Reference Data Tools

Use the reference data tools to look up OneTick database metadata — available databases, tick type schemas, field definitions, and market calendar information. Each tool reads from a tab-separated file in CSV_DATA_PATH; pass filters to narrow results and get back structured rows.

Tool descriptions

MCP Tool	When to use
list_databases	List available OneTick databases. Use to discover what databases exist before querying.
db_tables	List the tick types (tables) a database contains, or look up what a tick type means. See Tool behavior for the two modes.
db_table_schemas	Get the fields and their data types for a specific database and tick type combination. Use when you need the exact schema of a table.
db_field_descriptions	Get generic field definitions for a tick type, independent of any specific database. Use when you need the meaning of a field rather than its schema.
db_field_enumerations	Decode enumerated field values. Use when a numeric or string code in a result needs a human-readable label.
calendar_holidays	Look up market closure dates for a database. Use when checking whether a given date is a trading holiday.
trading_hours	Look up trading session names and open/close times for a database. Use when determining when a market is open.

Data source

All tools read from the directory pointed to by CSV_DATA_PATH. OneTick Cloud users get the bundled coverage files out of the box (see Download documentation sources). For on-prem and custom deployments, see Custom Reference Data.

The server looks for these exact filenames in CSV_DATA_PATH:

MCP Tool	Filename	Description
list_databases	db_list.txt	Available databases and their attributes
db_field_descriptions	db_field_descriptions.txt	Generic field definitions per tick type
db_field_enumerations	db_field_enumerations.txt	Code-to-value mappings for enumerated fields
db_table_schemas	db_tick_type_schemas.txt	Fields and data types for a specific database and tick type
db_tables	db_tick_type_descriptions.txt / db_tick_type_schemas.txt	Tick types in a database, or the meaning of a tick type (see Tool behavior)
calendar_holidays	mkt_cal_holidays.txt	Market closure dates per database
trading_hours	mkt_cal_trading_hours.txt	Trading session names and open/close times per database

Tool behavior

Result size. Every tool accepts a limit (default 10, capped at 50). When more rows match than are shown, the result includes the total count and asks the model to narrow the query with filters rather than to request a higher limit (a larger result would exceed the MCP client’s tool-result size cap). To see different rows, add or tighten filters.

Find by meaning (concept search). When you don’t know the name of the field, tick type, or database you’re after, but you know the concept, pass description_query. It searches the description text and ranks the most direct match first (exact, then starts-with, then phrase, then keywords), so the primary entry ranks above a similarly-named one. Available on:

• db_field_descriptions — e.g. description_query='settlement price' returns SETTLE_PRICE (ranked above the near-name SETTLE_PRICE_TYPE). tick_type is optional here — omit it to search across all tick types.

• db_tables — e.g. description_query='daily statistics' finds the matching tick type; combine with db_name to search within one database’s tables.

• list_databases — e.g. description_query='crypto derivatives' matches the database description; combine with the structured filters.

db_tables has two modes.

• With db_name — lists the tables (tick types) that database contains, from db_tick_type_schemas.txt (exact, case-insensitive match, so CME_GLOBEX does not also return CME_GLOBEX_BARS). Use this for “what tables/tick types does <db> have?”.

• With tick_type only — returns the human-readable description of that tick type from the glossary. Use this for “what does the DAY tick type mean?”.

Choosing between the schema/field tools.

• db_table_schemas is database-scoped — the actual fields/columns of a specific database’s table (db_name + tick_type), e.g. “list the fields in the CME DAY table”.

• db_field_descriptions is generic — the db-agnostic meaning of fields for a tick type, not tied to any one database.

File format

All files are tab-separated with a .txt extension. The first row is a header; subsequent rows are data. Some files include an optional type annotation on column names separated by a space (e.g. DB_NAME string[128]); the server uses only the part before the first space for filtering.

