Grotto

Grotto — connector documentation

• MCP endpoint: https://grotto.connectorbay.com/mcp
• REST API: POST https://grotto.connectorbay.com/v1/tools/{tool_name}, described by the OpenAPI 3.1 spec at https://grotto.connectorbay.com/openapi.json
• Transport: Streamable HTTP, stateless, MCP specification 2025-06-18 or later
• Authentication: none required. An optional Authorization: Bearer <key> raises rate limits.
• Health: https://grotto.connectorbay.com/health · Tool schemas: https://grotto.connectorbay.com/tools.json
• Publisher: Unify Dynamics LLC · connectorbay.com/grotto · agent@connectorbay.com

What Grotto is for

The questions that come up before or during a caving trip — how do lava tubes actually form, what's the difference between a stalactite and a stalagmite, how many light sources should I carry, what is white-nose syndrome and why does it matter if I touch a bat — answered from one hand-curated, safety-conscious reference, without a scroll through scattered blog posts of uneven quality.

What it does

How the major cave types form and where each is found — limestone/karst (solutional) caves, lava tubes, sea caves, and ice/glacier caves (cave_formation_type_info); a speleothem reference covering ten cave mineral formations — stalactite, stalagmite, column, soda straw, flowstone, draperies/curtains, helictite, cave popcorn, rimstone, and cave pearl — each with how it forms, and a memory aid for telling stalactites and stalagmites apart (speleothem_info, speleothem_search); the core rules of safe caving — never cave alone (the buddy system, in a group of four or more), leaving a trip plan and return time with someone outside the cave, carrying at least three independent light sources per person, wearing a helmet, and more (safety_fundamentals_guide); core equipment — helmet, headlamp plus backup lights, clothing, gloves, first aid, and vertical gear (equipment_guide); cave wildlife and ecology centered on white-nose syndrome, the real, well-documented fungal disease that has killed millions of North American bats since 2006, plus general cave ecology terms (bat_and_wildlife_guide); minimal-impact conservation ethics — take only pictures, never touch formations, protect cave water, respect wildlife closures (conservation_ethics_guide); an overview of the three caving disciplines — horizontal, vertical (rope/SRT), and cave diving, with cave diving explicitly flagged as requiring specialized certification (caving_types_guide); and a glossary of core caving terms (caving_glossary).

What it is not

Not a substitute for a hands-on caving course, vertical (SRT) training, cave-diving certification, a local grotto (caving club) mentor, land-manager permits and closures, or emergency services. Caving carries real risk of injury or death, and cave diving specifically must never be attempted without recognized specialized certification (NSS-CDS or NACD training) — this connector describes it factually, never as how-to guidance for attempting it. For an actual trip, train with an established caving group and check current local conditions and closures.

Tools

Geology

cave_formation_type_info — How a major cave type forms and where it's found — limestone/karst (solutional) caves, lava tubes, sea caves, and ice/glacier caves. Use for "how do lava tubes form", "what is a karst cave", "how do sea caves form". Args: name.

Speleothems

speleothem_info — One cave mineral formation (speleothem)'s description and how it forms — stalactite, stalagmite, column, soda straw, flowstone, draperies/curtains, helictite, cave popcorn, rimstone, or cave pearl. Use for "what is a stalactite", "how do helictites form", "what's the difference between a stalactite and a stalagmite". Args: name.

speleothem_search — Search all speleothems in this connector's data by partial name, alias, or description text. Use for "which cave formations grow upward", "formations that form from dripping water". Args: query.

Safety

safety_fundamentals_guide — Core caving safety fundamentals — never cave alone (the buddy system, group of four or more), leave a trip plan and return time with someone outside the cave, carry at least three independent light sources per person, wear a helmet, dress for cold and abrasion, match the trip to the group's training, and check flood risk before entering. General safety information, not a substitute for hands-on training. Use for "how many lights do I need caving", "what's the buddy system in caving", "caving safety basics".

equipment_guide — Core caving equipment — helmet, headlamp plus backup lights, clothing and footwear, gloves and knee/elbow pads, first aid and signaling gear, and vertical (SRT) gear — one item or the full list. Use for "what gear do I need for caving", "how many light sources should I carry". Args: item.

Ecology

bat_and_wildlife_guide — Cave wildlife and ecology, centered on white-nose syndrome — the real, well-documented fungal disease (Pseudogymnoascus destructans) that has killed millions of North American bats since 2006 — why cavers must not disturb hibernating bat colonies or posted closures, gear-decontamination guidance, and general cave ecology (troglobites, troglophiles, trogloxenes, and the role of bat guano in the cave food web). Use for "what is white-nose syndrome", "why shouldn't I disturb bats in a cave", "what is a troglobite".

conservation_ethics_guide — Minimal-impact caving principles: take only pictures and leave only footprints, never touch speleothems (skin oils halt or discolor their growth), protect cave water from contamination, respect wildlife and seasonal closures, and minimize your party's overall footprint. Use for "why shouldn't I touch cave formations", "leave no trace caving", "cave conservation rules".

