retrieve_similar_cases

Instructions

Implementation Reference

• src/server.ts:541-586 (handler)

  The execute handler for the 'retrieve_similar_cases' tool. It validates input using the schema, retrieves the session's DualCycleEngine, calls getSimilarCases on it with filters, simplifies the result by removing internal fields, and returns JSON.

  execute: async (args, { log, reportProgress, session }) => {
    try {
      const sessionEngine = this.getSessionEngine(session);
      const sessionId = this.sessionIds.get(session);
      const validatedArgs = RetrieveSimilarCasesInputSchema.parse(args);
  
      log.info('Retrieving similar cases', {
        problemDescription: validatedArgs.problem_description,
        maxResults: validatedArgs.max_results,
        sessionId,
      });
  
      await reportProgress({ progress: 0, total: 2 });
  
      const filters = {
        context_filter: validatedArgs.context_filter,
        difficulty_filter: validatedArgs.difficulty_filter,
        outcome_filter: validatedArgs.outcome_filter,
        min_similarity: validatedArgs.min_similarity,
      };
  
      const result = await sessionEngine.getSimilarCases(
        validatedArgs.problem_description,
        validatedArgs.max_results,
        filters
      );
  
      await reportProgress({ progress: 2, total: 2 });
  
      log.info('Similar cases retrieved', {
        casesFound: result.length,
        maxResults: validatedArgs.max_results,
      });
  
      const simplifiedResult = result.map((caseItem: any) => {
        const { semantic_features, similarity_metrics, ...rest } = caseItem;
        return rest;
      });
  
      return JSON.stringify(simplifiedResult, null, 2);
    } catch (error) {
      const errorMessage = error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error);
      log.error('Failed to retrieve similar cases', { error: errorMessage });
      throw new UserError(`Failed to retrieve similar cases: {errorMessage}`);
    }
  },

• src/server.ts:527-588 (registration)

  The registration of the 'retrieve_similar_cases' tool using FastMCP's addTool method within addRetrieveSimilarCasesTool().

    this.server.addTool({
      name: 'retrieve_similar_cases',
      description: 'Retrieve similar cases from the case base',
      parameters: z.object({
        problem_description: z.string().describe(DESCRIPTIONS.PROBLEM_DESCRIPTION),
        max_results: z.number().optional().default(5).describe(DESCRIPTIONS.MAX_RESULTS),
      }),
      annotations: {
        title: 'Retrieve Similar Cases',
        readOnlyHint: true,
        destructiveHint: false,
        idempotentHint: true,
        openWorldHint: false,
      },
      execute: async (args, { log, reportProgress, session }) => {
        try {
          const sessionEngine = this.getSessionEngine(session);
          const sessionId = this.sessionIds.get(session);
          const validatedArgs = RetrieveSimilarCasesInputSchema.parse(args);
  
          log.info('Retrieving similar cases', {
            problemDescription: validatedArgs.problem_description,
            maxResults: validatedArgs.max_results,
            sessionId,
          });
  
          await reportProgress({ progress: 0, total: 2 });
  
          const filters = {
            context_filter: validatedArgs.context_filter,
            difficulty_filter: validatedArgs.difficulty_filter,
            outcome_filter: validatedArgs.outcome_filter,
            min_similarity: validatedArgs.min_similarity,
          };
  
          const result = await sessionEngine.getSimilarCases(
            validatedArgs.problem_description,
            validatedArgs.max_results,
            filters
          );
  
          await reportProgress({ progress: 2, total: 2 });
  
          log.info('Similar cases retrieved', {
            casesFound: result.length,
            maxResults: validatedArgs.max_results,
          });
  
          const simplifiedResult = result.map((caseItem: any) => {
            const { semantic_features, similarity_metrics, ...rest } = caseItem;
            return rest;
          });
  
          return JSON.stringify(simplifiedResult, null, 2);
        } catch (error) {
          const errorMessage = error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error);
          log.error('Failed to retrieve similar cases', { error: errorMessage });
          throw new UserError(`Failed to retrieve similar cases: {errorMessage}`);
        }
      },
    });
  }

• src/types.ts:160-170 (schema)

  Zod schema for validating input parameters to the retrieve_similar_cases tool.

  export const RetrieveSimilarCasesInputSchema = z.object({
    problem_description: z.string().describe(DESCRIPTIONS.PROBLEM_DESCRIPTION),
    max_results: z.number().default(5).describe(DESCRIPTIONS.MAX_RESULTS),
    context_filter: z.string().optional().describe('Filter cases by context'),
    difficulty_filter: z
      .enum(['low', 'medium', 'high'])
      .optional()
      .describe('Filter cases by difficulty level'),
    outcome_filter: z.boolean().optional().describe('Filter cases by outcome (success/failure)'),
    min_similarity: z.number().min(0).max(1).optional().describe('Minimum similarity threshold'),
  });

