gbif-biodiversity-mcp-server

Search Publishers

gbif_search_publishers

Read-onlyIdempotent

Search organizations registered with GBIF by name fragment or country. Returns organization key, title, and country — sufficient to chain into gbif_search_datasets as publishingOrg for the datasets an organization published, or as hostingOrg for the ones its own installation serves, or to understand who publishes data for a region. publishingOrg is the usual chain: most organizations publish through an installation someone else runs, so hostingOrg matches nothing for them.

Input Schema

Name	Required	Description
`q`	No	Name fragment to search for. Matches organization names. Omit the field to browse without a term — a blank or whitespace-only value is rejected rather than sent, because the registry answers either with every registered organization.
`limit`	No	Number of organizations to return (default 20, max 1000).
`offset`	No	Pagination offset.
`country`	No	ISO 3166-1 country code to filter organizations by country. The alpha-2 form ("GB") is canonical; unlike the country codes on the occurrence tools and gbif_search_datasets, this one also resolves the alpha-3 form ("GBR") and is case-insensitive, because the registry endpoint matches the parsed country rather than the string. A value GBIF cannot parse as a country errors rather than returning an empty list. Omit the field to search every country — an empty string is rejected rather than read as no filter, because the registry answers a blank country with every registered organization.

Output Schema

Name	Required	Description
`error`	No	Present when the call failed. Absent on success.
`limit`	No	Organizations returned in this page.
`notice`	No	Guidance when results are empty, paging overshot, or an oversized read limit was clamped. Absent when none applies.
`offset`	No	Current pagination offset.
`publishers`	No	Matching organizations.
`totalCount`	No	Total matching organizations before pagination.
`endOfRecords`	No	True when there are no more results after this page.

Schema Changelog

Changes observed during successful MCP inspections.

Changed6 schema fields changedNov 1, 2026

changedInput schema / properties / country / description

Previous value: -"ISO 3166-1 country code to filter organizations by country. The alpha-2 form (\"GB\") is canonical; unlike the country codes on the occurrence tools and gbif_search_datasets, this one also resolves the alpha-3 form (\"GBR\") and is case-insensitive, because the registry endpoint matches the parsed country rather than the string. A value GBIF cannot parse as a country errors rather than returning an empty list. Omit the field to search every country — an empty string is rejected rather than read as no filter, because the registry answers a blank country with all 3,561 organizations."New value: +"ISO 3166-1 country code to filter organizations by country. The alpha-2 form (\"GB\") is canonical; unlike the country codes on the occurrence tools and gbif_search_datasets, this one also resolves the alpha-3 form (\"GBR\") and is case-insensitive, because the registry endpoint matches the parsed country rather than the string. A value GBIF cannot parse as a country errors rather than returning an empty list. Omit the field to search every country — an empty string is rejected rather than read as no filter, because the registry answers a blank country with every registered organization."

addedInput schema / properties / limit / maximum
```
Added value: +9007199254740991
```

changedInput schema / properties / limit / type

Previous value: -"number"New value: +"integer"

addedInput schema / properties / offset / maximum
```
Added value: +9007199254740991
```

changedInput schema / properties / offset / type

Previous value: -"number"New value: +"integer"

changedInput schema / properties / q / description

Previous value: -"Name fragment to search for. Matches organization names. Omit the field to browse without a term — a blank or whitespace-only value is rejected rather than sent, because the registry answers either with all 3,561 registered organizations."New value: +"Name fragment to search for. Matches organization names. Omit the field to browse without a term — a blank or whitespace-only value is rejected rather than sent, because the registry answers either with every registered organization."

Changed2 schema fields changedOct 24, 2026

removedInput schema / properties / limit / maximum
```
Removed value: -1000
```

changedOutput schema / properties / notice / description

Previous value: -"Guidance when results are empty or paging overshot. Absent on successful result pages."New value: +"Guidance when results are empty, paging overshot, or an oversized read limit was clamped. Absent when none applies."

Changed6 schema fields changedAug 25, 2026

changedInput schema / $schema

Previous value: -"http://json-schema.org/draft-07/schema#"New value: +"https://json-schema.org/draft/2020-12/schema"

addedInput schema / additionalProperties
```
Added value: +false
```

changedOutput schema / $schema

Previous value: -"http://json-schema.org/draft-07/schema#"New value: +"https://json-schema.org/draft/2020-12/schema"

addedOutput schema / anyOf

Added value: +[
+  {
+    "not": {
+      "required": [
+        "error"
+      ]
+    },
+    "required": [
+      "publishers",
+      "totalCount",
+      "offset",
+      "limit",
+      "endOfRecords"
+    ]
+  },
+  {
+    "required": [
+      "error"
+    ]
+  }
+]

