# eswat2-mcp — LLM ACCESS PROTOCOL

**CRITICAL RULE:** Every namespace://URI must be read exclusively via the resolver. Never construct or guess direct paths.

> This MCP server exposes biographical and career information about Richard Hess (eswat2) — a software engineer with 40+ years of experience spanning expert systems, X11/Motif, SGI, Netscape, and modern web components. Use 'list_uris' to discover all available URIs across namespaces, then 'read_uri' to retrieve any content. profile:// — identity, biography, journeys, resume. projects:// — shipped platforms, tools, and personal projects. research:// — PoCs, explorations, and hypothesis-driven experiments. specs:// — reference YAML specs for the YAML-Driven Reactive UI Platform. gallery:// — screenshots of shipped projects and YAML-driven UI components rendered live; each entry links to its source spec. vault:// — archival historical context: AI winter, Lisp machines, Teknowledge, WINTERP, Taligent, and more.

**Manifest:** https://eswat2-mcp.vercel.app/manifest

## CRITICAL ACCESS RULES

- The **ONLY** allowed way to read any URI is: `https://eswat2-mcp.vercel.app/resolve?uri=EXACT_URI_HERE`
- Never construct direct paths like `/projects://slug` or `/resolve/projects://...`
- Never guess or infer URLs — always use the resolver.
- To discover available URIs, fetch the manifest or read the Topics section below.

## Correct Usage Flow

1. To see all available URIs → fetch the manifest
2. To retrieve any topic → `GET https://eswat2-mcp.vercel.app/resolve?uri=namespace://slug`
3. Always use the exact URI as listed — do not modify it.

## Multimodal & Vision Instructions

The `gallery://` namespace contains screenshots of live applications, YAML-driven components, and icon proofs. Many entries include direct PNG image links.

**Preferred — Direct Image Input:**
When your platform supports vision, treat the image URL from a resolved gallery entry as a direct image for visual analysis.
Example: if resolved markdown contains `![description](https://eswat2-mcp.vercel.app/gallery/vercel-funnel-r3t.png)`, feed that PNG to your vision encoder.

**Fallback — Text + Image Reference:**
If your platform cannot process external image URLs with vision:
1. Resolve the gallery URI via `https://eswat2-mcp.vercel.app/resolve?uri=gallery://slug`
2. Extract the image URL from the returned markdown.
3. If URL-based vision is unsupported, rely on the textual description and cross-reference related URIs (e.g. `projects://funnel`, `research://vercel-apps`, or the YAML spec).

**Key gallery entries that benefit from vision:**
- `gallery://vercel-funnel-r3t`, `gallery://vercel-tinker-r3t`, `gallery://vercel-sudoku-r3t`, `gallery://vercel-autos-r3t` — compare UI consistency across frameworks
- `gallery://color-picker` — observe live reactive state (selected color bar vs. state panel)
- `gallery://icon-gallery`, `gallery://icons-lucide`, `gallery://icons-lucide-lab`, `gallery://icon-proofs` — icon rendering, theming, glass-morphism design
- `gallery://index` — overall visual style of the Juris/YAML platform

When analyzing gallery images, note layout, color usage, Tailwind styling, state feedback, and alignment with the underlying YAML spec.

**CRITICAL REMINDER:** All gallery content must still be accessed via the resolver. Never bypass it.

## Topics

### Art

- [art://index](https://eswat2-mcp.vercel.app/resolve?uri=art://index) — Original lithographs and prints from the personal collection — physical works by visual artists who shaped cinematic science fiction and the visual language of hard SF
- [art://syd-mead-drgxx](https://eswat2-mcp.vercel.app/resolve?uri=art://syd-mead-drgxx) — Signed, numbered lithograph (53/250) depicting a monumental mechanized dog race in a futuristic Roman coliseum — Syd Mead's vision of humanity's endless appetite for grander spectacle
- [art://syd-mead-sentinel](https://eswat2-mcp.vercel.app/resolve?uri=art://syd-mead-sentinel) — Giclée print of Syd Mead's Sentinel II cover — a biomorph vehicle arriving at a resort reception stage, with a custom-engineered equiline creature and the luminous saturated color that defined his gouache originals
- [art://syd-mead-village](https://eswat2-mcp.vercel.app/resolve?uri=art://syd-mead-village) — Lithograph depicting the first launch of Mead's "Village Machine" — a self-contained mobile resort designed to carry dozens of passengers to remote global destinations in six-star comfort

