MCP tools

The MCP server is created with FastMCP under the name dicom-standard-kb and runs over stdio.

Start the server

EDITION=2025e  # Replace with your concrete edition.
dicom-kb mcp serve \
  --edition "$EDITION" \
  --db /absolute/path/to/database.sqlite

Server-level options:

Option	Required/default	Meaning
--edition	required unless profile/environment supplies it	Concrete edition applied to every tool call.
--db	<cache>/db/<edition>.sqlite	Local SQLite knowledge base.
--cache-dir	default cache	Used to resolve the conventional database path.

The edition is fixed when the process starts. Individual MCP tools do not accept an edition argument.

The database is opened through a read-only SQLite URI for each tool execution.

Registered surface

The reviewed adapter registers exactly 19 tools and no MCP resources or prompts.

Registries and identity

Tool	Arguments	Purpose
dicom_lookup_data_element	tag_or_keyword: string	Look up a PS3.6 data element by tag, range tag, or keyword.
dicom_lookup_uid	uid_or_keyword: string	Look up a PS3.6 UID registry entry by UID value or keyword.
dicom_lookup_sop_class	uid_or_name_or_keyword: string	Look up a PS3.4 SOP Class and linked IOD records.
dicom_lookup_iod	iod_name: string	Look up a PS3.3 IOD by name or keyword.

Attribute values and context

Tool	Arguments	Purpose
dicom_lookup_enumerated_values	attribute: string, context?: string	Look up parsed enumerated values, optionally narrowed by context.
dicom_lookup_defined_terms	attribute: string, context?: string	Look up parsed defined terms, optionally narrowed by context.
dicom_list_modules_for_iod	iod_name: string	List PS3.3 module-use rows for an IOD.
dicom_list_attributes_for_module	module_name: string, expand_macros: boolean = false	List PS3.3 attribute and include rows for a module.
dicom_resolve_attribute_context	attribute: string, iod_name?: string, sop_class?: string	Resolve applicable attribute uses and bounded effective type.

Encoding

Tool	Arguments	Purpose
dicom_lookup_vr	vr: string	Look up a PS3.5 Value Representation definition.
dicom_lookup_transfer_syntax	uid_or_keyword: string	Look up a Transfer Syntax and linked encoding details.
dicom_explain_encoding_rule	topic: string	Return a bounded, cited PS3.5 encoding explanation.

Media and web services

Tool	Arguments	Purpose
dicom_lookup_media_type	media_type_or_context: string	Look up parsed media-type constraints by media type or service context.
dicom_lookup_dicomweb_transaction	name_or_route: string	Look up a PS3.18 transaction by name or route template.

Content mapping

Tool	Arguments	Purpose
dicom_lookup_sr_template	tid_or_name: string	Look up a PS3.16 SR template by TID or exact name.
dicom_lookup_context_group	cid_or_name: string	Look up a PS3.16 context group by CID or exact name.
dicom_lookup_code_meaning	code_value: string, scheme?: string	Look up a coded concept by code value and optional coding scheme.

Cited text

Tool	Arguments	Purpose
dicom_retrieve_standard_text	part: string, section_or_anchor: string, max_chars: integer = 800	Retrieve a bounded excerpt from persisted standard text.
dicom_search_standard_text	query: string, part_filter?: string, limit: integer = 10	Search persisted standard text.

Response shape

Every tool returns the public JSON response envelope.

The MCP name retains the dicom_ namespace, while the response’s tool field uses the underlying resolver name, such as:

{
  "tool": "lookup_data_element"
}

Do not use the MCP function name as a substitute for inspecting the returned field.

Normal outcomes

• ok: a result is present.
• not_found: no matching parsed fact was found.
• validation_error: deterministic input validation failed.

These remain successful MCP tool executions with structured response status. Unknown MCP tool names are rejected before resolver dispatch.

Startup failures

The server fails before entering the stdio loop when:

• the configured SQLite file does not exist;
• the optional mcp dependency is missing;
• an edition or path option is invalid.

The missing-database message points to the official fetch/build flow, the offline fixture flow, and the explicit --db option.

Client integration rule

Treat the server as a read-only, deterministic evidence provider. The client or agent harness should:

1. discover tools instead of hard-coding an incomplete subset;
2. choose a structured tool before text search;
3. pass exact identifiers and context;
4. retain the entire response;
5. surface candidates, warnings, and null fields;
6. cite returned references;
7. never reinterpret not_found as permission to answer from model memory.