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Design effective MCP tools and Claude Code integrations using the consolidation principle. Fewer, better-designed tools dramatically improve agent success rates...
Design effective MCP tools and Claude Code integrations using the consolidation principle.
Fewer tools = Higher success rates
Vercel d0 achieved 80% → 100% success by reducing from 17 to 2 tools. This isn't coincidence—it's architecture.
| Tool Count | Expected Success | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 1-3 | 95-100% | Vercel d0 (2 tools) |
| 4-7 | 85-95% | Focused agent |
| 8-15 | 70-85% | General assistant |
| 15+ | <70% | Kitchen sink |
examples/)reference/)checklists/)Before (17 tools):
create_file, read_file, update_file, delete_file,
list_directory, search_files, get_file_info,
create_folder, rename_file, move_file, copy_file,
get_permissions, set_permissions, watch_file,
compress_file, decompress_file, calculate_hash
After (2 tools):
file_operation(action, path, content?, options?)
directory_operation(action, path, options?)
Result: 80% → 100% success rate
Instead of many tools with few parameters, use few tools with structured parameters.
Before (5 tools):
search_code(query: string)
search_files(pattern: string)
search_in_file(file: string, query: string)
search_directory(dir: string, query: string)
search_with_regex(regex: string)
After (1 tool):
search(options: {
query: string
type: 'code' | 'files' | 'content'
path?: string
regex?: boolean
})
Use prefixes to prevent collisions and clarify scope:
mcp__firecrawl__search // External MCP
mcp__linear__create_issue // External MCP
search // Claude Code native
| Use Tool When | Use Agent When |
|---|---|
| Single operation | Multi-step workflow |
| Deterministic result | Judgment required |
| Fast execution (<1s) | Complex reasoning |
| Simple I/O | Context accumulation |
Grey Haven uses these MCP servers effectively:
| Server | Tools | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| firecrawl | 5 | Web scraping, search |
| linear | 12 | Issue/project management |
| playwright | 15 | Browser automation |
| context7 | 2 | Documentation lookup |
| filesystem | 10 | File operations |
Even well-designed MCPs can be wrapped for consolidation:
// Instead of exposing all 15 playwright tools
// Create 3 workflow-level tools:
browser_navigate(url, options?) // Navigate + wait
browser_interact(selector, action) // Click/type/select
browser_extract(selector, format) // Screenshot/text/html
Adding tools "just in case" someone needs them.
Fix: Only add tools with proven usage patterns.
Separate tools for each atomic operation.
Fix: Combine related operations with action parameters.
getUser, fetch_project, listTeams, SEARCH_ISSUES
Fix: Consistent verb_noun pattern: get_user, list_projects
Tools with cryptic names and no description.
Fix: Every tool needs clear description + examples.
api-design-standards - REST/GraphQL patterns apply to toolsllm-project-development - Pipeline architecturecontext-management - Managing context with tools# Audit your tool set
cat checklists/tool-audit-checklist.md
# Learn consolidation patterns
cat reference/consolidation-guide.md
# See real examples
cat examples/mcp-consolidation-examples.md
Skill Version: 1.0 Key Metric: 17→2 tools = 80%→100% success Last Updated: 2025-01-15