### Gallery

- [gallery://color-picker](https://eswat2-mcp.vercel.app/resolve?uri=gallery://color-picker) — Screenshot of the Color Picker component with "yellow" selected — showing the reactive state loop live: selected color bar and State Variables panel both reflect the current selection simultaneously
- [gallery://icon-gallery](https://eswat2-mcp.vercel.app/resolve?uri=gallery://icon-gallery) — Screenshot of the icon-gallery-005 YAML spec rendered on the proofs page — glass-morphism grid of 42 icons across mixed families with per-family color theming and click-to-select state
- [gallery://icon-proofs](https://eswat2-mcp.vercel.app/resolve?uri=gallery://icon-proofs) — Screenshot of the top-level Icon Proofs page — navigable cards for all 9 icon families available in the system, each with sample icons and an Explore button that opens the family proof page
- [gallery://icons-lucide](https://eswat2-mcp.vercel.app/resolve?uri=gallery://icons-lucide) — Screenshot of the Lucide family proof page showing 50 randomly selected icons from 1,897 total — with search, variant, and page-size controls; "Random (50)" mode active
- [gallery://icons-lucide-lab](https://eswat2-mcp.vercel.app/resolve?uri=gallery://icons-lucide-lab) — Screenshot of the Lucide Lab family proof page showing 50 randomly selected icons from 373 total — experimental extension of Lucide with creative and specialized icons; "Random (50)" mode active
- [gallery://index](https://eswat2-mcp.vercel.app/resolve?uri=gallery://index) — Screenshots of shipped projects and YAML-driven UI components rendered by the Juris runtime
- [gallery://vercel-autos-r3t](https://eswat2-mcp.vercel.app/resolve?uri=gallery://vercel-autos-r3t) — Screenshot of the React 19 autos app — car dealer list with automotive brand logos, GraphQL backend, Tailwind CSS, action-state pattern
- [gallery://vercel-funnel-r3t](https://eswat2-mcp.vercel.app/resolve?uri=gallery://vercel-funnel-r3t) — Screenshot of the React 19 funnel app — 5 animated SVG funnels with navy selected, color swatch row, and live sample output; one of 8 framework implementations of the same design
- [gallery://vercel-sudoku-r3t](https://eswat2-mcp.vercel.app/resolve?uri=gallery://vercel-sudoku-r3t) — Screenshot of the React 19 Sudoku app — 9x9 grid with a puzzle in progress, green given-number cells, pink active cell, serverless Rust puzzle API; one of 10 framework implementations
- [gallery://vercel-tinker-r3t](https://eswat2-mcp.vercel.app/resolve?uri=gallery://vercel-tinker-r3t) — Screenshot of the React 19 Tinker app — minimal action-state testbed with color swatch row, yellow selected, live color and sample output; one of 8 framework implementations

