answer.cloud MCP: CMS Tools

Define collections and author content: list/upsert collections, list/get/upsert/preview/publish/archive/delete entries, and republish_cms, plus templates, markers, and the publish prerequisite.

Published July 20, 2026

These answer.cloud MCP tools manage CMS collections and entries — the structured, editable content that renders into pages, indexes, .txt mirrors, llms.txt, and sitemap.xml. They let an agent define a collection and then author, preview, publish, archive, or delete entries. For deploying the site itself, see the site & deploy tools page; for connection and auth, see the MCP overview.

CMS tools are organization- and site-scoped like the deploy tools, but they do not consume the daily deploy quota.

Before you publish: one prerequisite

A site must have gone live with at least one deploy before you can publish CMS entries. Publishing against a site that has never deployed returns cms_no_live_deploy. Define collections and draft entries any time; publish after the first live deploy.

How templates work

Each collection renders through a show template (single entry) and an index template (the listing). Templates are shipped inside the deploy artifact under .aeo/cms/{collection_key}/show.html and index.html, keyed by collection. A show template must contain the <!-- aeo:content --> marker; an index template must contain <!-- aeo:entries -->. If a template is missing or lacks its marker, answer.cloud renders the entry with a built-in fallback theme and records a warning. Other supported markers include <!-- aeo:title -->, <!-- aeo:summary -->, <!-- aeo:published_at -->, <!-- aeo:collection_name -->, and <!-- aeo:collection_summary -->.

list_cms_collections

List the site's collections and their health.

• Arguments: site_slug
• Returns: collections[] with key, name, description, index_path, path_pattern, item_type, template_path, index_template_path, template_health (healthy or missing for show and index), and entries_count / published_count / draft_count.

upsert_cms_collection

Create or update a collection.

• Arguments: site_slug, key (required); optional name, description, index_path, path_pattern, item_type, fields[], sort ({ field, direction }), and templates via either templates: { show, index } or the flat template_path / index_template_path.
• Returns: the collection view.
• Notes: key identifies the collection and maps to its template folder. path_pattern must include {slug}. This tool records the collection's shape; the actual template HTML is installed by a deploy that ships the matching .aeo/cms/{key}/** files.

list_cms_entries

List entries in a collection.

• Arguments: site_slug, collection_key; optional status (all, draft, published, archived), query
• Returns: entries[] with id, title, status, has_unpublished_changes, source_path, live_url, preview_url, and timestamps. query matches entry title and content.

get_cms_entry

Fetch one entry in full.

• Arguments: site_slug, collection_key, entry_id
• Returns: the entry plus its published_payload, any draft_payload, and AEO status.

upsert_cms_entry

Create or update an entry.

• Arguments: site_slug, collection_key; optional entry_id (omit to create a new entry); content fields title, slug, summary, content, published_at, metadata; and save_mode — draft (default) or publish.
• Returns: the entry detail for drafts, or the publish result when save_mode is publish.
• Notes: by default this saves a draft, not a live page — you then publish separately. If a publish save fails to render, the draft is preserved and the response returns the entry ID so you can fix and retry.

preview_cms_entry

Get a private preview of a staged draft.

• Arguments: site_slug, collection_key, entry_id
• Returns: a private preview_url hosted on answer.cloud and the template status. It does not return raw HTML.
• Notes: use this to review a draft before publishing.

publish_cms_entry

Publish an entry to the live site.

• Arguments: site_slug, collection_key, entry_id
• Returns: the entry, its live_url and index_url, and written_paths[] — the entry HTML and .txt, the collection index HTML and .txt, plus refreshed llms.txt and sitemap.xml.
• Notes: publishing renders the entry, updates the collection index, writes plain-text mirrors, refreshes discovery files, and injects JSON-LD and the chat widget. If the entry's path collides with an existing artifact file, it returns cms_path_collision — choose another slug or path.

archive_cms_entry

Unpublish an entry while keeping it recoverable.

• Arguments: site_slug, collection_key, entry_id
• Returns: the updated entry status and changed_paths[]. The collection index is re-rendered without the entry.

delete_cms_entry

Permanently delete an entry.

• Arguments: site_slug, collection_key, entry_id
• Notes: this is irreversible. To take a page down but keep the content, use archive_cms_entry instead.

republish_cms

Re-render published entries and indexes into the current deploy.

• Arguments: site_slug; optional collection_key
• Returns: the refreshed collections.
• Notes: run this after changing templates so existing published content picks up the new markup. Scope it to one collection with collection_key, or refresh everything by omitting it.

A typical authoring loop

1. list_cms_collections to confirm the collection exists and its templates are healthy.
2. upsert_cms_entry with save_mode: "draft" to stage content.
3. preview_cms_entry to review the staged draft privately.
4. publish_cms_entry to go live.
5. archive_cms_entry to take something down later, or republish_cms after template changes.

Frequently asked questions

Why didn't my entry appear on the site after upsert_cms_entry?

Because upsert_cms_entry defaults to save_mode: "draft". Call publish_cms_entry (or pass save_mode: "publish") to make it live.

My pages render unstyled or generic. Why?

The collection's template is missing or lacks its required marker, so answer.cloud used the fallback theme. Ship .aeo/cms/{key}/show.html and index.html (with <!-- aeo:content --> and <!-- aeo:entries -->) in a deploy, then run republish_cms.

Do CMS operations use my daily deploy quota?

No. CMS tools are exempt from the deploy quota, though they do count toward the per-minute request rate.