addedOutput schema / properties / error

Added value: +{
+  "additionalProperties": {},
+  "description": "Present when the call failed. Absent on success.",
+  "properties": {
+    "code": {
+      "description": "JSON-RPC error code for this failure.",
+      "maximum": 9007199254740991,
+      "minimum": -9007199254740991,
+      "type": "integer"
+    },
+    "data": {
+      "additionalProperties": {},
+      "properties": {
+        "reason": {
+          "description": "Machine-readable failure mode. Declared by this tool: `invalid_filter`: q was supplied blank or whitespace-only, country is the empty string, or GBIF could not parse the country value as a country. Other values are possible when a failure originates below the handler.",
+          "examples": [
+            "invalid_filter"
+          ],
+          "type": "string"
+        },
+        "recovery": {
+          "additionalProperties": {},
+          "description": "Actionable next step for the caller.",
+          "properties": {
+            "hint": {
+              "type": "string"
+            }
+          },
+          "required": [
+            "hint"
+          ],
+          "type": "object"
+        },
+        "retryable": {
+          "description": "Whether retrying may succeed.",
+          "type": "boolean"
+        }
+      },
+      "type": "object"
+    },
+    "message": {
+      "description": "Human-readable description of what went wrong.",
+      "type": "string"
+    }
+  },
+  "required": [
+    "code",
+    "message"
+  ],
+  "type": "object"
+}

removedOutput schema / required

Removed value: -[
-  "publishers",
-  "totalCount",
-  "offset",
-  "limit",
-  "endOfRecords"
-]

Changed3 schema fields changedAug 7, 2026

changedInput schema / properties / country / description

Previous value: -"ISO 3166-1 country code to filter organizations by country. The alpha-2 form (\"GB\") is canonical; unlike the country codes on the occurrence tools and gbif_search_datasets, this one also resolves the alpha-3 form (\"GBR\") and is case-insensitive, because the registry endpoint matches the parsed country rather than the string. A value GBIF cannot parse as a country errors rather than returning an empty list."New value: +"ISO 3166-1 country code to filter organizations by country. The alpha-2 form (\"GB\") is canonical; unlike the country codes on the occurrence tools and gbif_search_datasets, this one also resolves the alpha-3 form (\"GBR\") and is case-insensitive, because the registry endpoint matches the parsed country rather than the string. A value GBIF cannot parse as a country errors rather than returning an empty list. Omit the field to search every country — an empty string is rejected rather than read as no filter, because the registry answers a blank country with all 3,561 organizations."

changedInput schema / properties / q / description

Previous value: -"Name fragment to search for. Matches organization names."New value: +"Name fragment to search for. Matches organization names. Omit the field to browse without a term — a blank or whitespace-only value is rejected rather than sent, because the registry answers either with all 3,561 registered organizations."

changedOutput schema / properties / publishers / items / properties / key / description

Previous value: -"Organization UUID for gbif_search_datasets hostingOrg parameter."New value: +"Organization UUID. Chains into gbif_search_datasets as publishingOrg for the datasets this organization published, or as hostingOrg for the ones its own installation serves — publishingOrg is the usual one, since most organizations host nothing."

Changed1 schema field changedAug 6, 2026

changedInput schema / properties / country / description

Previous value: -"ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country code to filter organizations by country."New value: +"ISO 3166-1 country code to filter organizations by country. The alpha-2 form (\"GB\") is canonical; unlike the country codes on the occurrence tools and gbif_search_datasets, this one also resolves the alpha-3 form (\"GBR\") and is case-insensitive, because the registry endpoint matches the parsed country rather than the string. A value GBIF cannot parse as a country errors rather than returning an empty list."

Changed1 schema field changedMay 30, 2026

addedOutput schema / properties / notice

Added value: +{
+  "description": "Guidance when results are empty or paging overshot. Absent on successful result pages.",
+  "type": "string"
+}

First observedMay 25, 2026

TDQS

A4.1/5.0

Behavior3/5

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

Annotations already declare readOnlyHint, openWorldHint and idempotentHint, so the safety profile is covered. The description adds real value beyond that by describing the return fields and the semantics of the returned key as a chaining identifier. It stops short of any operational behavior (result ordering, what an empty result means, rate limits), so it is a solid but not rich addition.

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?

The purpose is front-loaded in the first sentence and the return fields follow immediately. The second sentence is long and packs three use cases plus a caveat into one clause chain, which costs a little readability but each clause carries information an agent needs to chain correctly.

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 an output schema present, the description need not explain return values, yet it still names the key fields that matter for chaining, which is the highest-value information here. Combined with annotations and full schema coverage, an agent has enough to call this correctly; only minor gaps (ordering, empty-result semantics) remain.

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%, including the unusual country-code leniency and the omit-vs-blank-string distinction, so the description does not need to re-document parameters. It adds no parameter-level meaning beyond the schema; its added value is about output chaining rather than inputs. Baseline 3 applies.

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 ('Search organizations registered with GBIF') plus the two filters that shape the query (name fragment, country). It also names what comes back (organization key, title, country), so the agent knows this is not the dataset search tool in the sibling list.

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

Usage Guidelines5/5

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

Explicitly routes the agent forward: use the returned key as publishingOrg or hostingOrg in gbif_search_datasets, and it states which one is the usual chain and why ('most organizations publish through an installation someone else runs, so hostingOrg matches nothing for them'). It also names a third use case, regional publisher discovery. That is genuine when-and-how guidance, not just context.

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

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Search Publishers

Input Schema

Output Schema

Schema Changelog

TDQS

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