### Profile

- [profile://about](https://eswat2-mcp.vercel.app/resolve?uri=profile://about) — Short bio — who Richard Hess is, in a paragraph
- [profile://allison-transmission](https://eswat2-mcp.vercel.app/resolve?uri=profile://allison-transmission) — R&D work on automatic transmissions and flywheel hybrid propulsion at Allison Transmission (GM Division)
- [profile://archetype](https://eswat2-mcp.vercel.app/resolve?uri=profile://archetype) — How Richard Hess compares to typical Principal Architect profiles — the Long-Haul Deterministic Builder archetype
- [profile://biography](https://eswat2-mcp.vercel.app/resolve?uri=profile://biography) — Long-form career narrative
- [profile://colophon](https://eswat2-mcp.vercel.app/resolve?uri=profile://colophon) — How eswat2-mcp was built — stack, tools, and protocol
- [profile://cox-automotive](https://eswat2-mcp.vercel.app/resolve?uri=profile://cox-automotive) — Cox Automotive chapter (2019–2026) — championing Web Components, Micro Frontends, Composable UIs, event bus architecture, and Enterprise Design System influence
- [profile://identity](https://eswat2-mcp.vercel.app/resolve?uri=profile://identity) — Contact info, social links, and branding
- [profile://index](https://eswat2-mcp.vercel.app/resolve?uri=profile://index) — Executive summary for LLMs — identity, career arc, signature work, key themes, and suggested next URIs
- [profile://journey-programming](https://eswat2-mcp.vercel.app/resolve?uri=profile://journey-programming) — 40+ year programming language and project chronology
- [profile://journey-ui](https://eswat2-mcp.vercel.app/resolve?uri=profile://journey-ui) — 40+ year UI framework and platform journey
- [profile://patents](https://eswat2-mcp.vercel.app/resolve?uri=profile://patents) — Issued patents from early career in factory automation and manufacturing systems
- [profile://podcast-qa](https://eswat2-mcp.vercel.app/resolve?uri=profile://podcast-qa) — Interview Q&A — voice, opinions, and career arc in first person
- [profile://resume](https://eswat2-mcp.vercel.app/resolve?uri=profile://resume) — Principal Architect, UI/UX — 2-page application resume
- [profile://shield-legal](https://eswat2-mcp.vercel.app/resolve?uri=profile://shield-legal) — Shield Legal LLC chapter (2026–present) — Principal Architect, UI/UX; ADR authorship, AI-native UI mentorship, and action-state pattern introduction into a React/shadcn/Tailwind/Zustand stack
- [profile://toolchain](https://eswat2-mcp.vercel.app/resolve?uri=profile://toolchain) — Licensed tools, paid subscriptions, and environment management for Richard Hess (eswat2)

