Tools Reference

Reference for the tools and resources exposed by the Elements CMS MCP server.

This page lists the tools your connected AI assistant can use through the Elements CMS MCP server. You do not need to call these tools directly. The assistant chooses them when you ask for things like listing posts, editing content, uploading media, or restoring a version.

Before using this reference, connect an MCP client with the MCP Server setup guide.

How inputs work

Every tool receives a small JSON object. The assistant builds that object for you, but a few terms appear often:

• Folder index - each content folder and resource folder has a numeric index, starting at 0. The assistant can discover these with content_list_collections or resources_list.

• Subpath - an optional subfolder inside a content or resource folder. Empty means the folder root.

• Role restrictions - every tool acts as the user bound to the token or OAuth connection. Owner-only and admin-only actions still require the matching role.

api_... keys and mcp_... tokens are separate. The tools on this page use the MCP server, not the JSON REST API.

Content

content_list_collections

Lists configured content collections, including each folder's index, label, path, and field schema.

• Inputs: none.

• Example prompt: "What content collections does this site have?"

content_create_collection

Creates and registers a new top-level content collection. If the directory does not exist, the CMS creates it recursively before registering the collection. When the destination is ambiguous, the assistant should confirm the server filesystem path before using this tool.

• Required: label string, path string.

• Restriction: admin role required.

• Example prompt: "Create a new content collection called Case Studies next to my blog folder."

content_list_items

Lists Markdown items inside a collection. Licensed installs can also drill into a subfolder.

• Required: folder integer.

• Optional: subpath string.

• Example prompt: "Show me all posts in the blog folder."

content_read_item

Reads a single Markdown item, including frontmatter and body.

• Required: folder integer, file string.

• Optional: subpath string.

• Example prompt: "Read the full text of my latest press release."

content_create_item

Creates a Markdown item in a collection. The filename is prefixed with today's date by default. If no slug is supplied, the slug is derived from the title.

• Required: folder integer, fm object.

• Optional: subpath string, slug string, body string, date_prefix boolean.

• Example prompt: "Draft a new blog post titled 'Spring update' with tags 'news' and 'product'."

content_update_item

Updates an existing Markdown item. New frontmatter fields merge over old ones, and omitted fields are preserved. If body is supplied, it replaces the Markdown body.

• Required: folder integer, file string.

• Optional: subpath string, slug string, fm object, body string.

• Example prompt: "Set yesterday's post status to published."

content_delete_item

Deletes a Markdown item and cleans up its version history.

• Required: folder integer, file string.

• Optional: subpath string.

• Example prompt: "Delete the draft titled 'Scratch notes'."

Resources and Media

resources_list

Lists files inside a resource folder.

• Required: folder integer.

• Optional: subpath string.

• Example prompt: "What is in my press-kit folder?"

resources_upload_request

Mints a one-shot upload URL that expires after 120 seconds. This is the preferred upload path because file bytes do not pass through the conversation.

• Required: folder integer, filename string.

• Optional: subpath string, media_only boolean.

• Example prompt: "Upload these three photos to the gallery folder."

resources_upload

Uploads a tiny file inline as base64. Use this only for files under roughly 256 KB. For larger files, use resources_upload_request.

• Required: folder integer, filename string, content_b64 string.

• Optional: subpath string.

• Example prompt: "Save this SVG I just pasted as favicon.svg in the root resources folder."

media_upload

Uploads a tiny image inline as base64 and validates that the content is an allowed image type. Use this only for images under roughly 256 KB.

• Required: filename string, content_b64 string.

• Optional: folder integer, subpath string.

• Example prompt: "Use this small logo for the site."

resources_move

Moves a resource file to another subfolder and/or renames it. The destination subfolder must already exist. The file extension is preserved.

• Required: folder integer, file string.

• Optional: subpath string, dest_subpath string, new_filename string.

• Example prompt: "Move hero.jpg from the homepage folder into the archive folder."

resources_rename

Renames a resource file in place. The file extension is preserved.

• Required: folder integer, file string, newName string.

• Optional: subpath string.

• Example prompt: "Rename all press photos to start with press-."

resources_delete

Deletes a resource file. Use content_delete_item for Markdown posts.

• Required: folder integer, file string.

• Optional: subpath string.

• Example prompt: "Delete the old logo from the resources folder."

resources_create_folder

Creates a subfolder inside a resource folder. Folder names may contain letters, numbers, hyphens, and underscores.

• Required: folder integer, name string.

• Optional: subpath string.

• Restriction: requires MCP access.

• Example prompt: "Create a subfolder called 'press-kit' inside resources."

Site Settings

settings_get_theme

Reads the site's theme settings.

• Inputs: none.

• Example prompt: "What is the site's current accent colour?"

settings_update_theme

Updates site theme settings.

• Optional: site_name, preset (light, dark, or auto), accent_color, surface_color, font_heading, font_body.

• Restriction: owner role required.

• Example prompt: "Switch the site to dark mode and change the accent colour to teal."

settings_list_users

Lists Online Editor users.

• Inputs: none.

• Restriction: admin role required.

• Example prompt: "Who has admin access?"

settings_list_webhooks

Lists configured webhooks.

• Inputs: none.

• Restriction: owner role required.

• Example prompt: "What webhooks are set up on this site?"

Version History

Version history tools require active MCP access and use the same permissions as the Online Editor.

versions_list

Lists saved versions for an item.

• Required: folder integer, file string.

• Optional: subpath string.

• Example prompt: "Show me the history of yesterday's blog post."

versions_read

Reads a specific saved version.

• Required: folder integer, file string, version string.

• Optional: subpath string.

• Example prompt: "What did that post look like before I edited it this morning?"

versions_restore

Restores a previous version, overwriting the current item.

• Required: folder integer, file string, version string.

• Optional: subpath string.

• Example prompt: "Roll yesterday's post back to the version from 9am."

MCP Resources

The MCP server also exposes read-only resources. Assistants can use these for context without making a tool call.

Resource	Description
cms://site	Site name, theme basics, install counts, and the connected user's role.
cms://collections	All content collections with their field schemas.
cms://collection/{index}	Items in a specific collection, sorted by modified date.
cms://item/{folder_index}/{filename}	The raw Markdown for a specific item.

Example prompt:

"Look at the available CMS resources and tell me what content this site contains."