MCP server#
SkyPortal exposes a Model Context Protocol
endpoint at /mcp so AI assistants can read and write data through the same
API and permission checks as any other client.
The endpoint implements protocol revision
2026-07-28 over the
Streamable HTTP transport, and only that revision: there is no initialize
handshake, no session, and no server-initiated stream. Every request is a
self-contained JSON-RPC POST that carries its protocol version and client
capabilities in _meta, so requests can be served by any app process behind
the load balancer. Clients that still use the pre-2026 initialize handshake
are rejected with an UnsupportedProtocolVersion error naming the supported
revision.
Authentication#
Send a SkyPortal API token in the Authorization header, either as
Bearer <token> (MCP convention) or token <token> (SkyPortal convention).
Tools run with that token’s permissions.
Methods#
| Method | Purpose |
| —————– | ———————————————————- |
| server/discover | Supported protocol versions, capabilities, server identity |
| tools/list | Tool definitions with input schemas |
| tools/call | Invoke a tool |
GCN events#
Five tools cover multi-messenger events, so an assistant can answer questions about a trigger and reply in the discussion on it.
| Tool | Purpose |
| ————————— | ————————————————– |
| get_gcn_events | List or search events; partialdateobs matches a dateobs prefix or an alias |
| get_gcn_event | One event in full, including its GCN circulars |
| get_gcn_event_extractions | Structured data a pipeline extracted from the circulars |
| get_gcn_event_comments | The discussion on the event |
| post_gcn_event_comment | Reply in that discussion |
get_gcn_event_extractions reads the gcneventextractions table, where any
producer may store machine-readable values parsed out of an event’s prose.
origin names the producer and the payload is that producer’s own shape, so
filter by origin when you care which pipeline it came from.