CLSTR

Search news situations

search_situations

Read-onlyIdempotent

Search the news by topic to find matching situations and events. A situation is an ongoing storyline (story arc) that groups related events over time; an event, called a cluster, is one happening grouped from the outlets covering it and deduplicated into a single item, so you get one event rather than 20 near-duplicate headlines. Results come back grouped under their situations, each with a one-line summary, a significance score (1 to 10, where 8 and above is exceptional), a source count (how many outlets are covering it), and a canonical clstr.news link. Use this to answer 'what is happening around X' for a topic, company, country, or event. Then open a result with get_situation_timeline for the full history, or get_cluster for one event's detail. Results are relevance ordered and bounded to the top matches: when there are more, the result ends with a cursor to pass back, and each page counts as one search against your cap. Pass summary: "full" to read each match's summary untruncated instead of one line. Results carry canonical clstr.news links. (Requires sign-in, or a free API key: https://clstr.news/developers)

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": "search_situations"
  }
}

Input Schema

Name	Required	Description
`days`	No	How far back to search, in days. Default 7, maximum 30.
`limit`	No	Max events to return. Default 15. They are grouped under their situations in the result, so you may see fewer situation headings than this number.
`query`	Yes	Topic, entity, company, country, or event to search for.
`cursor`	No	From a previous result, to page further. Each page counts as one search against your cap.
`summary`	No	How much summary text each row carries. 'preview' (the default) is a one-line preview; 'full' returns the maintained summary in full, so you do not need a follow-up call per result. On get_top_situations, 'full' is not enabled for every account: read `summary_mode` in the result to see which mode was actually served, and get_situation_timeline always returns one situation's summary in full.

Output Schema

Name	Required	Description
`data`	Yes
`query`	Yes	The query as actually run: `days` is the EFFECTIVE window after tier and index clamps.
`next_cursor`	Yes	Pass back as cursor to page further. Each page is one search.
`summary_mode`	Yes	The summary mode this result was served in, which is not always the one requested.

Schema Changelog

Changes observed during successful MCP inspections.

Changed1 schema field changedOct 28, 2026
- changedOutput schema / properties / data / items / properties / url / description
```
Previous value: -"Canonical clstr.news URL. Cite this."New value: +"Canonical clstr.news URL."
```

Changed3 schema fields changedSep 18, 2026

addedInput schema / properties / summary

Added value: +{
+  "description": "How much summary text each row carries. 'preview' (the default) is a one-line preview; 'full' returns the maintained summary in full, so you do not need a follow-up call per result. On get_top_situations, 'full' is not enabled for every account: read `summary_mode` in the result to see which mode was actually served, and get_situation_timeline always returns one situation's summary in full.",
+  "enum": [
+    "preview",
+    "full"
+  ],
+  "type": "string"
+}

addedOutput schema / properties / summary_mode

Added value: +{
+  "description": "The summary mode this result was served in, which is not always the one requested.",
+  "enum": [
+    "preview",
+    "full"
+  ],
+  "type": "string"
+}

changedOutput schema / required

Previous value: -[
-  "data",
-  "query",
-  "next_cursor"
-]New value: +[
+  "data",
+  "query",
+  "next_cursor",
+  "summary_mode"
+]

Changed1 schema field changedSep 15, 2026

changedOutput schema / (root)

Previous value: -nullNew value: +{
+  "properties": {
+    "data": {
+      "items": {
+        "properties": {
+          "category": {
+            "type": [
+              "string",
+              "null"
+            ]
+          },
+          "countries": {
+            "items": {
+              "type": "string"
+            },
+            "type": "array"
+          },
+          "id": {
+            "type": "string"
+          },
+          "published_at": {
+            "description": "ISO-8601 UTC timestamp.",
+            "type": [
+              "string",
+              "null"
+            ]
+          },
+          "significance_score": {
+            "description": "AI-generated significance, 1 to 10, where 8 and above is exceptional.",
+            "type": [
+              "integer",
+              "null"
+            ]
+          },
+          "situation": {
+            "properties": {
+              "cluster_count": {
+                "minimum": 0,
+                "type": "integer"
+              },
+              "id": {
+                "type": "string"
+              },
+              "slug": {
+                "type": [
+                  "string",
+                  "null"
+                ]
+              },
+              "title": {
+                "type": [
+                  "string",
+                  "null"
+                ]
+              }
+            },
+            "type": [
+              "object",
+              "null"
+            ]
+          },
+          "slug": {
+            "type": [
+              "string",
+              "null"
+            ]
+          },
+          "sources": {
+            "description": "How many outlets are behind this event.",
+            "minimum": 0,
+            "type": "integer"
+          },
+          "summary": {
+            "type": "string"
+          },
+          "title": {
+            "type": [
+              "string",
+              "null"
+            ]
+          },
+          "updated_at": {
+            "description": "ISO-8601 UTC timestamp.",
+            "type": [
+              "string",
+              "null"
+            ]
+          },
+          "url": {
+            "description": "Canonical clstr.news URL. Cite this.",
+            "type": "string"
+          }
+        },
+        "type": "object"
+      },
+      "type": "array"
+    },
+    "next_cursor": {
+      "description": "Pass back as cursor to page further. Each page is one search.",
+      "type": [
+        "string",
+        "null"
+      ]
+    },
+    "query": {
+      "description": "The query as actually run: `days` is the EFFECTIVE window after tier and index clamps.",
+      "properties": {
+        "days": {
+          "minimum": 1,
+          "type": "integer"
+        },
+        "q": {
+          "type": "string"
+        }
+      },
+      "required": [
+        "q",
+        "days"
+      ],
+      "type": "object"
+    }
+  },
+  "required": [
+    "data",
+    "query",
+    "next_cursor"
+  ],
+  "type": "object"
+}

First observedAug 20, 2026

TDQS

A4.3/5.0

Behavior5/5

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

With annotations already declaring readOnly, idempotent, and non-destructive behavior, the description adds substantial context: relevance ordering, bounded top matches, cursor pagination where each page counts against a search cap, authentication requirements, and untruncated summaries via summary: 'full'. These are meaningful operational details beyond what the annotations provide.

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 description is front-loaded with purpose and then moves through definitions, results, usage, pagination, and authentication in a logical order. It is dense rather than bloated, but the canonical clstr.news link point is repeated and the single-paragraph form makes the later operational details harder to scan.

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?

An output schema exists, so return values do not need to be explained in the description. Given the tool's complexity, the description covers authentication, pagination and cap behavior, summary modes, result grouping, and follow-up tools thoroughly enough for an agent to call it correctly.

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 description coverage is 100%, so the baseline is 3. The description still adds value by explaining cursor pagination cost, the difference between preview and full summaries, and how events are grouped under situations relative to the limit, though it does not expand on days, limit, or query beyond the schema.

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 description states a clear verb and resource: 'Search the news by topic to find matching situations and events,' and it carefully defines a situation versus a cluster. It distinguishes the tool from get_situation_timeline and get_cluster as follow-up calls, but does not differentiate it from the sibling get_top_situations.

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?

It gives explicit usage guidance: 'Use this to answer \'what is happening around X\' for a topic, company, country, or event,' and points to get_situation_timeline and get_cluster for follow-up. It does not say when to choose this over get_top_situations, so the main alternative remains ambiguous.

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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