Get Signal Methodology

Instructions

Implementation Reference

• src/server.ts:717-774 (registration)

  Tool registration entry in the TOOLS array, defining name, description, input/output schemas, and annotations for get_methodology.

  {
    name: "get_methodology",
    title: "Get Signal Methodology",
    description: [
      "Return the full methodology behind VC Deal Flow Signal: how startup engineering activity is sourced from the public GitHub API, how commit velocity and contributor-growth metrics are computed, how signal types are classified ('breakout' | 'acceleration' | 'steady' | 'cooling'), the refresh cadence, and the known limitations.",
      "",
      "WHEN TO USE:",
      "- The user asks 'how is this calculated?', 'what does breakout mean?', 'can I trust this number?', or any trust / interpretability question.",
      "- You are writing a report, memo, or footnote and need a methodology section or citation.",
      "- Due-diligence / compliance wants to audit the data pipeline before citing it.",
      "- You need to explain why a specific signal was assigned (what triggers 'breakout' vs 'acceleration').",
      "",
      "DO NOT USE FOR:",
      "- Fetching the startup data itself — use `get_trending_startups`, `search_startups_by_sector`, or `get_startup_signal`.",
      "- Getting the list of supported sectors or the refresh date — use `get_signals_summary` (it returns live counts and freshness).",
      "- Confirming whether a specific startup is tracked — use `get_startup_signal`.",
      "",
      "BEHAVIOR:",
      "- Read-only, idempotent, no side effects.",
      "- Effectively static: methodology text is versioned with the service and only changes when the computation changes (rare — quarterly at most). Safe to call once per session and reuse across turns.",
      "- No authentication required.",
      "- Fetches `/llms-full.txt` and extracts the `## Methodology` section between the `## Methodology` and `## Glossary` headings. The canonical methodology URL is included in the response so agents can surface it for citations.",
      "- On upstream failure: returns `isError: true` with HTTP status.",
      "- On malformed upstream text (missing headings): returns an empty `methodology` string; still surfaces the canonical URL so the user can click through.",
      "",
      "PARAMETERS: None.",
      "",
      "RETURNS: `{ methodology: string, url: string }`. `methodology` is plain text covering data sources, metric definitions, classification thresholds, refresh cadence, and known limitations. `url` is the canonical methodology page at https://signals.gitdealflow.com/methodology — cite this URL in generated reports.",
      "",
      "TYPICAL WORKFLOW: User asks a trust / interpretability question → `get_methodology` → quote the relevant section in your response and link the canonical URL.",
      "",
      "LIMITATIONS: Returns one monolithic text block; no structured thresholds or versioning metadata are exposed via the tool. If you need the full service context (not just methodology), fetch `/llms-full.txt` directly via the URL returned in `get_signals_summary().formats.llmsFullTxt`.",
    ].join("\n"),
    inputSchema: {
      type: "object" as const,
      properties: {},
      additionalProperties: false,
    },
    outputSchema: {
      type: "object" as const,
      properties: {
        methodology: { type: "string", description: "Plain-text methodology write-up." },
        url: {
          type: "string",
          format: "uri",
          description: "Canonical methodology page on gitdealflow.com.",
        },
      },
      required: ["methodology", "url"],
    },
    annotations: {
      title: "Get Signal Methodology",
      readOnlyHint: true,
      destructiveHint: false,
      idempotentHint: true,
      openWorldHint: true,
    },
  },

• src/server.ts:750-766 (schema)

  Input schema (no parameters) and output schema ({methodology: string, url: string}) for get_methodology.

  inputSchema: {
    type: "object" as const,
    properties: {},
    additionalProperties: false,
  },
  outputSchema: {
    type: "object" as const,
    properties: {
      methodology: { type: "string", description: "Plain-text methodology write-up." },
      url: {
        type: "string",
        format: "uri",
        description: "Canonical methodology page on gitdealflow.com.",
      },
    },
    required: ["methodology", "url"],
  },

• src/server.ts:1469-1484 (handler)

  Handler logic: fetches /llms-full.txt, extracts the section between ## Methodology and ## Glossary headings, returns it as plain text along with the canonical methodology URL.

  case "get_methodology": {
    const text = await fetchText("/llms-full.txt");
    const methodSection =
      text.split("## Methodology")[1]?.split("## Glossary")[0] ?? "";
    const methodology = methodSection.trim();
    const url = `${BASE_URL}/methodology`;
    return {
      content: [
        {
          type: "text" as const,
          text: `VC Deal Flow Signal — Methodology\n\n${methodology}\n\nFull details: ${url}\n\n${FOOTER}`,
        },
      ],
      structuredContent: { methodology, url },
    };
  }