musicbrainz-mcp-server

musicbrainz-mcp-server: get artist

musicbrainz_get_artist

Read-onlyIdempotent

Artist profile by MBID: type, country, life span, gender, area, aliases, tags/genres, release-groups, band-membership / collaboration relationships, and external links. Release-groups embed one upstream page (25); relationships are not capped. For the complete release-group list, call musicbrainz_browse_entities with target_type=release-group and link.artist.

Input Schema

Name	Required	Description
`mbid`	Yes	Artist MBID (hyphenated hexadecimal UUID; surrounding whitespace and uppercase accepted).
`inc_relationships`	No	Include band-membership / collaboration relationships and external links (url-rels).
`inc_release_groups`	No	Include the discography (release-groups). Capped at one page; use browse for the full set.

Output Schema

Name	Required	Description
`cap`	No	The one-page cap that was applied. Absent when not truncated.
`area`	No	Associated area name. Omitted when unknown.
`mbid`	No	Artist MBID.
`name`	No	Artist name.
`tags`	No	Community tags/genres with vote counts (may be empty).
`type`	No	Artist type (Person, Group, Orchestra, …). Omitted when unknown.
`error`	No	Present when the call failed. Absent on success.
`shown`	No	Number of release-groups returned. Absent when not truncated.
`gender`	No	Gender, for person-type artists. Omitted when unknown/inapplicable.
`notice`	No	How to fetch the complete discography when truncated.
`aliases`	No	Alternate names (may be empty).
`country`	No	ISO country code. Omitted when unknown.
`lifeSpan`	No	Birth/death or formation/dissolution span. Omitted when unknown.
`sortName`	No	Sortable name form. Omitted when absent.
`truncated`	No	True when the discography hit the one-page cap and more release-groups exist. Absent when the full set fit in one page.
`externalLinks`	No	External resource links (url-rels) — Wikidata, Discogs, official site (may be empty).
`relationships`	No	Band membership and collaboration relationships (may be empty).
`releaseGroups`	No	Discography — release-groups (one page; may be empty or capped).
`disambiguation`	No	Short qualifier distinguishing same-named artists. Omitted when absent.

Schema Changelog

Changes observed during successful MCP inspections.

Changed2 schema fields changedOct 23, 2026

addedOutput schema / properties / relationships / items / properties / orderingKey

Added value: +{
+  "description": "Upstream relationship sequence key, including zero. Omitted when unknown; array order is preserved.",
+  "type": "number"
+}

addedOutput schema / properties / relationships / items / properties / targetDisambiguation

Added value: +{
+  "description": "Qualifier distinguishing the related entity from namesakes. Omitted when absent.",
+  "type": "string"
+}

Changed3 schema fields changedOct 13, 2026

changedInput schema / properties / mbid / description

Previous value: -"Artist MBID (36-character UUID)."New value: +"Artist MBID (hyphenated hexadecimal UUID; surrounding whitespace and uppercase accepted)."

addedInput schema / properties / mbid / 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*$"

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

Previous value: -"Machine-readable failure mode. Declared by this tool: `invalid_mbid`: The MBID is malformed or the all-zeros sentinel (MusicBrainz returns HTTP 400). `entity_not_found`: The MBID is well-formed but no artist exists with it (MusicBrainz returns HTTP 404). Other values are possible when a failure originates below the handler."New value: +"Machine-readable failure mode. Declared by this tool: `invalid_mbid`: The MBID is malformed or the all-zeros sentinel (rejected before fetch), or MusicBrainz rejects it with HTTP 400. `entity_not_found`: The MBID is well-formed but no artist exists with it (MusicBrainz returns HTTP 404). Other values are possible when a failure originates below the handler."

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": [
+      "mbid",
+      "name",
+      "aliases",
+      "tags",
+      "releaseGroups",
+      "relationships",
+      "externalLinks"
+    ]
+  },
+  {
+    "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_mbid`: The MBID is malformed or the all-zeros sentinel (MusicBrainz returns HTTP 400). `entity_not_found`: The MBID is well-formed but no artist exists with it (MusicBrainz returns HTTP 404). Other values are possible when a failure originates below the handler.",
+          "examples": [
+            "invalid_mbid",
+            "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: -[
-  "mbid",
-  "name",
-  "aliases",
-  "tags",
-  "releaseGroups",
-  "relationships",
-  "externalLinks"
-]

First observedJun 16, 2026

TDQS

A4.4/5.0

Behavior4/5

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

Annotations already cover safety (readOnly, idempotent, openWorld), so the added value is the disclosure of result-size behavior: release-groups are capped at one upstream page (25) while relationships are not capped. That is exactly the kind of non-obvious trait annotations cannot express, though it doesn't mention error behavior for an invalid/unknown MBID.

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

Conciseness5/5

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

Two sentences, front-loaded with the resource and its return contents, then the routing caveat with the concrete sibling call. Every clause earns its place; no filler.

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, return values need not be explained; the description covers scope, the cap behavior, and the escape hatch to browsing. What is missing is guidance on obtaining an MBID when the agent only has a name, which matters for a tool whose sole required input is an MBID.

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, but the description adds concrete facts not in the schema: the 25-item page cap on embedded release-groups and the fact that relationships are uncapped. It doesn't add much about inc_relationships' url-rels content beyond what the schema states.

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 ("Artist profile by MBID") and enumerates the returned facets (type, country, life span, aliases, tags, release-groups, relationships, links), which separates it cleanly from cover art, label, recording, release, work, and search siblings. An agent can identify the tool's job without opening the schema.

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?

Explicitly names the alternative for the capped case: "For the complete release-group list, call musicbrainz_browse_entities with target_type=release-group and link.artist." It does not, however, tell the agent that an MBID is required (so search_entities must come first when only a name is known), leaving one usage gap.

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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