Discovering Tools - Progressive Disclosure Pattern

This skill teaches the progressive disclosure pattern for both MCP tools and skills.

Core Principle

NEVER load all schemas upfront - loading 50+ tool schemas can consume 30-40K tokens.

Instead, use a layered approach: discover servers, then tools, then schemas only when needed. This reduces token usage by ~95%.

MCP Tool Discovery

Step 1: Discover Servers

python

list_mcp_servers()

Returns server names and connection status (~50 tokens total).

Step 2: List Tools (Lightweight)

python

list_tools(server="gobby-tasks")

Returns tool names and brief descriptions (~100 tokens per server).

Step 3: Get Full Schema (When Needed)

python

get_tool_schema(server_name="gobby-tasks", tool_name="create_task")

Returns full inputSchema with all parameters.

Step 4: Execute

python

call_tool(server_name="gobby-tasks", tool_name="create_task", arguments={
    "title": "Fix bug",
    "task_type": "bug",
    "session_id": "<your_session_id>"
})

Skill Discovery

Skills follow the same pattern:

Step 1: List Skills (Lightweight)

python

list_skills()

Returns skill names and descriptions (~100 tokens total).

Step 2: Get Full Skill (When Needed)

python

get_skill(name="gobby-tasks")

Returns full skill content.

Step 3: Search by Topic

python

search_skills(query="authentication testing")

Finds relevant skills by semantic search.

Common Mistakes

Wrong: Loading Everything Upfront

python

# Don't do this - wastes 30-40K tokens
for server in servers:
    for tool in list_tools(server):
        get_tool_schema(server, tool)  # Unnecessary!

Wrong: Calling Tools Without Schema

python

# Don't guess at parameters
call_tool("gobby-tasks", "create_task", {"name": "Fix bug"})  # Wrong param!

Right: Just-in-Time Discovery

python

# Check schema first, then call
get_tool_schema("gobby-tasks", "create_task")  # Learn: needs "title" not "name"
call_tool("gobby-tasks", "create_task", {"title": "Fix bug", "session_id": "#123"})

Available Internal Servers

Server	Purpose
`gobby-tasks`	Task management
`gobby-sessions`	Session handoff
`gobby-memory`	Persistent memory
`gobby-workflows`	Workflow control
`gobby-agents`	Agent spawning
`gobby-worktrees`	Git worktrees
`gobby-skills`	Skill management

Use list_mcp_servers() to see all connected servers.