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syrto_search_metric_definitions returns full metric definitions including the name, description, calculation formula, unit of measure, direction (better if higher/lower/near target), and dependency links showing the causal chain between metrics.

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Ask for this when

  • You want to understand what a specific financial metric means, how it’s calculated, or what drives it
  • You want to know what other metrics a given metric affects or is affected by
Example prompts: “What is EBITDA?”, “Explain working capital”, “What drives the efficiency score?”, “What impacts net margin?”

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Arguments

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query
string
required
Keyword (e.g. "profitability", "working capital", "debt") or exact slug (e.g. "ebitda", "roe", "net_working_capital"). Exact slug lookup always returns a single result instantly.
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top_k
integer
Maximum results for keyword search. Default 5, maximum 20. Ignored for exact slug matches.

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Returns

A JSON list of metric definitions, each containing:
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name
string
Human-readable metric name — always show this to users.
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description
string
Plain-language explanation of what the metric measures.
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type
string
Metric category.
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uom
string
Unit of measure (e.g. "EUR", "%", "ratio").
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better_if
string
"HIGHER", "LOWER", or "NEAR_TARGET".
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calculation_formula
string
How the metric is computed.
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affects
string[]
Metrics this one feeds into.
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is_affected_by
string[]
Metrics that drive this one.
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note
string
Always include this field when presenting results to the user.
syrto_code is an internal identifier. Only use it as input to syrto_get_company_metrics. Never display it to the user — always show the human-readable name instead.

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Examples

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Example 1: Look up a metric by exact slug

User prompt: “What is EBITDA and what does it affect?” Tool call: 
{
  "query": "ebitda"
}
Response (abbreviated): 
[
  {
    "name": "EBITDA",
    "description": "Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation. Measures operating profitability before non-cash charges.",
    "uom": "EUR",
    "better_if": "HIGHER",
    "calculation_formula": "Operating profit + Depreciation + Amortisation",
    "affects": ["EBITDA Margin", "Net Financial Position / EBITDA"],
    "is_affected_by": ["Revenues", "Operating Costs"],
    "note": "..."
  }
]

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Example 2: Keyword search across metric definitions

User prompt: “What metrics relate to working capital?” Tool call: 
{
  "query": "working capital",
  "top_k": 10
}
What happens:
  • Returns up to 10 metric definitions matching the keyword “working capital”
  • Each result includes the formula, direction (HIGHER/LOWER/NEAR_TARGET), and causal links

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Example 3: Understand what drives a metric

User prompt: “What impacts net margin?” Tool call: 
{
  "query": "net_margin"
}
What happens:
  • Returns the net margin definition with its is_affected_by list showing which upstream metrics drive it
  • Use this to explain to the user which levers (revenues, costs, etc.) most directly influence the metric