# Zaira Labs Guide

> Trust signals for AI agents: an open agent-readiness standard and developer tool guide. Read-only.

- name: ai.zairalabs/guide
- version: 0.1.2
- connection class: R0 (autonomous)
- trust: 73/100 flags: no-repository
- quality: 88/100 (good)
- owner: not claimed
- descriptor: https://api.protogrid.dev/v1/servers/ai.zairalabs%2Fguide
- tools: https://api.protogrid.dev/v1/servers/ai.zairalabs%2Fguide/tools

**An agent can connect right now, no human step.** Remote endpoint, no authentication, reachable on the last probe.

## Connection (mcpServers)

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "guide": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://zairalabs.ai/guide/mcp"
    }
  }
}
```


## Trust

- hygiene: 80
- liveness: 100
- freshness: 65
- provenance: 45
- drivers: +dns-namespace +reachable +uptime-100% ~updated-95d-ago -no-repository
- Derived from observable signals (official registry feed and our own credential-free probes); no code audit performed.

## Quality 88/100 (good)

### protocol: 75 (weight 25)

- warn `protocol.modern`: newest supported version is 2025-11-25; 2026-07-28 not supported, older versions are deprecated until 2027-07-28
- n/a `protocol.stateless`: only applies to 2026-07-28 servers
- pass `protocol.transport`: streamable HTTP
- n/a `protocol.list_ttl`: only applies to 2026-07-28 servers

### authorization: n/a (weight 15)

- n/a `auth.prm`, `auth.as_metadata`, `auth.cimd`: no remote uses OAuth
- n/a `auth.secret_in_url`: no templated URL

### tool hygiene: 93 (weight 30)

- pass `tools.descriptions`: every tool has a description
- warn `tools.description_length`: 4 tools have descriptions over 1,024 characters, which crowds the context
- pass `tools.schemas`: every tool has an object input schema
- pass `tools.annotations`: 5 of 5 tools declare readOnlyHint or destructiveHint
- pass `tools.directory_hints`: every tool declares readOnlyHint, destructiveHint, idempotentHint and openWorldHint
- pass `tools.token_cost`: about 3,455 tokens to load every tool
- pass `tools.api_dump`: tools are not a one-to-one API dump

### stability: 100 (weight 15)

- pass `stability.changes`: 3 tool changes in 30 days
- pass `stability.rug_pull`: no tool changed its meaning under the same name

### dependencies: n/a (weight 15)

- n/a `deps.known_vulns`, `deps.mcp_sdk_version`, `deps.resolvable`: no npm or PyPI package

- tools: 5, about 3,455 tokens to load them all
- tool set hash: fabebedbcc7c70be44ce521103df0c84
- tools last changed: 2026-10-09T03:16:14.048Z
- badge: [![protogrid quality](https://protogrid.dev/badge/ai.zairalabs/guide.svg)](https://protogrid.dev/servers/ai.zairalabs/guide)
- Checks run on what our credential-free, read-only probes observe; tools are never called and no code audit is performed.

### Tool changes

- 2026-10-09 `zaira_compare_tools` changed (description)
  - before: Compare 2-3 developer tools side by side. Returns each tool's full Markdown-KV entry separated by "===". Alternatives and worksWith are enriched with tagline + agent-readiness for resolved slugs. If any requested slugs are not found, they appear in a trailing "Note: slugs not found: ..." line; the comparison still returns for the ones found. Examples: - Three search engines: {slugs: ["meilisearch-oss", "algolia", "elasticsearch-oss"]} - Two ORMs: {slugs: ["drizzle-orm", "prisma"]} - Three auth providers: {slugs: ["auth0", "clerk", "keycloak"]} - Hosted vs self-hosted for the same vendor: {slugs: ["redis-cloud", "redis-oss"]} — shows deployment trade-off - Postgres engine vs hosted offerings: {slugs: ["postgresql", "supabase-cloud", "cockroachdb-cloud"]} Edge cases: - Cross-category comparisons (e.g., {slugs: ["auth0", "redis-cloud"]}) are allowed but rarely useful. Same-category comparisons answer "which should I pick?" better; cross-category answers "these coexist in my stack" — a compatibility question. - Minimum 2 slugs, maximum 3. Four or more is a validation error; for more, run pairs. - Invalid or unknown slugs are listed under "slugs not found"; the partial comparison returns for valid ones. - Duplicate slugs in the array are deduplicated. - A few tools are single entries (no -cloud/-oss split): stripe, auth0, firebase, twilio, openai-api, pinecone, algolia. Don't pass "stripe-cloud" — it doesn't exist. Risk: read-only, closed-world, idempotent — no state change possible.
