Word Ladder Skill

Overview

Returns the puzzle, solution path, and step count. Includes printable HTML with empty rungs for solving.

The tool

Once your client is connected to the VerveKit server, this appears in its tool list as WordLadderSkill. 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.

Tool call

{
  "name": "WordLadderSkill",
  "arguments": {}
}

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"
    }
  }
}

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.

Argument	Type	Description
`start`Optional	string	Starting word (3-6 letters) length 3–6
`end`Optional	string	Ending word (same length as start) length 3–6
`difficulty`Optional	string	Difficulty level `easymediumhard` default medium
`count`Optional	integer	Number of puzzles default 1 · range 1–5
`image`OptionalPremium	boolean	Set to true to generate a downloadable puzzle image

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.

Result

{
  "status": "ok",
  "error": null,
  "data": {
    "puzzles": [
      {
        "startWord": "ANIL",
        "endWord": "CUED",
        "steps": 5,
        "solution": [
          "ANIL",
          "ARIL",
          "ARID",
          "IRID",
          "IRED",
          "CRED",
          "CUED"
        ],
        "solvable": true,
        "difficulty": "medium"
      }
    ],
    "count": 1,
    "difficulty": "medium",
    "html": "<html><head><title>Word Ladder</title><style>body {font-family: Arial, sans-serif; padding: 20px; max-width: 600px; margin: 0 auto;}h1 {text-align: center; color: #4CAF50;}.puzzle {background: #f5f5f5; padding: 25px; margin: 20px 0; border-radius: 10px;}.words {display: flex; justify-content: space-between; align-items: center; margin: 20px 0;}.word {font-size: 28px; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: 3px; padding: 15px 25px; border-radius: 10px;}.start {background: #4CAF50; color: white;}.end {background: #2196F3; color: white;}.arrow {font-size: 30px; color: #999;}.steps {text-align: center; font-size: 14px; color: #666; margin-bottom: 15px;}.ladder {display: flex; flex-direction: column; align-items: center; gap: 10px; margin: 20px 0;}.rung {width: 150px; height: 40px; border: 2px dashed #ccc; border-radius: 5px; display: flex; align-items: center; justify-content: center; font-size: 18px; letter-spacing: 5px;}.hint {font-size: 13px; color: #888; font-style: italic; margin-top: 10px;}</style></head><body><h1>Word Ladder</h1><p style='text-align:center;'>Change one letter at a time to get from the first word to the last</p><div class='puzzle'><div class='steps'>Puzzle #1 - 5 steps</div><div class='words'><span class='word start'>ANIL</span><span class='arrow'>→</span><span class='word end'>CUED</span></div><div class='ladder'><div class='rung'>_ _ _ _</div><div class='rung'>_ _ _ _</div><div class='rung'>_ _ _ _</div><div class='rung'>_ _ _ _</div><div class='rung'>_ _ _ _</div></div></div></body></html>",
    "image": {
      "imageName": "6f0f9e5e-ce0d-4570-a706-8fc5ccbfc948_wordladder.png",
      "format": ".png",
      "downloadURL": "https://storage.googleapis.com/apiverve/APIData/wordladder/6f0f9e5e-ce0d-4570-a706-8fc5ccbfc948_wordladder.png?GoogleAccessId=635500398038-compute%40developer.gserviceaccount.com&Expires=1766010731&Signature=FQwH%2FqXC0eYHgHqGKfBoEETrcXALoIpkf2z7HCkmYcFu2IgL2uMbCBi22tEsrlY3yOkksRuZ56C2685lLi98CWvgCF1J9UrYaAWjFtLesnHZ0i%2B0SWYIy5wZLWnVq4UrJDLZVrvSe8lh21mQJrduVY8QqV%2FI0sViUlnlndLMFUfhEQedKYAGRtmXjJlpl1YA9A9%2BtJoqRvMm4YStfJyLJmExPQKnPiRoP6EB6%2B8%2F1WUq5vH3%2BWglijVroxaJ%2BJy6kgQ8qTuVX9%2FzFi8R0DDHZtd0IpcTL8EBvNvHnjRPS4lZB%2Bm3k9GCxqGCnsj8pssu6ymtzGNEqA%2BBqAthODekWw%3D%3D",
      "expires": 1766010731681
    }
  }
}

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.

