---
type: strategy
title: MCP Tool Design Strategy
description: Design MCP tools around user workflows with clear schemas, balanced granularity, and deterministic execution.
resource: sources/mcp-strategies.md
tags: [mcp, tool-design, schemas, workflow]
timestamp: 2026-06-30
---

# MCP Tool Design Strategy

Tool design controls how accurately an agent can select and use capabilities.

## Design principles

- Prefer workflow-oriented tools when multiple API calls commonly happen together.
- Avoid tools that are too broad or have too many parameters.
- Keep tool parameters to a manageable number, with sensible defaults.
- Separate read operations from write operations.
- Provide explicit input/output schemas with descriptions and examples.
- Use namespaces such as `domain_noun_verb` to avoid collisions.

## Example naming pattern

```text
github_issue_create
github_issue_list
github_pullrequest_merge
security_vulnerability_scan
knowledge_okf_search
```

## Related concepts

- [MCP Governance Strategy](mcp-governance-strategy.md)
- [MCP Security Risks](../risks/mcp-security-risks.md)
