Documentation Index
Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.ctxprotocol.com/llms.txt
Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
What this page is for
Use this page as the public contract for Context’s managed query runtime. Both of Context’s public Query surfaces route through the same runtime:/api/v1/query— the SDK / API surface for programmatic callers/api/chat— the first-party conversational surface
What the runtime guarantees
Grounded answers
Every paid response is assembled from tool results the runtime actually retrieved. If the marketplace can’t answer, the runtime returns
capability_miss instead of fabricating numbers.Honest ambiguity
If a prompt has multiple materially different interpretations, the runtime either returns
clarification_required with options or (in auto mode) proceeds with the best option and discloses the assumption it made.Full collection preservation
Comparison queries return the complete relevant set rather than a cherry-picked subset, so your model can reason over the whole collection.
Per-response settlement
Paid responses settle in USDC on Base after the answer is delivered. Failed executions do not trigger a charge.
Public controls
Both surfaces expose the same underlying runtime through different wire shapes. The public controls that actually affect answer behavior are:| Control | Surface | Description |
|---|---|---|
query | /api/v1/query | Natural-language question to answer |
tools | /api/v1/query | Optional pinned tool shortlist (overrides marketplace discovery) |
responseShape | /api/v1/query | answer, answer_with_evidence, or evidence_only |
clarificationPolicy | /api/v1/query, /api/chat | return (surface clarifications to the caller) or auto (server picks the best option and discloses the assumption) |
answerModelId | /api/v1/query | Public model knob for the final synthesis step |
selectedChatModel | /api/chat | Same role as answerModelId, on the chat wire format |
includeDeveloperTrace | /api/v1/query | Opt in to structured diagnostics for your own debugging |
code_interpreter (see Code Interpreter) — is managed by the server. Callers do not pick between internal lanes or budgets.
Response shapes
| Shape | Who it’s for | Contents |
|---|---|---|
answer | Backward-compatible callers | A single natural-language answer string |
answer_with_evidence | First-party chat, agents that want both | Natural-language answer plus structured evidence, freshness, confidence, and optional view payloads |
evidence_only | External agents that don’t need prose | Structured evidence package without a synthesized answer |
capability_miss or clarification_required, the response still carries typed fields your client can branch on — no prose-parsing required.
How the two surfaces differ
The runtime contract is identical across surfaces. What differs:| Property | /api/v1/query | /api/chat |
|---|---|---|
| Transport | JSON response | Streamed UI events |
| Session state | Caller-managed | Server-managed chat thread |
| Auth | API key | User wallet session |
| Clarification default | return | Configurable toggle: off → return, on → auto |
/api/v1/query but breaks in chat, the chat adapter is usually the first place to look — the shared runtime is the same on both sides.
Debugging with developer traces
PassincludeDeveloperTrace: true to /api/v1/query to receive a structured diagnostics payload alongside the answer. Traces are the supported public way to inspect what the runtime did on a given request.
The trace is intentionally a typed, stable surface — internal intermediate diagnostics can change across rollouts without breaking it.
Chat streaming UI extensions (first-party /chat)
Beyond message text, the chat stream emits structured UI payloads used by the web client:
| Data part | Purpose |
|---|---|
data-reasoningStep | Incremental librarian reasoning chunks, optionally keyed with relatedExecutionCallId to align with tool execution. |
data-executionToolCalls | Final per-call timeline (arguments + truncated results + executionCallId) for the docked execution sidecar. |
data-chartDelta, data-codeDelta, data-sheetDelta, data-textDelta, data-imageDelta | Artifact document streaming payloads; buffered client-side next to structural data-id/data-kind/data-finish parts. |
DELETE /api/history (authenticated).