explain_metric
What one screening criterion means, and how to filter on it.
What it does
Explains a criterion id: its human label, the operators it accepts, the JSON type its value must have, and the written definition from the matching documentation page. Use it before screen_stocks when you are unsure what a criterion measures or how to phrase a filter. Not every criterion has a documentation page; definition and explanation are null when it does not.
explain_metric is on the free tier. A free account gets 12 agent calls per 16 hours and this is one of them; Pro is uncounted. The website's own screening allowance is counted separately.
Arguments, returns and a worked call
Everything below is generated from the same registry entry the MCP server and /openapi.json are generated from, so this page cannot name an argument that does not exist. The two examples are the same call, once over each transport.
explain_metric
FreeExplains a criterion id: its human label, the operators it accepts, the JSON type its value must have, and the written definition from the matching documentation page. Use it before screen_stocks when you are unsure what a criterion measures or how to phrase a filter. Not every criterion has a documentation page; `definition` and `explanation` are null when it does not.
Arguments
criterion_id string, required — A screening criterion id, exactly as screen_stocks accepts it.
Returns
criterion, definition, explanation, doc_url, error, as_of, source, disclaimer
> curl -s https://crushthemarket.com/api/v1/explain_metric \ -H "Authorization: Bearer $CTM_KEY" \ -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \ -d '{"criterion_id":"priceToEarningsRatio"}'{ "jsonrpc": "2.0", "id": 1, "method": "tools/call", "params": { "name": "explain_metric", "arguments": { "criterion_id": "priceToEarningsRatio" } }}Can answer
bad_request — `criterion_id` is missing or empty.
unknown_criterion — The id is not one of the published screening criteria.
Calling explain_metric
- 1.Register free — an email address, no card — then create a key under API Keys on your account page. Your email address has to be verified first, and the key is shown once.
- 2.Using a chat client that speaks MCP? The MCP guide is one paste. Anything else takes bearer auth, the error codes and the limits from the REST guide.
- 3.Make the call above with your own key in it.
Every successful response carries as_of, source, a quota block saying how much of the allowance is left, and the same disclaimer this page ends on.
More for agents
Data, not advice. Do your own diligence.