When to open: You have heard of MCP but don't know why to use it / you installed MCP but can't get it to work (npx / smithery / Cursor red light) / you want to build an MCP server / you want to understand MCP's position in the Agent ecosystem. This wiki fuses perspectives on the MCP topic from 8 author wikis.
One-sentence core:MCP = LLM calls external tools through a unified protocol,Launched by Anthropic in 2024-11 → became de facto standard in 2025 → currently (2026) in the "DOS era" (manual configuration by users, small number of servers), evolving toward the "Win95 era" (packaged into Agents).
0. Four perspectives on "MCP"
| Perspective | Source | What is "MCP" | One-sentence stance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Evolution prediction school | newtype · MCP Protocol and Ecosystem in Practice(Huang Yihe) | Intermediate form between DOS → Win95 → Internet explosion | "MCP is the protocol layer for LLMs to evolve into Agents; the current DOS era is very painful" |
| Data accuracy school | Wang Kai's Agent Engineering Practice §3 | Self-built MCP solves data hallucinations in AI web search | "FMP MCP turns investment decisions from 'guessing' into 'rigorous and trustworthy'" |
| Matrix operations school | Wang Kai's Multi-Agent Browser Matrix Architecture (v1.1 Practical Guide)(Wang Kai) | Chrome MCP + sessionId routing = multi-Agent isolation | "Session reuse + user data browser + no focus stealing" |
| Domestic adaptation school | dontbesilent AI Self-Media Course / 13-Lesson Systematic Methodology §L11 | rap.dev + Xiaohongshu MCP server = one-click publishing | "Playwright controls headless browser for screenshots + Xiaohongshu MCP auto-login and publishing" |
| Protocol layer perspective | AWS Agent Lecture Series 2025 (4-part compilation) §7.3 (Chang Gaowei) | MCP is USB-C, ANP is email (inter-Agent communication) | "W3C DID + P2P / ANP positioned against MCP" |
1. Cross-author consensus (5 points)
1.1 MCP = the protocol layer for LLMs to evolve into Agents
Lao Huang newtype · MCP Protocol and Ecosystem in Practice §0:
"MCP = Model Context Protocol (launched by Anthropic) = middleware protocol, enabling LLMs to call various external tools/data sources through a unified interface."
"This middleware protocol approach of MCP is definitely the mainstream. It has low cost and high flexibility. Claude paired with MCP can already accomplish quite a bit of work."
Why not choose GUI Agent (Computer Use / Browser Use):
- GUI Agents make AI operate interfaces designed for humans → low efficiency, high cost, error-prone
- MCP lets AI call through protocols → standardized, composable, auditable
See AI Agent Architecture and Multi-Agent Orchestration (Cross-Author Thematic Synthesis) §1.5 CLI is 10 times stronger than GUI.
1.2 Any "data accuracy" scenario must go through MCP, not AI web search
Wang Kai's exclusive rule (Wang Kai's Agent Engineering Practice §3.1):
"Numbers obtained from Claude/GPT web search are 100% untrustworthy (fabricated data). Solution: buy FMP API → build self-hosted MCP → Claude gets accurate data through MCP."
Effect: investment decision quality changes from "guessing" to "rigorous and trustworthy".
Key rule:All AI outputs involving data must bypass web search.
Wang Kai's extension:
- Connect all "data sources" in the workflow, making Claude the "hub"
- Monthly API fees may seem expensive, but the token ROI from accuracy is extremely high
1.3 Default installation stack (Lao Huang consensus)
newtype · MCP Protocol and Ecosystem in Practice §3.1 Lao Huang's "MCPs installed and retained by default":
| MCP | Purpose | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Sequential Thinking | Let LLMs perform deep thinking (task decomposition, iteration) | Default essential for Lao Huang |
| Tavily | Web search (sufficient free quota) | Compensates for weaknesses of Claude's built-in search |
| Obsidian MCP(Lao Huang's own) | Note repository read/write | See §3 for details |
| Prompt House MCP(Lao Huang's own) | Prompt storage + invocation | See §3 for details |
Tavily + EXA choice(2026-04 Post 2694):
- Tavily has free quota
- firecrawl web scraping
- EXA is included by default in newtype OS, sufficient for daily use
- Use Perplexity MCP if you need to search for something specific
1.4 Configuring MCP must use commands, do not manually edit JSON
Wang Kai's real-world testing (Wang Kai's Claude Code Terminal Workflow Methodology (Complete Edition) §5):
# 写入 MCP
claude mcp add <name> -s user|project|local <command> [args...]