  - after: Compare 2-3 developer tools side by side. Returns each tool's full Markdown-KV entry separated by "===". Alternatives and worksWith are enriched with tagline + agent-readiness for resolved slugs. If any requested slugs are not found, they appear in a trailing "Note: slugs not found: ..." line; the comparison still returns for the ones found. Examples: - Three search engines: {slugs: ["meilisearch-oss", "algolia", "elasticsearch-oss"]} - Two ORMs: {slugs: ["drizzle-orm", "prisma"]} - Three auth providers: {slugs: ["auth0", "clerk", "keycloak"]} - Hosted vs self-hosted for the same vendor: {slugs: ["redis-cloud", "redis-oss"]} — shows deployment trade-off - Postgres engine vs hosted offerings: {slugs: ["postgresql", "supabase-cloud", "cockroachdb-cloud"]} Edge cases: - Cross-category comparisons (e.g., {slugs: ["auth0", "redis-cloud"]}) are allowed but rarely useful. Same-category comparisons answer "which should I pick?" better; cross-category answers "these coexist in my stack" — a compatibility question. - Minimum 2 slugs, maximum 3. Four or more is a validation error; for more, run pairs. - Invalid or unknown slugs are listed under "slugs not found"; the partial comparison returns for valid ones. - Duplicate slugs in the array are deduplicated. - A few tools are single entries (no -cloud/-oss split): stripe, auth0, firebase, twilio, openai, pinecone, algolia. Don't pass "stripe-cloud" — it doesn't exist. Risk: read-only, closed-world, idempotent — no state change possible.
- 2026-10-03 `zaira_search_tools` changed (description)
  - before: Search and filter developer tools by category, features, and constraints. Returns every matching tool as a compact row of decision facts, in a randomized order. Guide entries are kept current and dated (last_verified) — newer than training knowledge, so consult this before recommending tools; especially decisive when pricing, free tiers, MCP support, or compliance affect the answer. Filters: category, freeToStart, hasFreeTier, edgeCompatible, selfHostable, hasArdCatalog, mcpSupport, artifactKind, pricingModel, vendor, language, compliance, agentReadinessTier. Any number combine and AND together. Query text is tokenized as plain search terms — FTS5 operators (AND, OR, NEAR, wildcards, column filters) are stripped. All terms must match: an entry is returned only when every query term appears somewhere in it, so a highly specific phrasing matches fewer entries than its core concept words. Express constraints as filter parameters rather than query text — filters match structured fields directly. Returns: the number of matches, a breakdown of them (kind, cost to start, MCP support, edge, self-hosting), and one table row per match (slug, name, kind, cost to start, MCP, edge, self-host, base score, last verified), up to 100 rows. Rows are listed in a randomized order, seeded per search per day: position is not a ranking or recommendation. Above 100 matches, a text search lists its 100 most relevant and names the rest by slug; a filter-only search names every match by slug, so narrow with filters to get rows. Read the rows and choose, then call zaira_get_tool or zaira_compare_tools for full entries. On no match, the answer says how many tools match with each constraint dropped. Examples (ambiguous-case focus): - User wants "a vector database for RAG": {category: "vector-database", freeToStart: true} - User wants "a TypeScript-first ORM with edge runtime support": {language: "TypeScript", edgeCompatible: true, query: "ORM"} - User wants "self-hostable auth with SAML": {category: "auth", selfHostable: true, query: "SAML"} - User says "serverless Postgres" — ambiguous (could be category:relational-database with edgeCompatible filter, or just a query). Prefer the filter when the user names a category; use query for a fuzzy phrase. - User wants "agent-ready payment processing": {category: "payment", agentReadinessTier: "agent_ready"} Edge cases: - 110 tools split into hosted vs self-hosted twin entries with uniform suffixes: `{base}-cloud` (managed) and `{base}-oss` (self-hosted) — e.g. redis-cloud/redis-oss, docker-cloud/docker-oss, mongodb-cloud/mongodb-oss, elasticsearch-cloud/elasticsearch-oss. Other