Star Lookup Skill

Overview

Data comes from a star catalogue file stored with the API. A `name` query is an exact, case-insensitive match on the star's name; partial names are not matched, and an unknown name returns 404.

A `type` query is matched in three steps, and the first step with results wins. First, an exact spectral code, with or without brackets and spaces, so `A1V` matches `A1(V)`. Second, a class name mapped to the luminosity suffix stored in the data: `supergiant` (I), `bright giant` (II), `giant` (III), `subgiant` (IV), `main sequence` or `dwarf` (V), `red dwarf` (M-type V) and `white dwarf` (wd); spaces, hyphens and a trailing `star` or `stars` are ignored. Third, a spectral class prefix such as `G`, `K5` or `DA`. Stars without a recorded type are skipped. For a type query, the first match is returned at the top level and `stars` lists up to the first 10 matches in catalogue order; `count` is the length of that list, not the total number of matches.

`mass` is in kilograms and `dist` in light-years. `starType` is the spectral code with the luminosity class in brackets, such as `A1(V)`. `temp` is the surface temperature, `color` a hex colour written as `0xRRGGBB`, and `galX`, `galY` and `galZ` are galactic coordinates whose combined length matches `dist`. `diameter`, `temp`, `color` and the three coordinates are null on the Free plan.

Live Test Star Lookup Skill Skill →

The tool

Once your client is connected to the VerveKit server, this appears in its tool list as StarLookupSkill. It is read-only and open-world — it fetches and never mutates anything on your side — so most clients call it without asking you to confirm.

{
  "name": "StarLookupSkill",
  "arguments": {
    "name": "Sirius"
  }
}

You do not name the tool yourself; the model picks it. Asking about Sirius in the terms this skill covers is enough for it to reach for StarLookupSkill on its own — naming it explicitly also works, and is the way to force the call.

Connecting

One server URL covers every skill in the catalog, including this one. Authorization is OAuth: the client opens a browser once, and there is no key to paste into a config file.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "vervekit": {
      "url": "https://api.vervekit.com/v1/mcp"
    }
  }
}

https://api.vervekit.com/v1/mcp

Per-client setup — Claude, Cursor, VS Code, ChatGPT — is on the MCP setup page.

Arguments

These are the properties on the tool's inputSchema, so a well-behaved client validates them before the call is made. Premium arguments are accepted on every plan but only take effect on plans that include them.

What the model gets back

The result carries a structuredContent object matching the tool's declared outputSchema, so a client reads fields without parsing prose. status is "ok" and error is null on success; a null field means the value was not available for that input, not that the call failed.

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{
  "status": "ok",
  "error": null,
  "data": {
    "starName": "Sirius",
    "mass": 4.674385e+30,
    "diameter": 2825760,
    "galX": -5.895,
    "galY": -6.152,
    "galZ": -1.167,
    "dist": 8.6,
    "starType": "A1(V)",
    "temp": 9500,
    "color": "0xbaccff"
  }
}

Response fields

Paths are relative to data. Premium fields are absent rather than zeroed on plans that do not include them, so check for presence instead of comparing to 0.

Failure modes

Errors come back as tool errors carrying a sentence the model can act on, not a bare status code. Error handling covers the full list.

A call costs 2 credits each time the tool actually runs; a model that reasons about the tool without calling it costs nothing.

Use cases

Planetarium Display Systems

Stargazing apps query star names to show visitors distance from Earth, stellar classification, and real celestial mass during live sky tours.

Sci-Fi Worldbuilding

To build believable galaxy maps, game developers pull spectral classes like red dwarf or main sequence to seed star systems with authentic physics.

Astronomy Curriculum Portals

When students compare celestial bodies, digital textbooks pull mass in kilograms and stellar types to demonstrate the Hertzsprung-Russell relationship.

Telescope Calibration Software

Align optical tracking mounts by looking up known reference stars to verify catalog identity and light-year distance against visual field observations.

Other ways to use Star Lookup Skill

Set up Star Lookup Skill on VerveKit, or reach the same source a different way. Your VerveKit account and credits work on all of them — one key, one balance.

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