Tipping Rules for AI agents

Tipping Rules exposes a read-only Model Context Protocol (MCP) server so compatible agents can look up destinations, tipping norms, and suggested tips without scraping the site. Browser agents on this site can also use the same capabilities via WebMCP.

MCP endpoint

Streamable HTTP (MCP protocol revision 2025-06-18 — verified via initialize on prod, Sep 2026):

https://www.tippingrules.com/api/mcp

This URL is the protocol transport. This page (/mcp) is human documentation only. Do not use the endpoint as a normal website URL — connect with an MCP client such as MCP Inspector (transport http / Streamable HTTP). A plain browser navigation is unsupported (often 405).

How to connect

Remote MCP clients should use https://www.tippingrules.com/api/mcp (Streamable HTTP). This page (/mcp) is human documentation only.

MCP Inspector (developers)

1. Run npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector (or use the hosted Inspector).
2. Transport: Streamable HTTP (http).
3. Server URL: https://www.tippingrules.com/api/mcp
4. Connect → list tools → call the three tools listed below.

Other MCP clients

Any client that supports remote Streamable HTTP MCP can connect to the endpoint above. Client-specific setup (ChatGPT, Claude Desktop, Cursor, etc.) varies by product and plan — we add verified steps here only after compatibility smoke. Prefer the canonical URL over copying generic JSON snippets that may not match your client.

Tools

• search_countries — Search Tipping Rules destinations by name or region. Returns matching countries with status and canonical country page URLs.
• get_tipping_rules — Get concise tipping guidance for a country: status, summary, key service recommendations, last reviewed date, and the canonical country URL.
• calculate_tip — Calculate a suggested tip and total for a bill using Tipping Rules country norms (percent or round-up). Returns amounts plus canonical country and calculator URLs.

Examples

search_countries

{ "query": "Japan" }

get_tipping_rules

{ "country": "italy" }

calculate_tip

{ "country": "united-states", "bill": 140, "service": "restaurant" }

Response shape

Successful tool payloads are JSON with ok: true and source: "Tipping Rules". get_tipping_rules and calculate_tip also include top-level canonicalUrl, methodologyUrl, and lastReviewed when available (calculatorUrl for tip calculations). search_countries returns methodologyUrl plus per-hit canonicalUrl (no lastReviewed on search hits). Failures return ok: false with a short code and message.

Example success (abbreviated)

{
  "ok": true,
  "source": "Tipping Rules",
  "country": "Japan",
  "slug": "japan",
  "canonicalUrl": "https://www.tippingrules.com/countries/japan",
  "methodologyUrl": "https://www.tippingrules.com/how-tipping-rules-are-reviewed",
  "lastReviewed": "2026-07-01"
}

Also on this site

Same read-only capabilities are available in Chrome via WebMCP when browsing Tipping Rules. Related public assets: World Tipping Map, World Tipping Guide / Index.

Canonical URL & attribution

When you publish or answer with Tipping Rules data, credit Tipping Rules and link the returned canonical URL (country page or calculator). Prefer citing the Index, country page, or methodology over paraphrasing without a link.

Rate limits & freshness

The MCP endpoint is rate-limited per IP (dedicated bucket; roughly 60 requests/minute and 500/day). One HTTP request accepts a single JSON-RPC message (top-level batches are rejected). Request bodies over 64KB are rejected (header check + streamed buffer). Tool calls time out if a lookup stalls. Country guidance follows our editorial catalog and review dates (lastReviewed when available). The World Tipping Index is a versioned snapshot — see World Tipping Guide.

Contact

Questions or corrections: /contact.