musicbrainz-mcp-server

musicbrainz-mcp-server: browse entities

musicbrainz_browse_entities

Read-onlyIdempotent

Paginate entities linked to one parent MBID. Accepted parents by target: artist → area, recording, release, release-group, work; label → area, release; release-group → artist, release; release → area, artist, label, recording, release-group; recording → artist, release, work; work → artist. Artist release-groups and release-group editions embed one upstream page in get_* lookups; use this tool for the complete entity set. Recording browse returns identities, not performance attributes/dates or ordered release tracks: use musicbrainz_get_recording for work relationships and musicbrainz_get_release for tracks. Provide exactly one valid parent link. offset pages to any depth; totalCount is the upstream entity total. Release rows carry status, other entity subtypes use type.

Input Schema

Name	Required	Description
`link`	Yes	Exactly one parent MBID. The valid key depends on target_type (see the description).
`limit`	No	Positive integer page size (default 25); values above 100 are clamped to 100 with a notice. With MUSICBRAINZ_CLAMP_OVERSIZED_LIMITS=off, maximum 100 is enforced.
`offset`	No	Result offset for deep pagination (0-based).
`target_type`	Yes	The entity type to enumerate (the children).

Output Schema

Name	Required	Description
`cap`	No	The page size that was applied. Absent when not truncated.
`error`	No	Present when the call failed. Absent on success.
`shown`	No	Number of entities returned in this page. Absent when not truncated.
`notice`	No	How to page further when results remain, or guidance when empty.
`offset`	No	The offset used for this page.
`entities`	No	This page of linked entities, in upstream order.
`linkMbid`	No	The parent MBID that was browsed.
`linkType`	No	The parent link type used (artist, label, release-group, release, recording, work, or area).
`truncated`	No	True when more entities remain beyond this page (offset + shown < totalCount). Absent when the page is complete.
`targetType`	No	The entity type that was enumerated.
`totalCount`	No	True total number of linked entities upstream (the {type}-count field).

Schema Changelog

Changes observed during successful MCP inspections.

Changed6 schema fields changedOct 23, 2026

changedInput schema / properties / limit / description

Previous value: -"Page size (1–100)."New value: +"Positive integer page size (default 25); values above 100 are clamped to 100 with a notice. With MUSICBRAINZ_CLAMP_OVERSIZED_LIMITS=off, maximum 100 is enforced."

changedInput schema / properties / limit / maximum

Previous value: -100New value: +9007199254740991

changedInput schema / properties / link / properties / area / description

Previous value: -"Parent area MBID (artists/labels in this area)."New value: +"Parent area MBID (artists, labels, or releases in this area)."

changedInput schema / properties / link / properties / recording / description

Previous value: -"Parent recording MBID (releases containing this recording)."New value: +"Parent recording MBID (artists or releases linked to this recording)."

changedInput schema / properties / link / properties / release / description

Previous value: -"Parent release MBID (recording entities in this edition, not ordered tracks)."New value: +"Parent release MBID (artists, labels, release-groups, or recording entities in this edition; recordings are not ordered tracks)."

changedInput schema / properties / link / properties / work / description

Previous value: -"Parent work MBID (recordings of this work)."New value: +"Parent work MBID (artists or recordings linked to this work)."

Changed13 schema fields changedOct 13, 2026

addedInput schema / properties / link / additionalProperties
```
Added value: +{}
```

addedInput schema / properties / link / properties / area / pattern

Added value: +"^\\s*[0-9A-Fa-f]{8}-[0-9A-Fa-f]{4}-[0-9A-Fa-f]{4}-[0-9A-Fa-f]{4}-[0-9A-Fa-f]{12}\\s*$"

addedInput schema / properties / link / properties / artist / pattern

Added value: +"^\\s*[0-9A-Fa-f]{8}-[0-9A-Fa-f]{4}-[0-9A-Fa-f]{4}-[0-9A-Fa-f]{4}-[0-9A-Fa-f]{12}\\s*$"

addedInput schema / properties / link / properties / label / pattern

Added value: +"^\\s*[0-9A-Fa-f]{8}-[0-9A-Fa-f]{4}-[0-9A-Fa-f]{4}-[0-9A-Fa-f]{4}-[0-9A-Fa-f]{12}\\s*$"

addedInput schema / properties / link / properties / recording / pattern

Added value: +"^\\s*[0-9A-Fa-f]{8}-[0-9A-Fa-f]{4}-[0-9A-Fa-f]{4}-[0-9A-Fa-f]{4}-[0-9A-Fa-f]{12}\\s*$"

addedInput schema / properties / link / properties / release

Added value: +{
+  "description": "Parent release MBID (recording entities in this edition, not ordered tracks).",
+  "pattern": "^\\s*[0-9A-Fa-f]{8}-[0-9A-Fa-f]{4}-[0-9A-Fa-f]{4}-[0-9A-Fa-f]{4}-[0-9A-Fa-f]{12}\\s*$",
+  "type": "string"
+}