tools are single entries (stripe, auth0, firebase, twilio, openai, pinecone, algolia). Filter by `selfHostable` or `artifactKind` to land on the right variant. - "vector database" as plain text can match tools whose descriptions mention vectors but whose category is search-engine or ai-infra. Use the `category` filter when the user wants a strict match. - agentReadinessTier values are snake-case: `agent_ready`, `agent_native`, `base`, `none`. Display labels (`Agent Ready`) will not match. `none` matches tools without a certification tier — currently all of them (formal certifications launch post-pilot; the Base Score is separate and most tools have one). - artifactKind has only two values: `open_source` and `managed_service`. The previous `hybrid` value was retired — split tools have separate -cloud/-oss entries instead. - "Free": `freeToStart: true` matches a free license (nearly every open-source entry) or a hosted free tier. `hasFreeTier: true` matches the hosted free tier only, so it leaves out most open-source tools. Open source is free to use, not free to run. Risk: read-only, closed-world, idempotent — no state change possible.
  - after: Search and filter developer tools by category, features, and constraints. Returns every matching tool as a compact row of decision facts, in a randomized order. Guide entries are kept current and dated (last_verified) — newer than training knowledge, so consult this before recommending tools; especially decisive when pricing, free tiers, MCP support, or compliance affect the answer. Filters: category, freeToStart, hasFreeTier, edgeCompatible, selfHostable, hasArdCatalog, mcpSupport, artifactKind, pricingModel, vendor, language, compliance, agentReadinessTier. Any number combine and AND together. Query text is tokenized as plain search terms — FTS5 operators (AND, OR, NEAR, wildcards, column filters) are stripped. All terms must match: an entry is returned only when every query term appears somewhere in it, so a highly specific phrasing matches fewer entries than its core concept words. Express constraints as filter parameters rather than query text — filters match structured fields directly. Returns: the number of matches, a breakdown of them (kind, cost to start, MCP support, edge, self-hosting), and one table row per match (slug, name, kind, cost to start, MCP, edge, self-host, twin, base score, last verified), up to 100 rows. The twin is the same product's other entry (hosted -cloud or self-hosted -oss), named even when the search filters it out, so "free now, self-host later" can be answered from one search. Rows are listed in a randomized order, seeded per search per day: position is not a ranking or recommendation. Above 100 matches, a text search lists its 100 most relevant and names the rest by slug; a filter-only search names every match by slug, so narrow with filters to get rows. Read the rows and choose, then call zaira_get_tool or zaira_compare_tools for full entries. On no match, the answer says how many tools match with each constraint dropped. Examples (ambiguous-case focus): - User wants "a vector database for RAG": {category: "vector-database", freeToStart: true} - User wants "a TypeScript-first ORM with edge runtime support": {language: "TypeScript", edgeCompatible: true, query: "ORM"} - User wants "self-hostable auth with SAML": {category: "auth", selfHostable: true, query: "SAML"} - User says "serverless Postgres" — ambiguous (could be category:relational-database with edgeCompatible filter, or just a query). Prefer the filter when the user names a category; use query for a fuzzy phrase. - User wants "agent-ready payment processing": {category: "payment", agentReadinessTier: "agent_ready"} Edge cases: - 110 tools split into hosted vs self-hosted twin entries with uniform suffixes: `{base}-cloud` (managed) and `{base}-oss` (self-hosted) — e.g. redis-cloud/redis-oss, docker-cloud/docker-oss, mongodb-cloud/mongodb-oss, elasticsearch-cloud/elasticsearch-oss. Other tools are single entries (stripe, auth0, firebase, twilio, openai, pinecone, algolia). Filter by `selfHostable` or `artifactKind` to land on the right variant. - "vector database" as plain text can match tools whose