Reference

caving_types_guide — The three main caving disciplines — horizontal/general caving, vertical/rope (SRT) caving, and cave diving. Cave diving is explicitly flagged as requiring specialized certification (NSS-CDS or NACD training) well beyond ordinary open-water scuba, never something to attempt casually. Use for "what's vertical caving", "do I need certification to cave dive", "what's the difference between caving and cave diving". Args: type.

caving_glossary — Definitions of core caving and speleology terms — speleology, karst, speleothem, sump, breakdown, pitch, squeeze, guano, troglobite, troglophile, trogloxene, grotto, wild cave, and spelunker. Use for "what does sump mean", "what's a troglobite", "what's a grotto in caving". Args: term.

Conventions

• Read-only. Every tool reads public data or computes; nothing is written anywhere and nothing about the user is stored.
• Result envelope. ok: true with data, or ok: false with a structured error (bad_input, not_found, upstream_error). degraded lists optional sources that were unreachable.
• Rate limits. Free tier 60 tool calls/minute and 300/day per user (keyed on the user identifier supplied by the host agent, else client IP); Pro keys raise this. Over-limit calls return HTTP 429 with Retry-After. initialize and tools/list are never counted.

Support

agent@connectorbay.com · connectorbay.com/grotto/support

Grotto — Privacy Policy

Effective 24 September 2026. Unify Dynamics LLC ("we", "us"), Menlo Park, California.

What Grotto is. Grotto is a connector (an MCP server and REST API) that AI assistants and personal agents call on your behalf for a hand-curated caving/speleology reference and safety guide: cave formation types, speleothems, caving safety fundamentals, equipment basics, cave wildlife/ecology (including white-nose syndrome), conservation ethics, caving disciplines, and a glossary. You interact with your assistant; the assistant sends us only the arguments needed for that one lookup.

What we receive. The arguments of each tool call — a cave-formation name, a speleothem name or search term, an equipment item, a caving-type name, or a glossary term — the technical headers needed to serve the request (an IP address or a client identifier supplied by the assistant, and a Pro API key if you have one), and standard server logs.

Everything is answered from a bundled, hand-curated reference file and nothing is stored. No request is forwarded to any third party — there is no upstream call at all, live or otherwise — and no query is logged in request bodies, recorded, or used to train anything.

What we do not receive or store. We do not receive your conversation with the assistant or your name, and we do not build a profile from your queries: each request is answered independently and nothing carries over between requests. Rate-limit counters (a client identifier and timestamps) are held in memory for at most 24 hours. Hosting-provider access logs, which contain IP addresses and request paths but not request bodies, are retained for up to 30 days for security and abuse prevention.

Sub-processors. None — the entire dataset is bundled with the server and answered locally. Hosting: Vercel (United States regions).

Legal bases and your rights. Our processing is necessary to provide the service you request through your assistant. Because we store no personal data beyond short-lived logs, requests to access, correct or delete personal data are usually satisfied automatically; you can still contact agent@connectorbay.com and we will respond within 30 days. We do not sell or share personal information and do not use your data to train models.

Children. Grotto is a general-audience service operated by the adult using the assistant.

Changes. We will post changes here with a new effective date.

Grotto — Terms of Service

Effective 24 September 2026. These terms govern use of the Grotto connector ("the Service") operated by Unify Dynamics LLC ("we", "us").

1. The Service. Grotto returns a hand-curated caving/speleology reference and safety guide — cave formation types, speleothems, caving safety fundamentals, equipment basics, cave wildlife/ecology (including white-nose syndrome), conservation ethics, caving disciplines, and a glossary — from data cross-checked against public reference sources at build time. It is accessed through an AI assistant or directly over MCP or HTTP.
2. Not a substitute for training, certification, or emergency services. Grotto is a general reference and safety-awareness tool, not a caving course, vertical (SRT) training program, cave-diving certification, a local grotto (caving club) mentor, land-manager permit or closure system, or emergency service. Caving carries real risk of injury or death. Cave diving specifically requires recognized specialized certification (such as NSS-CDS or NACD training); nothing in the Service is instructional guidance for attempting cave diving, vertical caving, or any other technical caving discipline without that training.
3. Facts change. Content reflects public reference sources as of the build date stated in the Service's own data; always check current land-manager guidance, local caving-club (grotto) advice, and official wildlife-agency guidance (for cave closures and white-nose-syndrome decontamination protocols) before any trip.
4. Acceptable use. Automated use within the published rate limits is welcome.
5. Availability. The Service is provided "as is" without warranty. We may change, limit or discontinue it at any time.
6. Data. Our Privacy Policy describes what we process. In short: your query is answered from a bundled reference file, and nothing is stored.
7. Pro keys. Optional Pro API keys are issued at our discretion, are personal to the holder and may be revoked for abuse.
8. Liability. To the fullest extent permitted by law, Unify Dynamics LLC is not liable for any loss, including personal injury, arising from use of or reliance on the Service, including any decision to enter a cave, undertake vertical caving, or attempt cave diving. Our total liability is limited to US $100.
9. Governing law. California law; venue in San Mateo County, California.
10. Contact. Unify Dynamics LLC · agent@connectorbay.com · https://connectorbay.com/grotto

Grotto support

Email agent@connectorbay.com. We answer within two business days.

• MCP endpoint: https://grotto.connectorbay.com/mcp
• REST API: https://grotto.connectorbay.com/openapi.json
• Live status: https://grotto.connectorbay.com/health

When you report a problem, include the question you asked your agent, roughly when, and which agent you used (for example Claude, ChatGPT or Gemini). Never send us passwords, account numbers or ID numbers. Grotto never asks for them.