addedInput schema / properties / link / properties / release-group / pattern

Added value: +"^\\s*[0-9A-Fa-f]{8}-[0-9A-Fa-f]{4}-[0-9A-Fa-f]{4}-[0-9A-Fa-f]{4}-[0-9A-Fa-f]{12}\\s*$"

addedInput schema / properties / link / properties / releaseGroup

Added value: +{
+  "description": "Alias for release-group; use only one spelling.",
+  "pattern": "^\\s*[0-9A-Fa-f]{8}-[0-9A-Fa-f]{4}-[0-9A-Fa-f]{4}-[0-9A-Fa-f]{4}-[0-9A-Fa-f]{12}\\s*$",
+  "type": "string"
+}

addedInput schema / properties / link / properties / release_group

Added value: +{
+  "description": "Alias for release-group; use only one spelling.",
+  "pattern": "^\\s*[0-9A-Fa-f]{8}-[0-9A-Fa-f]{4}-[0-9A-Fa-f]{4}-[0-9A-Fa-f]{4}-[0-9A-Fa-f]{12}\\s*$",
+  "type": "string"
+}

addedInput schema / properties / link / properties / work / pattern

Added value: +"^\\s*[0-9A-Fa-f]{8}-[0-9A-Fa-f]{4}-[0-9A-Fa-f]{4}-[0-9A-Fa-f]{4}-[0-9A-Fa-f]{12}\\s*$"

addedOutput schema / properties / entities / items / properties / status

Added value: +{
+  "description": "Release status (e.g. Official or Bootleg). Omitted for other entity types or when absent.",
+  "type": "string"
+}

changedOutput schema / properties / error / properties / data / properties / reason / description

Previous value: -"Machine-readable failure mode. Declared by this tool: `invalid_link`: No link MBID was provided, more than one was provided, or the link MBID is malformed (HTTP 400). `entity_not_found`: The link MBID is well-formed but no such parent entity exists (HTTP 404). Other values are possible when a failure originates below the handler."New value: +"Machine-readable failure mode. Declared by this tool: `invalid_link`: A parent key is unknown, aliases collide, not exactly one nonempty parent is supplied, or the MBID/parent combination is invalid. `entity_not_found`: The link MBID is well-formed but no such parent entity exists (HTTP 404). Other values are possible when a failure originates below the handler."

changedOutput schema / properties / linkType / description

Previous value: -"The parent link type used (artist, label, release-group, recording, work, or area)."New value: +"The parent link type used (artist, label, release-group, release, recording, work, or area)."

Changed6 schema fields changedAug 21, 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": [
+      "targetType",
+      "linkType",
+      "linkMbid",
+      "entities",
+      "offset",
+      "totalCount"
+    ]
+  },
+  {
+    "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_link`: No link MBID was provided, more than one was provided, or the link MBID is malformed (HTTP 400). `entity_not_found`: The link MBID is well-formed but no such parent entity exists (HTTP 404). Other values are possible when a failure originates below the handler.",
+          "examples": [
+            "invalid_link",
+            "entity_not_found"
+          ],
+          "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: -[
-  "targetType",
-  "linkType",
-  "linkMbid",
-  "entities",
-  "offset",
-  "totalCount"
-]

First observedJun 16, 2026

TDQS

A4.6/5.0

Behavior4/5

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

Beyond the readOnly/openWorld/idempotent annotations, it discloses pagination behavior ('offset pages to any depth'), the meaning of totalCount, and per-row subtype fields (status for releases, type otherwise). It does not discuss rate limits or error behavior, but the output schema plus annotations already cover much of the rest.

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?

It is front-loaded with the core action and has no filler, but the middle section is a dense telegraphic run of pairings and caveats that takes effort to parse. Every sentence earns its place, though some could be split for readability.

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?

Given an output schema and full annotations, the description covers the remaining agent-facing needs: valid parent/target combinations, pagination depth, count semantics, and when a sibling get_* tool is preferred. Nothing required to call it correctly is missing.

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

Parameters4/5

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

Schema coverage is 100%, so the baseline is 3. The description still adds value by giving the target→valid-parent matrix and the 'exactly one valid parent link' constraint, which the per-property schema text only implies piecemeal.

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?

The opening sentence states a specific verb and resource: 'Paginate entities linked to one parent MBID.' It then enumerates the accepted parent/target pairings, so an agent can tell exactly what this tool enumerates versus the get_* lookups named later.

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?

It explicitly routes the agent: use this tool for the complete entity set when get_* embeds only one upstream page, and use musicbrainz_get_recording or musicbrainz_get_release for work relationships and ordered tracks respectively. It also states the eligibility precondition ('Provide exactly one valid parent link').

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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