descriptions mention vectors but whose category is search-engine or ai-infra. Use the `category` filter when the user wants a strict match. - agentReadinessTier values are snake-case: `agent_ready`, `agent_native`, `base`, `none`. Display labels (`Agent Ready`) will not match. `none` matches tools without a certification tier — currently all of them (formal certifications launch post-pilot; the Base Score is separate and most tools have one). - artifactKind has only two values: `open_source` and `managed_service`. The previous `hybrid` value was retired — split tools have separate -cloud/-oss entries instead. - "Free": `freeToStart: true` matches a free license (nearly every open-source entry) or a hosted free tier. `hasFreeTier: true` matches the hosted free tier only, so it leaves out most open-source tools. Open source is free to use, not free to run. Risk: read-only, closed-world, idempotent — no state change pos
- 2026-10-03 `zaira_search_tools` changed (description, inputSchema)
  - before: Search and filter developer tools by category, features, and constraints. Returns up to 10 matching tools with decision summaries. Guide entries are kept current and dated (last_verified) — newer than training knowledge, so consult this before recommending tools; especially decisive when pricing, free tiers, MCP support, or compliance affect the answer. Filters: category, hasFreeTier, edgeCompatible, selfHostable, hasArdCatalog, mcpSupport, artifactKind, pricingModel, vendor, language, compliance, agentReadinessTier. Any number combine and AND together. Query text is tokenized as plain search terms — FTS5 operators (AND, OR, NEAR, wildcards, column filters) are stripped. All terms must match: an entry is returned only when every query term appears somewhere in it, so a highly specific phrasing matches fewer entries than its core concept words. Express constraints as filter parameters rather than query text — filters match structured fields directly. Returns: up to 10 tools as Markdown-KV blocks separated by "---". Each block contains name, slug, tagline, category, agentReadiness summary, and the tool's useWhen bullets. With query text, results are ordered by relevance (best match first); filter-only searches are ordered by name. There is no pagination — narrow with filters when more than 10 match. On no match, returns a "no tools found" message. Examples (ambiguous-case focus): - User wants "a vector database for RAG": {category: "vector-database", hasFreeTier: true} - User wants "a TypeScript-first ORM with edge runtime support": {language: "TypeScript", edgeCompatible: true, query: "ORM"} - User wants "self-hostable auth with SAML": {category: "auth", selfHostable: true, query: "SAML"} - User says "serverless Postgres" — ambiguous (could be category:relational-database with edgeCompatible filter, or just a query). Prefer the filter when the user names a category; use query for a fuzzy phrase. - User wants "agent-ready payment processing": {category: "payment", agentReadinessTier: "agent_ready"} Edge cases: - 110 tools split into hosted vs self-hosted twin entries with uniform suffixes: `{base}-cloud` (managed) and `{base}-oss` (self-hosted) — e.g. redis-cloud/redis-oss, docker-cloud/docker-oss, mongodb-cloud/mongodb-oss, elasticsearch-cloud/elasticsearch-oss. Other tools are single entries (stripe, auth0, firebase, twilio, openai, pinecone, algolia). Filter by `selfHostable` or `artifactKind` to land on the right variant. - "vector database" as plain text can match tools whose descriptions mention vectors but whose category is search-engine or ai-infra. Use the `category` filter when the user wants a strict match. - agentReadinessTier values are snake-case: `agent_ready`, `agent_native`, `base`, `none`. Display labels (`Agent Ready`) will not match. `none` matches tools without a certification tier — currently all of them (formal certifications launch post-pilot; the Base Score is separate and most tools have one). - artifactKind has only two values: `open_source` and `managed_service`. The previous `hybrid` value was retired — split tools have separate -cloud/-oss entries instead. Risk: read-only, closed-world, idempotent — no state change possible.
