NTPU AI4X MCP Documentation

This document explains how to start using AI4X MCP, connect an MCP client, query the center's public data, and understand the protocol, sources, security, and error behavior.

Overview

NTPU AI4X MCP is a public, read-only Model Context Protocol server that gives AI clients safe, source-attributed access to official NTPU AI4X information: center info, services, members, projects, documents, and events.

Public Data

Only NTPU AI4X's official public data is provided.

Read-Only Tools

MCP tools never modify data and never provide arbitrary command execution.

Verifiable Sources

Every tool response carries provenance, source, and version information.

No API Key

The public MCP endpoint can be connected to directly by any MCP-capable client.

Quick Start

Most users never need to send JSON-RPC by hand. Pick the MCP client you use and follow the steps below.

1

Choose an MCP client

Pick the tab below for the client you use.
2

Add AI4X MCP

Copy that client's configuration snippet and restart it if needed.
3

Ask your first question

Try: "Use AI4X MCP to look up the AI4X center's information."

Configure your client with the MCP endpoint URL below; no API key is required.

Add AI4X MCP to Claude Desktop's config file, then restart the app.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ai4x": {
      "url": "https://ai4x.mcp.ntpu.ai/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Add the server with the Claude Code CLI, or edit .mcp.json directly.

claude mcp add --transport http ai4x https://ai4x.mcp.ntpu.ai/mcp

Add a custom connector pointing at the streamable-HTTP endpoint below.

MCP Server URL: https://ai4x.mcp.ntpu.ai/mcp
Authentication: None

Add an MCP server entry to your workspace or user settings.

{
  "mcp": {
    "servers": {
      "ai4x": {
        "type": "http",
        "url": "https://ai4x.mcp.ntpu.ai/mcp"
      }
    }
  }
}

No client at all? Talk to the endpoint directly with a JSON-RPC POST.

curl -X POST https://ai4x.mcp.ntpu.ai/mcp \
  -H "content-type: application/json" \
  -H "accept: application/json, text/event-stream" \
  -d '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"method":"tools/list","params":{}}'

You're connected once: you get real data back, the response includes a source, and no API key was needed.

Test raw JSON-RPC directly

A legacy-compatible JSON-RPC request against tools/list:

curl -X POST https://ai4x.mcp.ntpu.ai/mcp \
  -H "content-type: application/json" \
  -H "accept: application/json, text/event-stream" \
  -d '{
    "jsonrpc":"2.0",
    "id":1,
    "method":"tools/list",
    "params":{}
  }'

If the response contains result.tools, the MCP service is responding successfully for this compatibility request.

API Tools

11 read-only tools grouped into 6 categories. Click a category to jump to it, or expand a tool below for its parameters and examples.

Center Services Members Projects Documents Events

Center

Query the AI4X center's basic information.

Services

Search and look up service information.

Members

Search the center's members.

Projects

Query research projects.

Documents

Query public documents.

Events

Get event information.

Center

Center Info get_center_info

Public · L0 R0 Read only

Returns official center-level facts: name, mission, start date, and public website.

This tool takes no parameters.

Example request

{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"method":"tools/call","params":{"name":"get_center_info","arguments":{}}}

Example response (shape)

{ "center": { "nameZh": string, "nameEn": string|null, "mission": string|null, "officialStartDate": string|null, "website": string }, "provenance": Provenance }

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Services

Search Services search_services

Public · L0 R0 Read only

Searches the public catalog of AI4X services by keyword, status, or type.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
keyword	string (1–100)	No	Free-text keyword filter
status	enum: active \| inactive \| planned	No	Filter by service status
serviceType	string (1–50)	No	Filter by service type
limit	integer (1–50)	No	Max results, default 10

Example request

{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"method":"tools/call","params":{"name":"search_services","arguments":{"keyword":"cloud","limit":5}}}

Example response (shape)

{ "items": [{ "id", "slug", "nameZh", "nameEn", "serviceType", "description", "status", "serviceUrl" }], "count": number, "provenance": Provenance[] }

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Get Service get_service

Public · L0 R0 Read only

Returns one canonical service record by its serviceId.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
serviceId	string (1–200)	Yes	Canonical id or slug from search_services

Example request

{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"method":"tools/call","params":{"name":"get_service","arguments":{"serviceId":"svc_123"}}}

Example response (shape)

{ "service": { "id", "slug", "nameZh", "nameEn", "serviceType", "description", "status", "serviceUrl" }, "provenance": Provenance }

Try in Playground →

Members

Search Members search_members

Public · L0 R0 Read only

Searches the public member directory by keyword, research topic, role, or status.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
keyword	string (1–100)	No	Free-text name/keyword filter
researchTopic	string (1–200)	No	Declared research topic filter
role	enum: faculty \| student \| staff \| alumni	No	Filter by role
status	enum: active \| alumni	No	Filter by membership status
limit	integer (1–50)	No	Max results

Example request

{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"method":"tools/call","params":{"name":"search_members","arguments":{"researchTopic":"NLP"}}}

Example response (shape)

{ "items": [{ "id", "slug", "nameZh", "nameEn", "role", "status", "profileUrl" }], "count": number, "provenance": Provenance[] }

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Get Member get_member

Public · L0 R0 Read only

Returns one canonical public member profile by its memberId.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
memberId	string (1–200)	Yes	Canonical id or slug from search_members

Example response (shape)

{ "member": { "id", "slug", "nameZh", "nameEn", "role", "status", "profileUrl" }, "provenance": Provenance }

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Find Research Experts find_research_experts

