorative and the entity_mode paragraph duplicates schema text, costing a point.

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

Completeness5/5

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

For a 9-parameter read tool with an output schema and full schema coverage, the description covers what the schema cannot: fallback behavior, result_path semantics, and the entity resolution disclosure. Nothing an agent needs in order to call it correctly or interpret the response is missing.

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% and the schema already documents limit, offset, n_results, archive, year_from/year_to, entity_mode and include_full in depth, including the 'Rose' vs 'Rose Pink' example. The description's parameter content largely restates the entity_mode schema text, adding little beyond the query examples; baseline 3 applies when the schema does the heavy lifting.

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

Purpose5/5

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

States a specific verb and resource ("Full-text keyword search across all archive colour names and notes") and immediately enumerates the facets it can match on. It also positions itself against conceptual/embedding search, so an agent can tell which retrieval mode it is choosing between.

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 clear when-to-use context: exact keyword matching for name fragments, materials, cultural references, pigment types, periods, and explicitly frames itself as the complement to embedding search. It stops short of naming a sibling tool or stating exclusions (e.g. when conceptual search is strictly better), so it is clear context rather than a full routing rule.

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

All Colour Memory tools Inspect

Try in Browser

One endpoint for every MCP toolRayrun runs every MCP server behind one URL and holds the credentials. Each call is decided per client, tool, and argument, then recorded.ray.runAd

Glama MCP Gateway

Add one secure layer between your agents and this server.

Resources

Need Help?