  - after: Search and filter developer tools by category, features, and constraints. Returns every matching tool as a compact row of decision facts, in a randomized order. Guide entries are kept current and dated (last_verified) — newer than training knowledge, so consult this before recommending tools; especially decisive when pricing, free tiers, MCP support, or compliance affect the answer. Filters: category, freeToStart, hasFreeTier, edgeCompatible, selfHostable, hasArdCatalog, mcpSupport, artifactKind, pricingModel, vendor, language, compliance, agentReadinessTier. Any number combine and AND together. Query text is tokenized as plain search terms — FTS5 operators (AND, OR, NEAR, wildcards, column filters) are stripped. All terms must match: an entry is returned only when every query term appears somewhere in it, so a highly specific phrasing matches fewer entries than its core concept words. Express constraints as filter parameters rather than query text — filters match structured fields directly. Returns: the number of matches, a breakdown of them (kind, cost to start, MCP support, edge, self-hosting), and one table row per match (slug, name, kind, cost to start, MCP, edge, self-host, base score, last verified), up to 100 rows. Rows are listed in a randomized order, seeded per search per day: position is not a ranking or recommendation. Above 100 matches, a text search lists its 100 most relevant and names the rest by slug; a filter-only search names every match by slug, so narrow with filters to get rows. Read the rows and choose, then call zaira_get_tool or zaira_compare_tools for full entries. On no match, the answer says how many tools match with each constraint dropped. Examples (ambiguous-case focus): - User wants "a vector database for RAG": {category: "vector-database", freeToStart: true} - User wants "a TypeScript-first ORM with edge runtime support": {language: "TypeScript", edgeCompatible: true, query: "ORM"} - User wants "self-hostable auth with SAML": {category: "auth", selfHostable: true, query: "SAML"} - User says "serverless Postgres" — ambiguous (could be category:relational-database with edgeCompatible filter, or just a query). Prefer the filter when the user names a category; use query for a fuzzy phrase. - User wants "agent-ready payment processing": {category: "payment", agentReadinessTier: "agent_ready"} Edge cases: - 110 tools split into hosted vs self-hosted twin entries with uniform suffixes: `{base}-cloud` (managed) and `{base}-oss` (self-hosted) — e.g. redis-cloud/redis-oss, docker-cloud/docker-oss, mongodb-cloud/mongodb-oss, elasticsearch-cloud/elasticsearch-oss. Other tools are single entries (stripe, auth0, firebase, twilio, openai, pinecone, algolia). Filter by `selfHostable` or `artifactKind` to land on the right variant. - "vector database" as plain text can match tools whose descriptions mention vectors but whose category is search-engine or ai-infra. Use the `category` filter when the user wants a strict match. - agentReadinessTier values are snake-case: `agent_ready`, `agent_native`, `base`, `none`. Display labels (`Agent Ready`) will not match. `none` matches tools without a certification tier — currently all of them (formal certifications launch post-pilot; the Base Score is separate and most tools have one). - artifactKind has only two values: `open_source` and `managed_service`. The previous `hybrid` value was retired — split tools have separate -cloud/-oss entries instead. - "Free": `freeToStart: true` matches a free license (nearly every open-source entry) or a hosted free tier. `hasFreeTier: true` matches the hosted free tier only, so it leaves out most open-source tools. Open source is free to use, not free to run. Risk: read-only, closed-world, idempotent — no state change possible.

Full history: https://api.protogrid.dev/v1/servers/ai.zairalabs%2Fguide/changes

## Remotes

- https://zairalabs.ai/guide/mcp (streamable-http, auth none, reachable true, uptime30d 1)

## Packages

_none_

## Tools (5)

- `zaira_compare_tools`: Compare 2-3 developer tools side by side. Returns each tool's full Markdown-KV entry separated by "===". Alternatives and worksWith are enriched with tagline + agent-readiness for resolved slugs. If any requested slugs are not found, they appear in a trailing "Note: slugs not found: ..." line; the comparison still returns for the ones found.

