> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://arize-ax.mintlify.site/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# AX MCP Conventions

> Shared rules every Arize AX MCP tool follows: pagination, span limits, timeouts, and error format.

A few rules apply across every tool in the [catalog](/docs/api-clients/mcp/tool-catalog), not just one.

## Pagination

Every `list` tool takes the same two arguments:

| Argument | Type   | Default | Description                                |
| -------- | ------ | ------- | ------------------------------------------ |
| `limit`  | int    | 50      | Items to return, between 1 and 100         |
| `cursor` | string | none    | Pagination cursor from a previous response |

Each response carries a `pagination` object:

```json theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light-default","dark":"github-dark-default"}}
{
  "pagination": {
    "hasMore": true,
    "nextCursor": "<opaque-cursor-string>"
  }
}
```

When `hasMore` is `true`, pass `nextCursor` back in as the next call's `cursor`. Agents pick this up on their own once they see a first response, though it's worth telling yours to stop after a page or two when you only need a sample rather than the full set.

### Span limits

`list_spans` caps out at 100 items per page regardless of the `limit` you pass, since span payloads are large enough to fill a context window on their own. Point your agent at a specific trace when you're debugging rather than paging through a busy project's full span list.

## Timeouts

Requests time out after 30 seconds.

## Errors

Failures come back in [RFC 9457 problem format](/docs/ax/rest-reference/errors) — a JSON body with `type`, `title`, `status`, and `detail` fields — which most agents read and explain rather than retry blindly.

## Next steps

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Tool catalog" icon="list" href="/docs/api-clients/mcp/tool-catalog">
    Every tool, grouped by resource.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Connect your client" icon="plug" href="/docs/api-clients/mcp/connect">
    Per-client setup for Claude Code, Cursor, Claude Desktop, Codex, and others.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>