MCP as workflow
2025-09-08
Deciding the tools to expose in a MCP server is crucial in its adoption. MCPs should go beyond regurgitaion of APIs. By "beyond" I don't mean adding more tools, as they generally yield to less effective solution paths for general agents. This is hard because companies tend to release one MCP SDK or expose one MCP endpoint.
The better MCP servers I have used recently organize their tools around workflows. The order appends the most relevant information to the LLM context, and as a user, I enjoy learning about recommended workflows from the author of the tool that is different from how I would have used them:
First: prepare_database_migration - Creates a temporary branch and applies migration SQL there for testing tools.ts:930-962
Second: Test the migration - Use run_sql tool on the temporary branch to verify changes tools.ts:953-957
Third: complete_database_migration - Apply the verified migration to the main branch tools.ts:216-220
Project Creation: Must call get_cost → confirm_cost → create_project server.ts:166-216
Branch Creation: Must call get_cost → confirm_cost → create_branch server.ts:495-570