xby-12306-ticket-purchase-search

Large language models have no native way to query 12306 for rail ticket availability. When a user asks "what trains run from Beijing to Shanghai tomorrow," the model can only produce a generic template answer with no real seat data. xby-12306-ticket-purchase-search wraps 12306 search into a structured Model Context Protocol (MCP) toolset, letting models make real API calls for seat availability, transfer routes, and per-stop schedules, filling the critical data gap in travel-related conversations.

The plugin covers the full chain from natural language to structured queries: it resolves station codes from Chinese city or station names, parses relative dates such as "tomorrow" or "next Wednesday" in the Shanghai timezone (Asia/Shanghai, UTC+8), returns direct-train availability, the top-ten transfer options, and detailed intermediate stops including arrival, departure, and dwell times for a given train number. A telecode reverse-lookup is also available for debugging. The API key only needs to be set once in conversation; it is auto-persisted and survives restarts, so authentication is a one-time step.

Best suited for developers building travel-oriented AI agents, orchestration platforms, or consumer products that promise "ask once, get real seat availability." An API key from the xby platform is required. The project is MIT-licensed and fully open source, ready to be integrated or extended.