File schemas

db_list.txt

Column	Type	Notes
PUBLIC	string[1]	Y/N — publicly visible
DB_CATEGORY	string[32]	e.g. EXCHANGE - DERIVATIVES
DATASET	string[128]	Dataset identifier
DB_NAME	string[128]	Database name used in queries
DB_TYPE	string[64]	e.g. Tick Data
EXCHANGE	string[128]	Exchange name
DATASET_DESC	string[1024]	Human-readable description
MIC	string[512]	Market Identifier Code
COUNTRY		ISO country code
COUNTRY_NAME	string[256]
STARTDATE		YYYYMMDD
REAL_TIME	string[1]	Y/N
BARS	string[1]	Y/N
BOOK_DEPTH	string[1]	Y/N
TIME_ZONE	string[32]	IANA tz name, e.g. Asia/Singapore
MARKET_HOURS	string[12]	HH:MM-HH:MM
EQUITIES	string[1]	Y/N
FUTURES	string[1]	Y/N
OPTIONS	string[1]	Y/N
SPREADS	string[1]	Y/N
INDICES	string[1]	Y/N
FX	string[1]	Y/N

Example:

PUBLIC  DB_CATEGORY              DATASET  DB_NAME  DB_TYPE    EXCHANGE        DATASET_DESC                     MIC   COUNTRY  COUNTRY_NAME  STARTDATE  REAL_TIME  BARS  BOOK_DEPTH  TIME_ZONE       MARKET_HOURS  EQUITIES  FUTURES  OPTIONS  SPREADS  INDICES  FX
Y       EXCHANGE - DERIVATIVES   ABAXX    ABAXX    Tick Data  Abaxx Exchange  Abaxx Exchange derivatives data  XABX  SG       Singapore     20250818   N          N     N           Asia/Singapore  10:00-24:00   N         Y        N        Y        N        N

db_field_descriptions.txt

Column	Notes
FIELD	Field name
TICK_TYPE	Tick type the field belongs to
DESCRIPTION	Human-readable description

Example:

FIELD      TICK_TYPE  DESCRIPTION
BID_PRICE  QUOTE      Best bid price

db_field_enumerations.txt

Column	Notes
DB	Database name
FIELD	Field name
VALUE	Numeric or string code
DESCRIPTION	What the code means

Example:

DB    FIELD  VALUE  DESCRIPTION
NYSE  COND   A      Regular Trade

db_tick_type_schemas.txt

Column	Notes
FIELD_NAME	Field name
TYPE_FOR_EP	Data type, e.g. uint, string[8]
DB_NAME	Database name
TICK_TYPE	Tick type

Example:

FIELD_NAME  TYPE_FOR_EP  DB_NAME  TICK_TYPE
PRICE       double       NYSE     TRADE

db_tick_type_descriptions.txt

Column	Notes
TICK_TYPE_NAME	Tick type identifier
TICK_TYPE_DESCRIPTION	Human-readable description

Example:

TICK_TYPE_NAME  TICK_TYPE_DESCRIPTION
TRADE           Executed trade with price, size, and conditions

mkt_cal_holidays.txt

Has an unnamed index column as the first column.

Column	Notes
DB_NAME	Database name
ACTIVITY_NAME	e.g. Full Holiday
TIME_ZONE	IANA tz name
START_TIME	HH:MM
END_TIME	HH:MM
START_DATE	YYYY-MM-DD
END_DATE	YYYY-MM-DD

Example:

   DB_NAME  ACTIVITY_NAME  TIME_ZONE         START_TIME  END_TIME  START_DATE  END_DATE
0  NYSE     Full Holiday   America/New_York  00:00       23:59     2025-01-01  2025-01-01

mkt_cal_trading_hours.txt

Has an unnamed index column as the first column.

Column	Notes
DB_NAME	Database name
SESSION	e.g. PRE_MARKET, MARKET
TIME_ZONE	IANA tz name
START_TIME	HH:MM
END_TIME	HH:MM

Example:

   DB_NAME  SESSION  TIME_ZONE         START_TIME  END_TIME
0  NYSE     MARKET   America/New_York  09:30       16:00