MCP Tools Reference

All 38 read-only tools, with every parameter.

Quickstart · Recipes · Custom Tools · CLI Reference

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Table of Contents

• Calling tools
• Quick navigation
• Search & Trace
• Understand
• Schema & Models
• Controllers & Routes
• Views & Frontend
• Testing & Quality
• App Config & Services
• Data & Debugging
• Live Resources (VFS)

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Calling tools

# MCP — AI calls automatically via protocol
# CLI — you call from terminal:
rails 'ai:tool[schema]' table=users detail=full
rails-ai-context tool schema --table users --detail full

Tool name resolution is flexible — all of these work:

You type	Resolves to
schema	rails_get_schema
get_schema	rails_get_schema
rails_get_schema	rails_get_schema

Most tools accept a detail parameter: summary (compact), standard (default), or full (everything). Start with summary, drill down as needed.

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Quick navigation

Category	Tools
Search & Trace	search_code, get_edit_context
Understand	analyze_feature, get_context, onboard
Schema & Models	get_schema, get_model_details, get_callbacks, get_concern
Controllers & Routes	get_controllers, get_routes
Views & Frontend	get_view, get_stimulus, get_partial_interface, get_turbo_map, get_frontend_stack
Testing & Quality	get_test_info, generate_test, validate, security_scan, performance_check
App Config & Services	get_conventions, get_config, get_gems, get_env, get_helper_methods, get_service_pattern, get_job_pattern, get_component_catalog
Data & Debugging	dependency_graph, migration_advisor, search_docs, query, read_logs, diagnose, review_changes, runtime_info, session_context

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Search & Trace

rails_search_code

Search your codebase with regex, ripgrep acceleration, and sensitive file blocking.

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
pattern	string	required	Regex pattern to search for
path	string	—	Subdirectory to search in (relative to Rails root)
match_type	enum	any	any, definition, class, call, trace
file_type	string	—	Filter by extension (rb, erb, js, etc.)
exact_match	boolean	false	Word boundary matching
exclude_tests	boolean	false	Skip test/spec directories
group_by_file	boolean	false	Group results by file with counts

Trace mode returns definition + source code + every caller grouped by type + tests — replaces 4-5 sequential file reads.

rails_get_edit_context

Method-aware code extraction with surrounding class context.

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
file	string	required	File path relative to Rails root
method_name	string	—	Extract a specific method
line	integer	—	Center extraction around a line number

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Understand

rails_analyze_feature

Full-stack feature analysis: models + controllers + routes + services + jobs + views + tests in one call.

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
feature	string	required	Feature name (e.g., billing, auth, subscription)
detail	enum	standard	summary, standard, full

rails_get_context

Composite context: schema + model + controller + routes + views for a resource.

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
resource	string	required	Resource name (e.g., users, Post)
action	string	—	Specific controller action
detail	enum	standard	summary, standard, full

rails_onboard

Narrative app walkthrough for getting up to speed.

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
detail	enum	standard	quick, standard, full

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Schema & Models

rails_get_schema

Database schema with column types, indexes, defaults, encrypted hints.

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
table	string	—	Specific table (omit for overview)
detail	enum	standard	summary, standard, full

rails_get_model_details

AST-parsed model internals. Every result carries [VERIFIED] or [INFERRED] confidence tag.

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
model	string	—	Model name (e.g., User, Post)
detail	enum	standard	summary, standard, full

Returns: associations, validations, scopes, enums, callbacks, macros, methods, concerns.

rails_get_callbacks

All callbacks in Rails execution order with source code.

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
model	string	required	Model name
detail	enum	standard	summary, standard, full

rails_get_concern

Concern methods, source code, and which models include it.

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
concern	string	required	Concern name (e.g., Trackable, Searchable)
detail	enum	standard	summary, standard, full

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Controllers & Routes

rails_get_controllers

Controller actions with inherited filters, render map, strong params. Includes schema hints for referenced models.

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
controller	string	—	Controller name (e.g., UsersController)
action	string	—	Specific action
detail	enum	standard	summary, standard, full

rails_get_routes

Routes with code-ready helpers (cook_path(@record)) and required params.

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
controller	string	—	Filter by controller
detail	enum	standard	summary, standard, full

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Views & Frontend

rails_get_view

View templates with instance variables, Turbo frames, Stimulus controllers, partial locals. Includes schema hints for detected ivars.

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
controller	string	—	Controller name
action	string	—	Specific action view
detail	enum	standard	summary, standard, full

rails_get_stimulus

Stimulus controller data-attributes (with dashes, not underscores) + targets + values + actions + reverse view lookup.

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
controller	string	—	Stimulus controller name
detail	enum	standard	summary, standard, full

rails_get_partial_interface

What locals to pass to a partial and what methods are called on them.

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
partial	string	required	Partial path (e.g., users/form)
detail	enum	standard	summary, standard, full

rails_get_turbo_map

Turbo Stream broadcast-to-subscription wiring with mismatch warnings.

