manage_visio

Manage the server-owned application session or refresh content discovery. This tool doesn’t open drawings; use manage_document.

Arguments

Argument	Type	Required	Values
action	string	Yes	open, close, update_index

There is no client options or filePath argument. Place approved content in known Visio locations.

Actions and results

Action	Behavior	Result
open	Explicitly start Visio before desktop operations; reuse the live instance on repeated opens	instanceId, open
close	Close the managed application only when no retained drawings remain; never quit unrelated/user-owned processes	instanceId, open, alreadyClosed where applicable
update_index	Rescan known locations and publish the refreshed snapshot before returning	action, stencilCount, masterCount, failedStencilCount, persisted, finishedUtc

A new launch receives a new instance ID. Repeated open preserves its ID and retained drawings. Closing an already externally closed application is idempotent. Other tools don’t silently restart Visio after external closure.

Refresh is package-only: it neither launches Visio nor requires a restart. It bypasses the automatic refresh freshness gate. It doesn’t import/copy files or update shapes already placed in drawings. Check failedStencilCount: completion doesn’t mean every source was readable. persisted=false means the refreshed snapshot is in memory but wasn’t written to the persistent cache, for example when another writer owns the cache lock.

Examples

Open the application:

{"action": "open"}

Refresh after installing or changing approved stencil/template files:

{"action": "update_index"}

Then search the refreshed content with content_search. Close only after explicitly saving any work to retain and closing retained drawings through manage_document:

{"action": "close"}

Failure handling

Application close rejects while retained drawings remain. Closing a drawing discards unsaved edits, so don’t close drawings merely to make application shutdown succeed. Close/reopen isn’t a generic retry strategy.

After external closure or server restart, open the application and saved drawings explicitly; old retained IDs aren’t reusable and unsaved content isn’t automatically recovered.

Related: Tool overview

Troubleshooting.