Meta-tools

Most MCP tools call one API. Pipeworx exposes six gateway-native meta-tools that collapse common multi-call agent patterns into a single call. Each maps to a recurring agent loop (“find the right tool”, “resolve the entity”, “compare two things”) and pushes that loop’s cost off the agent and into the gateway.

ask_pipeworx

Plain-English routing. Takes a question, returns the answer.

ask_pipeworx({ question: "What is the US trade deficit with China?" })
// → census_trade_balance is called automatically; returns live data

Use when you don’t know which tool to call. Does NL → tool selection → arg fill → execution → result, all in one round trip.

discover_tools

Semantic search over the 1,000-tool catalog.

discover_tools({ query: "find clinical trials for Alzheimer's" })
// → returns top 20 most relevant tools with names + descriptions

Use when ask_pipeworx isn’t enough — when you want the option set, not just one answer.

resolve_entity

Cross-pack identity resolution. One call, all the canonical IDs + ready-to-embed citation URIs.

resolve_entity({ type: "company", value: "AAPL" })
// → { ids: { cik: "0000320193", ticker: "AAPL", company_name: "Apple Inc." },
//     resources: {
//       edgar_filings: "pipeworx://edgar/company/0000320193/filings",
//       edgar_facts:   "pipeworx://edgar/company/0000320193/facts" } }

resolve_entity({ type: "drug", value: "ozempic" })
// → { ids: { rxcui: "1991311", product_name: "..." },
//     resources: { rxnorm_concept: "pipeworx://rxnorm/concept/1991311", ... } }

Replaces 2–3 sequential lookups (ticker → CIK → URI construction).

compare_entities

Side-by-side for 2–5 entities, fetched in parallel.

compare_entities({ type: "company", values: ["AAPL", "MSFT"] })
// → revenue / net income / cash / long-term debt for each, with periods

compare_entities({ type: "drug", values: ["ozempic", "mounjaro"] })
// → adverse-event reports + FDA approvals + active-trial counts, side by side

Replaces ~8 sequential calls for company comparison, ~6 for drug.

remember / recall / forget

Persistent agent memory across sessions.

remember({ key: "current_research_target", value: "AAPL Q3 2024" })
// → stores against the agent's identifier

recall({ key: "current_research_target" })
// → "AAPL Q3 2024"

Anonymous sessions: 24h retention. Authenticated: persistent.

pipeworx_feedback

Send feedback to the Pipeworx team. Reviewed daily; signal directly affects roadmap.

pipeworx_feedback({
  type: "data_gap",                 // bug | feature | data_gap | praise | other
  message: "Need NIST CVE lookup tool",
  context: { tool: "search_patents", pack: "uspto" }
})

Rate-limited to 5 messages per identifier per day. Free; doesn’t count against tool-call quotas.

When error responses suggest meta-tools

Every Pipeworx error carries _meta:

  • _meta.examples — the same examples from tools/list, repeated for self-correction
  • _meta.alternatives — related tools to try
  • _meta.retry_hint — natural-language fix suggestion
  • _meta.feedback_hint — pre-formatted pipeworx_feedback call when the error looks like a Pipeworx-side bug or data gap

Agents that read _meta recover from most errors without human intervention.

Last reviewed May 8, 2026