Tools and MCPs
3 build exercises to practise the concepts in this domain.
8.1 — Two Confusable Tools, One Rewrite, One Honest Failure
Intermediate
35 minutes
- How the name, description and schema are the only surfaces the model selects from
- How a disambiguating sentence in both descriptions fixes inconsistent selection
- How an informative is_error result prevents the model inventing around a silent failure
- How to tell which of two documented remedies, consolidation or disambiguation, a fault actually calls for
8.2 — One Capability, Two Clients, and the Code You Did Not Write Twice
Intermediate
40 minutes
- How to move a capability from one application into a shared MCP server without rewriting it
- Which of tools, resources and prompts a given capability belongs on, and why
- How to confirm the three primitives independently through their list methods
- What choosing a remote transport actually adds to your obligations
8.3 — Four Requirements, Four Mechanisms, and One You Were Wrong About
Intermediate
45 minutes
- How to run the four-question decision sequence against a real requirement list
- Why a Skill cannot substitute for a tool that reaches a private system
- How progressive disclosure makes a Skill cheaper than a procedure in every prompt
- What actually changes when a second consumer appears for a custom tool