### Projects

- [projects://autos](https://eswat2-mcp.vercel.app/resolve?uri=projects://autos) — Autos — car-browsing technology demonstration across 7 frameworks with GraphQL backend; originated as a Cox Automotive take-home interview exercise
- [projects://d4-gear](https://eswat2-mcp.vercel.app/resolve?uri=projects://d4-gear) — A Diablo IV character armory built from four YAML files — Python compiles them to data.json and renders the finished HTML, published on Vercel and GitHub Pages from the same commit
- [projects://eswat2-mcp](https://eswat2-mcp.vercel.app/resolve?uri=projects://eswat2-mcp) — Personal MCP server exposing biographical and career information about Richard Hess (eswat2) across 7 namespaces — biography, projects, research, specs, gallery, vault, and server-level eswat2://
- [projects://farmers-market](https://eswat2-mcp.vercel.app/resolve?uri=projects://farmers-market) — Farmers Market pro bono web app — paperless vendor signup and approval (2014–2018)
- [projects://framework-roadmap](https://eswat2-mcp.vercel.app/resolve?uri=projects://framework-roadmap) — 14 frameworks targeted for future implementation across the autos, funnel, sudoku, and tinker reference suite
- [projects://funnel](https://eswat2-mcp.vercel.app/resolve?uri=projects://funnel) — Custom SVG Funnel — one design, 8 framework implementations
- [projects://icons](https://eswat2-mcp.vercel.app/resolve?uri=projects://icons) — Icon libraries and tools — s4e-icons, s4e-ikons, proto-ikon-loader, wc-proofs
- [projects://index](https://eswat2-mcp.vercel.app/resolve?uri=projects://index) — Shipped platforms, tools, and personal projects — with links to individual project slugs
- [projects://juris-mcp](https://eswat2-mcp.vercel.app/resolve?uri=projects://juris-mcp) — MCP server for the Juris.js runtime — live HTML preview generation from YAML specs with a 17-component registry
- [projects://lit-mcp](https://eswat2-mcp.vercel.app/resolve?uri=projects://lit-mcp) — MCP server that compiles YAML component specs into production Lit 4.x web components with Shadow DOM, typed props, and state management
- [projects://mock-apis](https://eswat2-mcp.vercel.app/resolve?uri=projects://mock-apis) — Lightweight mock API servers for UI development and prototyping
- [projects://npx-cards](https://eswat2-mcp.vercel.app/resolve?uri=projects://npx-cards) — NPX CLI business cards — contact info and links via npx eswat2
- [projects://proto-realtime](https://eswat2-mcp.vercel.app/resolve?uri=projects://proto-realtime) — Four no-signup real-time prototype apps — planning poker, team retro board, birthday bot, collaborative drawing PoC — sharing one Vercel + Redis + SSE architecture
- [projects://proto-specs](https://eswat2-mcp.vercel.app/resolve?uri=projects://proto-specs) — Public repo of app specifications (not code) used as a cleanroom-implementation benchmark for coding agents
- [projects://proto-watchlist](https://eswat2-mcp.vercel.app/resolve?uri=projects://proto-watchlist) — A PS5 game watchlist generated from one YAML file — Python builds the page and its Markdown mirror, three independent axes, a playtime record, and no JavaScript beyond a theme toggle
- [projects://skunkworks](https://eswat2-mcp.vercel.app/resolve?uri=projects://skunkworks) — Definition and examples of skunk works projects from Richard Hess's career — small-team radical innovation built outside normal constraints
- [projects://spec-cleanroom](https://eswat2-mcp.vercel.app/resolve?uri=projects://spec-cleanroom) — Archive of independent cleanroom implementations of proto-poker and proto-retro, built from proto-specs alone by Grok and Antigravity
- [projects://stencil-mcp](https://eswat2-mcp.vercel.app/resolve?uri=projects://stencil-mcp) — MCP server that compiles YAML component specs into framework-agnostic Stencil 4.x web component distributions with Tailwind CSS integration
- [projects://sudoku](https://eswat2-mcp.vercel.app/resolve?uri=projects://sudoku) — Sudoku App — one design, 10 framework implementations with serverless Rust API
- [projects://sudoku-comparison](https://eswat2-mcp.vercel.app/resolve?uri=projects://sudoku-comparison) — What separates the two Claude-written single-file Sudoku apps from the eight hand-built framework ports — architecture, deploy model, and measured payloads
- [projects://sudoku-juris](https://eswat2-mcp.vercel.app/resolve?uri=projects://sudoku-juris) — Sudoku — Juris native implementation; exploratory proof of runtime, used in vercel-apps.py
- [projects://svg-mcp](https://eswat2-mcp.vercel.app/resolve?uri=projects://svg-mcp) — MCP server for unified multi-family SVG icon access — 18,978+ unique icons across 9 families with variant support
- [projects://tailwind-mcp](https://eswat2-mcp.vercel.app/resolve?uri=projects://tailwind-mcp) — MCP server for Tailwind CSS v4 generation with post-processing into layered CSS outputs for Shadow DOM and document-level use
- [projects://tailwind-plugins](https://eswat2-mcp.vercel.app/resolve?uri=projects://tailwind-plugins) — Tailwind CSS plugins — clrs palette, pixels, rems, and spacing utilities
- [projects://tinker](https://eswat2-mcp.vercel.app/resolve?uri=projects://tinker) — Tinker — minimal reference app for validating action–state across frameworks

### Research

- [research://action-state-spec](https://eswat2-mcp.vercel.app/resolve?uri=research://action-state-spec) — Action–State Interactivity Spec — LLM driving apps via declared actions, zero DOM knowledge
- [research://action-state-suite](https://eswat2-mcp.vercel.app/resolve?uri=research://action-state-suite) — Action–State Reference Suite — 4 apps with multi-framework ports (autos 7 / funnel 8 / tinker 8 / sudoku 10) validating framework-agnostic action–state
- [research://index](https://eswat2-mcp.vercel.app/resolve?uri=research://index) — PoCs, explorations, and hypothesis-driven experiments — with links to individual research slugs
- [research://light-rail](https://eswat2-mcp.vercel.app/resolve?uri=research://light-rail) — Light-Rail pattern — one shadow DOM per feature, functional components inside, solving tag registry collisions in composable web component UIs
- [research://prefab](https://eswat2-mcp.vercel.app/resolve?uri=research://prefab) — Prefab — FastMCP generative UI framework; Python DSL → JSON → shadcn React; 100+ components
- [research://vercel-apps](https://eswat2-mcp.vercel.app/resolve?uri=research://vercel-apps) — Vercel Apps MCP Server — dual-server infrastructure for live app state and action invocation
- [research://yaml-platform](https://eswat2-mcp.vercel.app/resolve?uri=research://yaml-platform) — YAML-Driven Reactive UI Platform — spec-driven web component system with 5 MCP servers

