Cbeta Research

CBETA Research

Overview

Use the mcp_servers/CbetaMCP submodule as the live tool server. This skill provides startup policy, tool selection, and citation workflows; it does not duplicate the MCP tool implementations.

Startup Policy

Do not start the MCP server when the skill is loaded. Start it only when the user task needs a live CBETA query.

1. Check the endpoint first:

python3 skills/cbeta-research/scripts/check_server.py --url http://localhost:18765/mcp/

1. If unavailable, start on demand:

skills/cbeta-research/scripts/start_server.sh

When running inside an agent shell that cleans up background processes, keep the server in a long-running foreground session:

CBETA_MCP_FOREGROUND=1 skills/cbeta-research/scripts/start_server.sh

1. Re-run the check. If it still fails, report dependency, port, or server-log diagnostics.

The default MCP endpoint is http://localhost:18765/mcp/.

Windows Preference

On Windows, prefer running CBETA MCP commands inside WSL2. Fall back to PowerShell only when WSL2 is unavailable or the user explicitly asks for native Windows execution.

• If the agent is already running in WSL2, use the normal Linux commands above.
• If the agent is running in native Windows PowerShell or CMD and WSL2 is available, run Linux commands through wsl.exe -- bash -lc.
• If WSL2 is unavailable, use scripts\start_server.ps1 from PowerShell.
• Convert Windows paths such as C:\Users\name\repo to WSL paths such as /mnt/c/Users/name/repo before calling Linux scripts.

Example from native Windows:

wsl.exe -- bash -lc 'cd /mnt/c/path/to/everything-analysis-agent && skills/cbeta-research/scripts/start_server.sh'

Fallback from native PowerShell:

.\skills\cbeta-research\scripts\start_server.ps1

Query Workflow

1. Use references/tool-map.md to choose the smallest useful tool set.
2. For broad discovery, start with cbeta_all_in_one or cbeta_search_sc.
3. For exact Buddhist canon metadata, use catalog or work tools before content retrieval.
4. For final answers, prefer source-backed snippets from get_cbeta_lines, cbeta_kwic_search, or get_juan_html.
5. Include work, title, juan, and linehead when available. Preserve traditional Chinese source text unless the user asks for simplified Chinese.

References

• Read references/tool-map.md for tool categories, common parameter shapes, and recommended flows.
• Read references/setup.md for submodule initialization, dependency installation, endpoint configuration, and troubleshooting.

Output Rules

• Distinguish search hits from verified source text.
• Show CBETA identifiers in citations: work, title, juan, linehead, and URL from cbeta_goto when available.
• Report MCP startup failures with the check/start command and relevant log path.

Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

• Author: yellowbee686
• Source: yellowbee686/everything-analysis-agent
• License: Apache-2.0

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.