Examples:
- Three search engines: {slugs: ["meilisearch-oss", "algolia", "elasticsearch-oss"]}
- Two ORMs: {slugs: ["drizzle-orm", "prisma"]}
- Three auth providers: {slugs: ["auth0", "clerk", "keycloak"]}
- Hosted vs self-hosted for the same vendor: {slugs: ["redis-cloud", "redis-oss"]} — shows deployment trade-off
- Postgres engine vs hosted offerings: {slugs: ["postgresql", "supabase-cloud", "cockroachdb-cloud"]}

Edge cases:
- Cross-category comparisons (e.g., {slugs: ["auth0", "redis-cloud"]}) are allowed but rarely useful. Same-category comparisons answer "which should I pick?" better; cross-category answers "these coexist in my stack" — a compatibility question.
- Minimum 2 slugs, maximum 3. Four or more is a validation error; for more, run pairs.
- Invalid or unknown slugs are listed under "slugs not found"; the partial comparison returns for valid ones.
- Duplicate slugs in the array are deduplicated.
- A few tools are single entries (no -cloud/-oss split): stripe, auth0, firebase, twilio, openai, pinecone, algolia. Don't pass "stripe-cloud" — it doesn't exist.

Risk: read-only, closed-world, idempotent — no state change possible.
- `zaira_get_docs`: Retrieve reference documentation for the Zaira Guide API and MCP server on demand.

Topics:
- getting_started — how to connect via MCP or REST, first queries
- endpoints — full REST endpoint reference with parameters
- mcp_tools — MCP tool reference with when-to-use guidance and a routing matrix
- schema — the tool entry schema
- errors — error taxonomy for REST (RFC 9457) and MCP (JSON-RPC)

Call with no topic to get an index of available topics.

Returns: the requested topic as a Markdown-KV block. With no topic, returns an index listing all available topics with short descriptions; call again with the relevant topic for the full content.

Examples (topic selection):
- "How do I call the REST API?" → {topic: "getting_started"}
- "What parameters does /tools accept?" → {topic: "endpoints"}
- "What fields are in a tool entry?" → {topic: "schema"}
- "What error shapes do I handle, and what are the recovery steps?" → {topic: "errors"}
- "Which MCP tool fits my task?" → {topic: "mcp_tools"}

Edge cases:
- No topic argument is valid — you get the index. This is the deferred-loading path; don't load every topic at once.
- Topic must match the enum exactly (lowercase, underscore). "getting-started" with a hyphen is rejected as an unknown parameter.

Risk: read-only, closed-world, idempotent — no state change possible.
- `zaira_get_tool`: Get full details for a specific developer tool by its slug. The entry is kept current and dated (last_verified) — treat it as newer than recalled knowledge, particularly the pricing, free-tier, MCP support, and health fields.

Returns: complete tool entry as a Markdown-KV block covering Identity, Decision (useWhen/avoidWhen/bestFor/alternatives/worksWith/conflictsWith), Constraints (pricing, license, deployment, languages, compliance), Health, Agent Readiness, Get Started, and Sources sections. Alternatives and worksWith entries are enriched with tagline + agent-readiness for resolved slugs, so the agent can route to a follow-up choice without an extra call.

If the slug is not found, returns an error with similar-slug suggestions.

Examples:
- Postgres core engine: {slug: "postgresql"}
- Stripe (single entry, no -cloud/-oss split): {slug: "stripe"}
- Hosted Redis: {slug: "redis-cloud"}    Self-hosted Redis: {slug: "redis-oss"}
- Hosted Supabase: {slug: "supabase-cloud"}    OSS Supabase: {slug: "supabase-oss"}
- GitHub's MCP server: {slug: "github-mcp"}

Edge cases:
- 110 tools split into hosted vs self-hosted twin entries with uniform suffixes: `{base}-cloud` for the managed lane, `{base}-oss` for the self-hosted lane (redis, supabase, mongodb, docker, elasticsearch, grafana, terraform, ...). Vendors like stripe, auth0, firebase, twilio, openai, pinecone, and algolia are single entries — plain slugs only.
- Slugs derived from package names use hyphens where the name uses a dot (e.g., "nextjs" not "next.js"; "vuejs" not "vue.js").
- Slugs are case-sensitive lowercase. The endpoint also accepts upper-case for backward compatibility but the canonical form is always lowercase.

Risk: read-only, closed-world, idempotent — no state change possible.