# 看 MCP
claude mcp list
claude mcp get <name>
Inside Claude Code:
/mcpview MCP servers + tools/skillsview skill list
Anti-pattern:~/.claude/mcp.json This path does not exist, global MCP is in ~/.claude.json's mcpServers field.
1.5 MCP + Skill coordination: Skills call MCP, not the other way around
newtype Skill System in Practice (Super Analyst v1/v2 + Super Writer) §1 (comparison):
- MCP = connects external tools (GitHub / Notion / databases)
- Skill = encapsulates Agent behavior patterns (how to think, how to search, how to decide)
- Skills can call MCP, not the other way around
Lao Huang's Super Analyst v1 practice:Framework prompts are fetched via prompt-house-local MCP, the Skill itself does not store all 12 complete prompts.
2. Explicit disagreements (3 points — not smoothed over)
2.1 Disagreement 1: Is MCP user experience in the DOS era or Win95 era?
newtype · MCP Protocol and Ecosystem in Practice §1 Lao Huang's 2025-04 evolution prediction:
| Stage | Time | Characteristics |
|---|---|---|
| DOS era(current) | As of 2025-04 | LLMs evolve into Agents through MCP,requires manual user configuration, small number of MCP Servers, limited Tools |
| Win95 era(next stage) | Late 2025 ~ 2026 | Users no longer interact with MCP directly, it is packaged into Agents. Core functionality and experience are basically formed |
| 2000s Internet explosion | After A2A + Agentic Web | Full prosperity |
Key prediction: the current pain of users configuring MCP is temporary,it will be packaged in the future.
Real disagreement:Is the current poor MCP UX a problem with the protocol itself or a characteristic of the DOS era?
- Lao Huang's stance:DOS era characteristic, not a protocol problem → focus is not on making MCP configuration easier to use, but on packaging MCP capabilities into Agents
- Practical counterexample (Lao D):rap.dev + Xiaohongshu MCP is already close to Win95 experience — users don't touch MCP, directly say "help me post this post to Xiaohongshu"
- Wang Kai's stance:Matrix operations currently must touch the underlying MCP(correct port + sessionId routing + identity isolation)
2.2 Disagreement 2: MCP vs ANP (protocol layer dispute)
AWS Agent Lecture Series 2025 (4-part compilation) 7.3 Chang Gaowei's ANP protocol:
| Dimension | MCP(Anthropic) | ANP (proposed by Chang Gaowei) |
|---|---|---|
| Analogy | USB-C(connecting tools) | email(inter-Agent communication) |
| Foundation | JSON-RPC | W3C DID + P2P |
| Direction | Agent → Tool | Agent ↔ Agent |
| Status | Launched by Anthropic 2024-11, de facto standard in 2025 | Proposed in 2025, pending adoption |
Real disagreement:Does Agent interconnection require a "tool invocation protocol" (MCP) or an "inter-Agent communication protocol" (ANP)?
- Lao Huang's stance:MCP is mainstream, A2A protocol enters Linux Foundation — MCP + A2A dual protocols coexist (see AI Agent Architecture and Multi-Agent Orchestration (Cross-Author Thematic Synthesis) §1.6)
- Chang Gaowei's stance:ANP solves direct communication between Agents — W3C DID identity + P2P
Complementary conclusion:The two do not conflict; Agents both need to call tools (MCP) and talk to each other (ANP/A2A).
2.3 Disagreement 3: Is the Smithery platform worth using?
newtype · MCP Protocol and Ecosystem in Practice §3 Discovery sources:
- mcp.so(made by idoubi) — has ads
- Smithery — Many platform connection issues, Lao Huang has abandoned it
- Raycast Store: Model Context Protocol Registry — built into Raycast, import and management are well done
Lao Huang newtype · MCP Protocol and Ecosystem in Practice §4.2 Cursor red error:
- Configuring via smithery terminal command → smithery itself has connection problems
Real disagreement:Should MCP have an "app store" or be managed separately?