Field	Type	Example	Description
`puzzles`	array[1]		Array of word ladder puzzle objects with solutions
`puzzles.0.startWord`	string	`ANIL`	Starting word for the puzzle transformation
`puzzles.0.endWord`	string	`CUED`	Target word to transform the starting word into
`puzzles.0.steps`	number	`5`	Number of letter-changing steps required to solve
`puzzles.0.solution`Premium	array	`["ANIL","ARIL","ARID"]`	Complete sequence of valid words forming solution path
`puzzles.0.solvable`	boolean	`true`	Whether the puzzle has a valid solution path
`puzzles.0.difficulty`	string	`medium`	Difficulty level of the puzzle (easy, medium, hard)
`count`	number	`1`	Total number of puzzles generated in response
`difficulty`	string	`medium`	Overall difficulty level of generated puzzles
`html`Premium	string	<html><head><title>Word Ladder</title><style>body {font-family: Arial, sans-serif; padding: 20px; max-width: 600px; margin: 0 auto;}h1 {text-align: center; color: #4CAF50;}.puzzle {background: #f5f5f5; padding: 25px; margin: 20px 0; border-radius: 10px;}.words {display: flex; justify-content: space-between; align-items: center; margin: 20px 0;}.word {font-size: 28px; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: 3px; padding: 15px 25px; border-radius: 10px;}.start {background: #4CAF50; color: white;}.end {background: #2196F3; color: white;}.arrow {font-size: 30px; color: #999;}.steps {text-align: center; font-size: 14px; color: #666; margin-bottom: 15px;}.ladder {display: flex; flex-direction: column; align-items: center; gap: 10px; margin: 20px 0;}.rung {width: 150px; height: 40px; border: 2px dashed #ccc; border-radius: 5px; display: flex; align-items: center; justify-content: center; font-size: 18px; letter-spacing: 5px;}.hint {font-size: 13px; color: #888; font-style: italic; margin-top: 10px;}</style></head><body><h1>Word Ladder</h1><p style='text-align:center;'>Change one letter at a time to get from the first word to the last</p><div class='puzzle'><div class='steps'>Puzzle #1 - 5 steps</div><div class='words'><span class='word start'>ANIL</span><span class='arrow'>→</span><span class='word end'>CUED</span></div><div class='ladder'><div class='rung'>_ _ _ _</div><div class='rung'>_ _ _ _</div><div class='rung'>_ _ _ _</div><div class='rung'>_ _ _ _</div><div class='rung'>_ _ _ _</div></div></div></body></html>	Printable HTML puzzle template with empty rungs
`image`Premium	object	`{…}`	The rendered puzzle image, present only when image=true is requested
`image.imageName`Premium	string	`6f0f9e5e-ce0d-4570-a706-8fc5ccbfc948_wordladder.png`	Unique filename for the generated puzzle image
`image.format`Premium	string	`.png`	Image file format extension (e.g., .png)
`image.downloadURL`Premium	string	https://storage.googleapis.com/apiverve/APIData/wordladder/6f0f9e5e-ce0d-4570-a706-8fc5ccbfc948_wordladder.png?GoogleAccessId=635500398038-compute%40developer.gserviceaccount.com&Expires=1766010731&Signature=FQwH%2FqXC0eYHgHqGKfBoEETrcXALoIpkf2z7HCkmYcFu2IgL2uMbCBi22tEsrlY3yOkksRuZ56C2685lLi98CWvgCF1J9UrYaAWjFtLesnHZ0i%2B0SWYIy5wZLWnVq4UrJDLZVrvSe8lh21mQJrduVY8QqV%2FI0sViUlnlndLMFUfhEQedKYAGRtmXjJlpl1YA9A9%2BtJoqRvMm4YStfJyLJmExPQKnPiRoP6EB6%2B8%2F1WUq5vH3%2BWglijVroxaJ%2BJy6kgQ8qTuVX9%2FzFi8R0DDHZtd0IpcTL8EBvNvHnjRPS4lZB%2Bm3k9GCxqGCnsj8pssu6ymtzGNEqA%2BBqAthODekWw%3D%3D	Cloud storage URL to download the puzzle image
`image.expires`Premium	number	`1766010731681`	Unix timestamp when download URL expires

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.

Status	What it means
`400` / `422`	The arguments did not validate. The message names the offending one.
`401`	The OAuth session is invalid or expired — reconnect the server.
`403`	Blocked by a key restriction or an IP allow-list. Never a bad identity.
`404`	This skill is not part of VerveKit. Check the catalog.
`429`	Out of credits, or a brief rate limit. The message tells them apart.

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

Word Games: Create word ladder challenges for puzzle apps
Education: Teach vocabulary and word relationships
Brain Training: Develop problem-solving and word skills
Competitions: Generate puzzles for word game tournaments

Other ways to use Word Ladder Skill

Set up Word Ladder 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.

Call it as a REST APIOne HTTPS endpoint and an x-api-key header, with SDKs for Node, Python and .NET.APIVerve →Reference →