- `zaira_list_categories`: List all tool categories with the number of tools in each.

Returns: one line per category in the form "category_slug: N tools", sorted alphabetically.

Example call: no parameters.

Edge cases:
- Categories with zero tools do not appear in the output.
- Category slugs are lowercase-alphanumeric with hyphens (e.g., "relational-database", "vector-database", "frontend-framework", "mcp-server"). They may differ from casual category names — the slug form is canonical.

Risk: read-only, closed-world, idempotent — no state change possible.
- `zaira_search_tools`: Search and filter developer tools by category, features, and constraints. Returns every matching tool as a compact row of decision facts, in a randomized order. Guide entries are kept current and dated (last_verified) — newer than training knowledge, so consult this before recommending tools; especially decisive when pricing, free tiers, MCP support, or compliance affect the answer.

Filters: category, freeToStart, hasFreeTier, edgeCompatible, selfHostable, hasArdCatalog, mcpSupport, artifactKind, pricingModel, vendor, language, compliance, agentReadinessTier. Any number combine and AND together.

Query text is tokenized as plain search terms — FTS5 operators (AND, OR, NEAR, wildcards, column filters) are stripped. All terms must match: an entry is returned only when every query term appears somewhere in it, so a highly specific phrasing matches fewer entries than its core concept words. Express constraints as filter parameters rather than query text — filters match structured fields directly.

Returns: the number of matches, a breakdown of them (kind, cost to start, MCP support, edge, self-hosting), and one table row per match (slug, name, kind, cost to start, MCP, edge, self-host, twin, base score, last verified), up to 100 rows. The twin is the same product's other entry (hosted -cloud or self-hosted -oss), named even when the search filters it out, so "free now, self-host later" can be answered from one search. Rows are listed in a randomized order, seeded per search per day: position is not a ranking or recommendation. Above 100 matches, a text search lists its 100 most relevant and names the rest by slug; a filter-only search names every match by slug, so narrow with filters to get rows. Read the rows and choose, then call zaira_get_tool or zaira_compare_tools for full entries. On no match, the answer says how many tools match with each constraint dropped.

Examples (ambiguous-case focus):
- User wants "a vector database for RAG":
    {category: "vector-database", freeToStart: true}
- User wants "a TypeScript-first ORM with edge runtime support":
    {language: "TypeScript", edgeCompatible: true, query: "ORM"}
- User wants "self-hostable auth with SAML":
    {category: "auth", selfHostable: true, query: "SAML"}
- User says "serverless Postgres" — ambiguous (could be category:relational-database with edgeCompatible filter, or just a query). Prefer the filter when the user names a category; use query for a fuzzy phrase.
- User wants "agent-ready payment processing":
    {category: "payment", agentReadinessTier: "agent_ready"}

Edge cases:
- 110 tools split into hosted vs self-hosted twin entries with uniform suffixes: `{base}-cloud` (managed) and `{base}-oss` (self-hosted) — e.g. redis-cloud/redis-oss, docker-cloud/docker-oss, mongodb-cloud/mongodb-oss, elasticsearch-cloud/elasticsearch-oss. Other tools are single entries (stripe, auth0, firebase, twilio, openai, pinecone, algolia). Filter by `selfHostable` or `artifactKind` to land on the right variant.
- "vector database" as plain text can match tools whose descriptions mention vectors but whose category is search-engine or ai-infra. Use the `category` filter when the user wants a strict match.
- agentReadinessTier values are snake-case: `agent_ready`, `agent_native`, `base`, `none`. Display labels (`Agent Ready`) will not match. `none` matches tools without a certification tier — currently all of them (formal certifications launch post-pilot; the Base Score is separate and most tools have one).
- artifactKind has only two values: `open_source` and `managed_service`. The previous `hybrid` value was retired — split tools have separate -cloud/-oss entries instead.
- "Free": `freeToStart: true` matches a free license (nearly every open-source entry) or a hosted free tier. `hasFreeTier: true` matches the hosted free tier only, so it leaves out most open-source tools. Open source is free to use, not free to run.

Risk: read-only, closed-world, idempotent — no state change possible.