### Specs

- [specs://color-picker](https://eswat2-mcp.vercel.app/resolve?uri=specs://color-picker) — Interactive color picker using 17 semantic color keys from the proto-tailwindcss-clrs plugin, with state-reactive toast notifications
- [specs://icon-gallery](https://eswat2-mcp.vercel.app/resolve?uri=specs://icon-gallery) — Glass-morphism icon gallery displaying 42 icons from mixed families, with per-family color coding and click-to-select state
- [specs://index](https://eswat2-mcp.vercel.app/resolve?uri=specs://index) — Reference YAML specs for the YAML-Driven Reactive UI Platform — use these as examples when generating new specs

### Vault

- [vault://ai-boom-1980s-mcintosh](https://eswat2-mcp.vercel.app/resolve?uri=vault://ai-boom-1980s-mcintosh) — Article: The AI Boom of the 1980s — expert systems, hype, and hardware dreams
- [vault://ai-hype-comparison](https://eswat2-mcp.vercel.app/resolve?uri=vault://ai-hype-comparison) — Side-by-side comparison of the 1980s expert systems hype cycle and the current LLM/GenAI wave — parallels, differences, and winter risk
- [vault://ai-winter](https://eswat2-mcp.vercel.app/resolve?uri=vault://ai-winter) — AI Winter — collapse of expert systems funding and industry contraction in the late 1980s
- [vault://ai-winter-medium-rothwell](https://eswat2-mcp.vercel.app/resolve?uri=vault://ai-winter-medium-rothwell) — Article: When the Billion-Dollar AI Dream Became a $100,000 Paperweight — AI winter retrospective
- [vault://ai-winters-1980s](https://eswat2-mcp.vercel.app/resolve?uri=vault://ai-winters-1980s) — Detailed anatomy of the 1980s expert systems boom and the second AI winter — causes, timeline, and personal connection
- [vault://context-consilium](https://eswat2-mcp.vercel.app/resolve?uri=vault://context-consilium) — Personal context: Richard Hess at Consilium — Motif, Smalltalk, and WINTERP era
- [vault://context-winterp-era](https://eswat2-mcp.vercel.app/resolve?uri=vault://context-winterp-era) — Personal context: Richard Hess during the WINTERP era — Lisp, Motif, and X11
- [vault://index](https://eswat2-mcp.vercel.app/resolve?uri=vault://index) — Index of archival vault content — historical context for Richard Hess's career
- [vault://lisp-machine](https://eswat2-mcp.vercel.app/resolve?uri=vault://lisp-machine) — Lisp Machine — dedicated hardware for Lisp execution, Xerox and Symbolics history
- [vault://lisp-machine-successors](https://eswat2-mcp.vercel.app/resolve?uri=vault://lisp-machine-successors) — What came after Lisp machines — software ports, revival attempts, spiritual successors, and the GPU parallel
- [vault://netscape-communicator](https://eswat2-mcp.vercel.app/resolve?uri=vault://netscape-communicator) — Netscape Communicator 4.x — Richard Hess's role and the browser's technical context
- [vault://pleiades](https://eswat2-mcp.vercel.app/resolve?uri=vault://pleiades) — The Pleiades — Richard's favorite sky object. A 100-million-year-old cluster still wrapped in the cloud it formed from, an emergent-complexity object in the sky, and the first destination he plotted in Elite Dangerous.
- [vault://smalltalk](https://eswat2-mcp.vercel.app/resolve?uri=vault://smalltalk) — Smalltalk — object-oriented programming language history, Xerox PARC origins
- [vault://spec-lineage](https://eswat2-mcp.vercel.app/resolve?uri=vault://spec-lineage) — The unbroken thread from 1985 knowledge engineering to 2026 YAML-driven UI — same architecture, different substrate; tacit knowledge made explicit
- [vault://taligent](https://eswat2-mcp.vercel.app/resolve?uri=vault://taligent) — Taligent — Apple/IBM joint venture for object-oriented OS (1992–1998)
- [vault://teknowledge](https://eswat2-mcp.vercel.app/resolve?uri=vault://teknowledge) — Teknowledge Corporation — expert systems company where Richard Hess worked in the AI boom era
- [vault://tsundoku](https://eswat2-mcp.vercel.app/resolve?uri=vault://tsundoku) — Tsundoku — Richard Hess's 2026 collection overview: Kindle, TTRPG PDFs, concept art
- [vault://vor-blish](https://eswat2-mcp.vercel.app/resolve?uri=vault://vor-blish) — VOR by James Blish — the Avon paperback that started everything. A living nuclear reactor crash-lands on Earth. First contact as incomprehensibility, not invasion.
- [vault://winterp](https://eswat2-mcp.vercel.app/resolve?uri=vault://winterp) — WINTERP — OSF/Motif Widget INTERPreter, Niels Mayer's Lisp/Motif rapid prototyping toolkit