- Lao Huang's stance:There is currently no reliable Smithery / mcp.so → Raycast Store is the best done
- Practical counterexample:Installing MCP directly via npm is the most stable(see §3.2 for details)
3. MCPs built by Lao Huang himself (exclusive practical examples)
newtype · MCP Protocol and Ecosystem in Practice §2:
3.1 Obsidian MCP (2025-03 → ongoing iteration)
- GitHub:
github.com/newtype-01/obsidian-mcp - Features: read / create / edit Obsidian notes +
auto_backlink_vault tool(50 notes/batch, AI automatically adds backlinks) - Choose one of three deployment methods:
- DXT file (Claude Desktop, simplest)
- Remote installation (npm package + run via npx)
- Local installation(
npm install+npx)
How it was developed: code written using Cline,Lao Huang only gave requirements. README + gitignore were all written by Cursor.
Lao Huang's learning advice(2025-07 Post 1531):
Want to configure MCP but can't get it working?Give the GitHub link of Obsidian MCP to Cursor, have it explain what an npm package is / what npx is / what install is / why the command becomes the project name after install. After understanding these, you will know how to install any MCP project.
Reddit marketing(2025-07 Post 1460): posted promotion on r/ObsidianMD, 5K+ views, 36 upvotes.
3.2 Replicate Flux MCP
Calls Replicate Flux model to generate images. The second MCP Lao Huang developed using Cline.
After Replicate released official MCP in 2025-08(Post 1613), Lao Huang's project was replaced by the official version.
3.3 Prompt House MCP
Prompt House itself is an MCP server, clients call Prompts stored inside via MCP(two Tool Calls: list + content).
4. Commonly used MCP list (Lao Huang's practical recommendations)
4.1 Knowledge Base / Memory Category
| MCP | What it does |
|---|---|
| Milvus + Vector Database | Local RAG.Separate the database from the model, any client connects via MCP |
| OpenMemory MCP | Text memory + vector storage,different clients share the same memory bank |
| NotebookLM MCP(third-party open source) | github.com/PleasePrompto/notebooklm-mcp |
| context7 MCP | Document retrieval (API documentation) |
4.2 Content / Media Category
| MCP | What it does |
|---|---|
| n8n MCP | Workflow orchestration. Claude generates JSON workflows, which are imported into n8n.The n8n MCP Server Trigger can in turn send workflows back to MCP(see §6 for details) |
| Markitdown MCP | Microsoft, any file → Markdown |
| PPT MCP | supercurses/powerpoint(drawback: not aesthetically pleasing) |
| RedNote MCP | Xiaohongshu. Playwright operates the browser, persistent login, maximum 10 read-only text entries |
| Replicate official MCP | Image generation models such as Flux |
4.3 Backend Category
| MCP | What it does |
|---|---|
| Supabase MCP | Lao Huang actually doesn't use it —— Claude already knows how to configure Supabase directly; when operations are needed, it gives SQL, which you manually paste into the Editor to run |
5. Wang Kai Exclusive: Chrome MCP Modification (Core of Matrix Operations)
Wang Kai Agent Engineering Hands-On Practice §3.2 + Wang Kai Multi-Agent Browser Matrix Architecture (v1.1 Practical Guide):
5.1 Problems with the Official Version
Google Official Chrome MCP:
- Uses headless browser(no user data)
- Cannot persist login
- Repeated authorization for every connection
- Focus-stealing issue
5.2 Wang Kai's Modification (chrome-mcp-proxy by William Wang)
- "session reuse + user-data browser"
- Multiple Agents control different browsers in parallel,without interfering with each other
- Path:
~/chrome-mcp-proxy/chrome-mcp-proxy.sh - Port pair:
bash chrome-mcp-proxy.sh <PROXY_PORT> <CHROME_PORT> - Health check:
curl http://127.0.0.1:9401/proxy/status - One-click installation:tokrepo Chrome MCP Background Proxy
5.3 sessionId Routing (Multi-Agent Isolation)
Wang Kai Multi-Agent Browser Matrix Architecture (v1.1 Practical Guide) §3:
- Multiple agents under the same identity
.mcp.jsonall point to the same proxy port(e.g., identity-A all point to 9401) - chrome-mcp-proxy uses sessionId routing to ensure the events they see do not interfere with each other
5.4 Wang Kai MCP Practical Checklist
graph TD
A[Claude Code] --> B[金融 MCP - FMP API<br/>解决数据准确性]
A --> C[Chrome MCP - 控制真实浏览器]
A --> D[飞书 CLI - 文档 + bot]
A --> E[滴答清单 MCP - 任务管理]
A --> F[Notion / Gmail 等]
A --> G[AgentMail - Agent 邮箱]
A --> H[自建 MCP - tokrepo skills]
6. MCP + n8n Workflow Closed Loop (2025-07 Posts 1523 + 1608)
newtype · MCP Protocol and Ecosystem in Practice §5 + newtype Miscellaneous Practices: llms.txt Protocol + CrewAI Obsidian Project + n8n MCP Workflow:
Key insight:n8n can both generate workflows(have Claude write JSON for import), and output workflows(MCP Server Trigger converts workflows into MCP servers for Claude/ChatWise to call).