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
detail	enum	standard	summary, standard, full

rails_get_frontend_stack

Auto-detects React/Vue/Svelte/Angular, Hotwire, TypeScript, Vite/Shakapacker, package manager, monorepo layout.

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
detail	enum	standard	summary, standard, full

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Testing & Quality

rails_get_test_info

Test fixtures, relationships, and template matching your project’s patterns.

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
model	string	—	Model to find tests for
detail	enum	standard	summary, standard, full

rails_generate_test

Test scaffolding that matches your project’s patterns (fixtures vs factories, RSpec vs Minitest).

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
file	string	required	File to generate tests for
detail	enum	standard	summary, standard, full

rails_validate

Syntax + semantic + Brakeman security validation in one call.

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
files	string	—	Comma-separated file paths
level	enum	syntax	syntax, rails, security

rails_security_scan

Brakeman static analysis: SQL injection, XSS, mass assignment, command injection.

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
detail	enum	standard	summary, standard, full

Requires the brakeman gem. Gracefully reports “not installed” if missing.

rails_performance_check

N+1 query risks, missing indexes, missing counter_cache, eager load candidates.

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
detail	enum	standard	summary, standard, full

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App Config & Services

rails_get_conventions

Auth checks, flash messages, create action template, test patterns.

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
detail	enum	standard	summary, standard, full

rails_get_config

Database config, auth framework, assets, cache, queue, Action Cable.

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
detail	enum	standard	summary, standard, full

rails_get_gems

Notable gems with versions, categories, and config file locations.

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
detail	enum	standard	summary, standard, full

rails_get_env

Environment variables + credentials keys (values are never exposed).

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
detail	enum	standard	summary, standard, full

rails_get_helper_methods

Application and framework helpers with view cross-references.

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
detail	enum	standard	summary, standard, full

rails_get_service_pattern

Service object interface, dependencies, side effects, callers.

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
service	string	required	Service class name
detail	enum	standard	summary, standard, full

rails_get_job_pattern

Background job queue, retries, guard clauses, broadcasts, schedules.

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
job	string	—	Specific job name
detail	enum	standard	summary, standard, full

rails_get_component_catalog

ViewComponent/Phlex components: props, slots, previews, sidecar assets, usage examples.

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
component	string	—	Specific component name
detail	enum	standard	summary, standard, full

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Data & Debugging

rails_dependency_graph

Model/service dependency graph in Mermaid or text format.

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
root	string	—	Starting node
format	enum	text	text, mermaid
detail	enum	standard	summary, standard, full

rails_migration_advisor

Migration code generation with duplicate/nonexistent column warnings, reversibility flags, table name normalization.

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
action	string	required	Migration action (e.g., add_column, create_table)
table	string	required	Table name
columns	string	—	Column definitions
detail	enum	standard	summary, standard, full

rails_search_docs

Bundled topic index with weighted keyword search. Optional on-demand GitHub fetch.

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
query	string	required	Search query
fetch	boolean	false	Fetch from GitHub if not found locally

rails_query

Safe read-only SQL with 4-layer security: regex validation, SET TRANSACTION READ ONLY, timeout, column redaction. Learn about the security model →

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
sql	string	required	SQL query (SELECT only)
limit	integer	100	Maximum rows to return (hard cap: 1000)
format	enum	table	table, csv
explain	boolean	false	Show query plan instead of results

Disabled in production by default.

rails_read_logs

Reverse file tail with level filtering and sensitive data redaction.

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
file	string	development.log	Log file name
lines	integer	50	Number of lines
level	enum	—	Filter: debug, info, warn, error, fatal

rails_diagnose

One-call error diagnosis with classification, context, git blame, and log correlation.

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
error	string	required	Error message or class
file	string	—	File where error occurred
line	integer	—	Line number

rails_review_changes

PR/commit review with per-file context and warnings.

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
ref	string	HEAD	Git ref to review
detail	enum	standard	summary, standard, full

rails_runtime_info

Live database pool stats, table sizes, pending migrations, cache stats, queue depth.

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
detail	enum	standard	summary, standard, full

rails_session_context

Session-aware context tracking across tool calls within a conversation.

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
detail	enum	standard	summary, standard, full

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Live Resources (VFS)

In addition to tools, AI clients can read structured data through resource templates — rails-ai-context:// URIs introspected fresh on every request. Zero stale data.

URI Pattern	Returns
rails-ai-context://controllers/{name}	Actions, inherited filters, strong params
rails-ai-context://controllers/{name}/{action}	Action source with applicable filters
rails-ai-context://views/{path}	View template content
rails-ai-context://routes/{controller}	Live route map for controller
rails://models/{name}	Model details: associations, validations, schema

Plus 9 static resources (schema, routes, conventions, gems, controllers, config, tests, migrations, engines).

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