• src/dual-cycle-engine.ts:234-250 (helper)

  Wrapper method in DualCycleEngine that delegates to Adjudicator's retrieveSimilarCases.

  async getSimilarCases(
    problemDescription: string,
    maxResults: number = 5,
    filters: {
      context_filter?: string;
      difficulty_filter?: 'low' | 'medium' | 'high';
      outcome_filter?: boolean;
      min_similarity?: number;
    } = {}
  ): Promise<Case[]> {
    return await this.adjudicator.retrieveSimilarCases(
      problemDescription,
      maxResults,
      filters,
      this.sessionId
    );
  }

• src/adjudicator.ts:122-239 (helper)

  Core implementation in Adjudicator class performing semantic feature extraction, filtering, enhanced similarity calculation (semantic + traditional NLP), sorting, and fallback retrieval.

  async retrieveSimilarCases(
    problemDescription: string,
    maxResults: number = 5,
    filters: {
      context_filter?: string;
      difficulty_filter?: 'low' | 'medium' | 'high';
      outcome_filter?: boolean;
      min_similarity?: number;
    } = {},
    sessionId?: string
  ): Promise<Case[]> {
    if (!this.isInitialized) {
      await this.initialize();
    }
    try {
      // Check if semantic analyzer is available
      if (!semanticAnalyzer.isReady()) {
        throw new Error('SemanticAnalyzer is not ready');
      }
  
      // Extract semantic features from the query
      const queryFeatures = await semanticAnalyzer.extractSemanticFeatures(
        problemDescription,
        this.semanticIntents
      );
  
      // Filter cases based on provided filters
      let filteredCases = this.caseBase;
  
      if (filters.context_filter) {
        filteredCases = filteredCases.filter(
          (case_) =>
            case_.context?.includes(filters.context_filter!) ||
            case_.problem_description.includes(filters.context_filter!)
        );
      }
  
      if (filters.difficulty_filter) {
        filteredCases = filteredCases.filter(
          (case_) => case_.difficulty_level === filters.difficulty_filter
        );
      }
  
      if (filters.outcome_filter !== undefined) {
        filteredCases = filteredCases.filter((case_) => case_.outcome === filters.outcome_filter);
      }
  
      // Calculate enhanced similarity scores
      const scoredCases = await Promise.all(
        filteredCases.map(async (case_) => {
          const rawSimilarity = await this.calculateEnhancedSimilarity(
            problemDescription,
            case_.problem_description,
            queryFeatures,
            case_.semantic_features,
            sessionId
          );
  
          return {
            case: case_,
            similarity: rawSimilarity,
            rawSimilarity: rawSimilarity,
          };
        })
      );
  
      // Filter by minimum similarity threshold (more restrictive due to inflated semantic scores)
      const minSimilarity = filters.min_similarity || 0.6;
      const validCases = scoredCases.filter((item) => item.similarity >= minSimilarity);
  
      // Sort by similarity and success rate
      const sortedCases = validCases.sort((a, b) => {
        // Primary sort by similarity
        if (Math.abs(a.similarity - b.similarity) > 0.05) {
          return b.similarity - a.similarity;
        }
        // Secondary sort by success rate for similar cases
        const aSuccessRate = a.case.success_rate || (a.case.outcome ? 1 : 0);
        const bSuccessRate = b.case.success_rate || (b.case.outcome ? 1 : 0);
        return bSuccessRate - aSuccessRate;
      });
  
      // Update usage statistics and calculate dynamic confidence/validation scores
      const results = sortedCases.slice(0, maxResults);
      results.forEach((item) => {
        item.case.usage_count = (item.case.usage_count || 0) + 1;
  
        // Calculate dynamic confidence score based on similarity to query
        // Higher similarity = higher confidence in the match
        const similarityConfidence = Math.min(1.0, item.rawSimilarity * 1.2); // Boost good similarities
        const usageBonus = Math.min(0.1, (item.case.usage_count || 0) * 0.02);
        const outcomeBonus = item.case.outcome ? 0.1 : 0;
  
        // Dynamic confidence score reflecting match quality
        item.case.confidence_score = Math.max(
          0,
          Math.min(1, similarityConfidence + usageBonus + outcomeBonus)
        );
  
        // Add similarity metrics to the case for reference
        item.case.similarity_metrics = {
          ...item.case.similarity_metrics,
          raw_similarity: item.rawSimilarity,
          combined_similarity: item.rawSimilarity,
        };
      });
  
      return results.map((item) => item.case);
    } catch (error) {
      const errorMessage = error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error);
      console.error(
        'Error retrieving similar cases, falling back to simple matching:',
        errorMessage
      );
      // Fallback to simple similarity matching
      return this.fallbackRetrieveSimilarCases(problemDescription, maxResults);
    }
  }