Public · L0 R0 Read only

Finds public members whose declared research topics or projects evidence expertise in a topic.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
topic	string (2–200)	Yes	Research topic to match against
role	enum: faculty \| student \| staff	No	Filter by role
limit	integer (1–20)	No	Max results

Example request

{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"method":"tools/call","params":{"name":"find_research_experts","arguments":{"topic":"agentic AI"}}}

Example response (shape)

{ "items": [{ "member": {...}, "evidence": [{"type":"research_topic"|"project", ...}] }], "count": number, "provenance": Provenance[] }

Try in Playground →

Projects

Search Projects search_projects

Public · L0 R0 Read only

Searches public research projects by keyword, topic, status, or date range.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
keyword	string (1–100)	No	Free-text keyword filter
topic	string (1–100)	No	Topic filter
status	enum: active \| completed \| planned	No	Filter by project status
fromDate	string (YYYY-MM-DD)	No	Exact start-date lower bound
toDate	string (YYYY-MM-DD)	No	Exact start-date upper bound
limit	integer (1–50)	No	Max results

Example request

{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"method":"tools/call","params":{"name":"search_projects","arguments":{"topic":"healthcare"}}}

Example response (shape)

{ "items": [{ "id", "slug", "title", "description", "status", "startDate", "endDate" }], "count": number, "provenance": Provenance[] }

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Get Project get_project

Public · L0 R0 Read only

Returns one canonical project record by its projectId.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
projectId	string (1–200)	Yes	Canonical id or slug from search_projects

Example response (shape)

{ "project": { "id", "slug", "title", "description", "status", "startDate", "endDate" }, "provenance": Provenance }

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Documents

Search Documents search_documents

Public · L0 R0 Read only

Searches public documents by lexical match against title, summary, and text.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
query	string (1–200)	Yes	Search text
documentType	string (1–50)	No	Filter by document type
fromDate	string (date-time)	No	Publish-date lower bound
toDate	string (date-time)	No	Publish-date upper bound
searchMode	enum: lexical \| hybrid	No	"hybrid" is not supported in this deployment and returns an explicit error
limit	integer (1–20)	No	Max results

Example request

{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"method":"tools/call","params":{"name":"search_documents","arguments":{"query":"LLM"}}}

Example response (shape)

{ "items": [{ "id", "slug", "title", "documentType", "summary", "publicText", "mimeType" }], "count": number, "provenance": Provenance[] }

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Get Document get_document

Public · L0 R0 Read only

Returns one document's metadata plus its public text by documentId.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
documentId	string (1–200)	Yes	Canonical id or slug from search_documents

Example response (shape)

{ "document": { "id", "slug", "title", "documentType", "summary", "publicText", "mimeType" }, "provenance": Provenance }

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Events

Search Events search_events

Public · L0 R0 Read only

Searches public events by keyword and exact date/type/status filters.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
keyword	string (1–100)	No	Title/description keyword filter
eventType	string (1–50)	No	Filter by event type
status	string (1–50)	No	Filter by event status
fromDate	string (date-time)	No	Start-time lower bound
toDate	string (date-time)	No	Start-time upper bound
limit	integer (1–50)	No	Max results

Example request

{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"method":"tools/call","params":{"name":"search_events","arguments":{}}}

Example response (shape)

{ "items": [{ "id", "slug", "title", "description", "eventType", "startsAt", "endsAt", "locationText", "status" }], "count": number, "provenance": Provenance[] }

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Protocol & Sources

The technical rules behind every response: which protocol versions are supported, how to trust a result, and what an error means.

Protocol Compatibility

Supports both the modern stateless MCP core and the legacy initialize handshake.

Data & Provenance

Every result carries a verifiable source, version, and timestamp.

Errors & Troubleshooting

A fixed set of typed error codes, never a raw stack trace.

Expand technical detail

Protocol Compatibility

MODERN (2026-07-28): uses the stateless MCP protocol core. Clients may use server/discover to inspect server capabilities before making other requests, but discovery is not mandatory. The legacy 2025-11-25 initialize handshake is also supported on the same endpoint.

Data & Provenance

Every factual tool result includes provenance: sourceId, sourceUnit, sourceUrl, version, publishedAt, effectiveAt, verifiedAt, and contentHash. When no authoritative source exists, the service returns an explicit NO_AUTHORITATIVE_SOURCE error rather than fabricating an answer.

Errors & Troubleshooting

Common error codes: INVALID_ARGUMENT, TOOL_NOT_ALLOWED, NOT_FOUND, NO_AUTHORITATIVE_SOURCE, DATA_STALE, RATE_LIMITED, DEPENDENCY_UNAVAILABLE, INTERNAL_ERROR.

Security & Privacy

Can AI modify data?

No. Every MCP tool is read-only.

Do I need an API key?

No. Public tools can be used directly.

Are the data sources reliable?

Only allowlisted official sources are used, with provenance attached.

Does MCP crawl the university website in real time?

No. Queries only read already-synced canonical data.

Can it run SQL or shell commands?

No. Those generic tools do not exist.

NTPU AI4X MCP Documentation

Overview

Public Data

Read-Only Tools

Verifiable Sources

No API Key

Quick Start

API Tools

Center

Services

Members

Projects

Documents

Events

Center

Services

Members

Projects

Documents

Events

Protocol & Sources

Protocol Compatibility

Data & Provenance

Errors & Troubleshooting

Protocol Compatibility

Data & Provenance

Errors & Troubleshooting

Security & Privacy

Further Reading

Technical Architecture

Learn MCP

Playground