get_collection_items

Retrieve all cards, dashboards, and models from a specific Metabase collection to view organized content. Use collection ID or 'root' for root folder.

Instructions

📁 [SAFE] Get all items (cards, dashboards, models) in a specific collection. Use this to see what content is organized in a folder. Risk: None - read-only operation.

Input Schema

TableJSON Schema

Name	Required	Description	Default
`collectionId`	Yes	The ID of the collection (use "root" for root collection)
`models`	No	Filter by item type (optional)

Implementation Reference

src/server/handlers/collectionHandlers.js:38-59 (handler)

Core handler function that executes the get_collection_items tool logic: validates input, calls Metabase API to fetch items, formats and returns the response in MCP content format.

  async getCollectionItems(collectionId, models = null) {
    Validators.validateCollectionId(collectionId);
    
    this.logger.debug('Getting collection items', { collectionId, models });
    
    const params = models && models.length > 0 ? new URLSearchParams({ models: models.join(',') }) : '';
    const items = await this.apiClient.makeRequest(`/api/collection/${collectionId}/items${params ? '?' + params : ''}`);
    
    return {
      content: [
        {
          type: 'text',
          text: `Items in Collection ${collectionId}:
Found ${items.data?.length || 0} items

${(items.data || []).map(item => 
  `- [${item.model}] ID: ${item.id} | Name: ${item.name}`
).join('\n')}`,
        },
      ],
    };
  }

src/server/config/toolDefinitions.js:173-194 (schema)

Tool schema definition: specifies name, description, input schema with collectionId (required) and optional models filter.

{
  name: 'get_collection_items',
  description: '📁 [SAFE] Get all items (cards, dashboards, models) in a specific collection. Use this to see what content is organized in a folder. Risk: None - read-only operation.',
  inputSchema: {
    type: 'object',
    properties: {
      collectionId: {
        type: 'string',
        description: 'The ID of the collection (use "root" for root collection)',
      },
      models: {
        type: 'array',
        description: 'Filter by item type (optional)',
        items: {
          type: 'string',
          enum: ['card', 'dashboard', 'dataset'],
        },
      },
    },
    required: ['collectionId'],
  },
},

src/server/MetabaseMCPServer.js:202-203 (registration)
Tool registration in the main server switch statement: dispatches get_collection_items calls to the collectionHandlers instance.
```
case 'get_collection_items':
  return await this.collectionHandlers.getCollectionItems(args.collectionId, args.models);
```

src/client/MetabaseClient.js:350-365 (helper)

Shared API client method getCollectionItems used by the handler to make the actual Metabase API request and parse response.

async getCollectionItems(collectionId, models = null) {
  Validators.validateCollectionId(collectionId);

  const params = models && models.length > 0 ? new URLSearchParams({ models: models.join(',') }) : '';
  const items = await this.makeRequest(`/api/collection/${collectionId}/items${params ? '?' + params : ''}`);
  
  return {
    data: items.data?.map(item => ({
      id: item.id,
      name: item.name,
      description: item.description,
      model: item.model,
    })) || [],
    total: items.total || 0,
  };
}

Metabase MCP Server