## API

- [Manifest](https://eswat2-mcp.vercel.app/manifest) — Server info and all available topics
- [Resolve](https://eswat2-mcp.vercel.app/resolve?uri=profile://about) — Fetch any topic: /resolve?uri={namespace}://{slug}
- [Render](https://eswat2-mcp.vercel.app/render?uri=profile://about) — Fetch any topic as complete, server-rendered HTML (no client-side JS needed): /render?uri={namespace}://{slug}
- [Health](https://eswat2-mcp.vercel.app/health) — Server status
- [MCP](https://eswat2-mcp.vercel.app/mcp) — MCP protocol endpoint (Claude Code, Claude Desktop)
- [Wiki](https://eswat2-mcp.vercel.app/wiki) — Browse all KB entries with sidebar navigation, search, and browser history support (static HTML)
- [KB Graph](https://eswat2-mcp.vercel.app/kb-graph) — Interactive knowledge base graph — visual map of all URIs and their relationships (static HTML)
- [3D Graph](https://eswat2-mcp.vercel.app/3d-graph) — Interactive 3D knowledge base graph — WebGL force-directed visualization of all URIs (static HTML)
- [Plan](https://eswat2-mcp.vercel.app/plan) — Implementation plan — phases, architecture, modules, and file structure (static HTML)
- [Architecture](https://eswat2-mcp.vercel.app/architecture) — System architecture diagram — clients, deployment, FastAPI app, kb.py core, and data layers (static HTML)
- [Posts](https://eswat2-mcp.vercel.app/posts) — Longer written pieces about this project, archived here and published on Substack (static HTML)
- [Ten Sudokus](https://eswat2-mcp.vercel.app/ten-sudokus) — One Sudoku design across ten implementations — framework ports, the Stencil progenitor, and two Claude-written single-file apps, with measured payloads (static HTML)

## Posts

Long-form essays about this server. These are HTML pages, **not** KB entries — they have no namespace URI and must not be passed to the resolver. Fetch these URLs directly.

- [The Part of the Page Humans Never See](https://eswat2-mcp.vercel.app/posts/notes-for-machines) — August 2026 · draft. A follow-up to the June 2026 post: kb:notes, /render, the tag vocabulary, and moving off FastMCP.
- [Building a High-Quality Personal MCP Knowledge Base with Multiple Interfaces](https://eswat2-mcp.vercel.app/posts/building-a-high-quality-personal) — June 5, 2026 · revised. Archived copy of the June 5, 2026 Substack post introducing eswat2-mcp.