Specific recipe:
Claude → 生成 n8n 工作流 JSON
↓
导入 n8n(可视化)
↓
n8n MCP Server Trigger → 暴露成 MCP server
↓
ChatWise / Claude / 其他 Agent → 调用 n8n 工作流(via MCP)
Why this closed loop is useful:
- Workflow visualization (n8n) + standardized tool calling (MCP) = complete closed loop
- Workflows are written by Claude, no manual coding required
- Any MCP-compatible Agent can call them
7. Lao D's Domestic Adaptation of MCP (Exclusive)
dontbesilent AI Self-Media Course / 13 Systematic Methodology Lessons §L11 —— rap.dev + Xiaohongshu MCP:
7.1 One-Click Xiaohongshu Publishing Workflow
1. 在 RAP 输入:"帮我把这条推文发布到小红书"+ 链接
2. RAP 调用:
a. Playwright 操控无头浏览器截图(确保 3:4 比例)
b. 字数多 → 左右填白边(Python Pillow)
c. 字数少 → 拉远拍 → 裁剪
3. Claude 4.5 Sonnet 给小红书写标题(自动 ≤ 20 字 / 从原文找金句)
4. 小红书 MCP server 自动登录发布
5. 还可以定时发布("1 小时后发")
7.2 Key Technologies
| Component | Function |
|---|---|
| rap.dev | AI command line + one-click template distribution |
| Playwright | Control headless browser to take screenshots |
| Python Pillow | Image filling / cropping |
| Xiaohongshu MCP server | Automatic login + publishing (open-source version released by Lao D on GitHub) |
| Claude 4.5 Sonnet | Write titles (stable at 80 points, no need for manual selection of 90-point titles) |
8. 7 Major Pitfalls in MCP Configuration (Lao Huang Exclusive)
newtype · MCP Protocol and Ecosystem in Practice §4:
8.1 command not found: npx
Solution:Install Node.js LTS / npm install -g npm / npx -v verification
8.2 MCP Added in Cursor Shows Red
Possible causes:
- Configured via smithery terminal command → smithery connection issue
- Among Cursor built-in models, only Claude can call MCP (restriction at the time)
8.3 ChatWise Configuration Issues
Lao Huang's attitude change:In early 2025 he often recommended ChatWise; in 2026-02 a user reported in a GitHub issue that it was not frequently maintained → he tacitly accepted this.
8.4 Relationship Between Sequential Thinking and the Model's Built-in Thinking
Best practice:Equip Sequential Thinking and let the model decide for itself. Claude 4 in ChatWise:Uses built-in Thinking before starting work, calls Sequential Thinking when producing output.
8.5 Claude 4 Sonnet Automatically Calls Sequential Thinking
Observation:Claude 4 Sonnet Calls Sequential Thinking MCP while doing its own Thinking(previous models did not behave this way).
8.6 Super Analyst Skill Skips MCP Calls
Lao Huang's solution(in AI OS):
claude.mdDocument configured MCPs and Skills in detail,including usage scenarios and invocation prerequisites- In the Skills section, emphasize following
skill.mdSOP procedures, including tool calls
8.7 OpenMemory MCP Deployment Issues
The official documentation has some problems → Lao Huang's solution: let Cursor help sort it out.
8.8 Wang Kai Exclusive: chrome MCP Tools Not Called by Agent (Forced Registration Method)
Wang Kai Claude Code Terminal Workflow Methodology (Complete Version) §9.4:
Symptom:After seeing the task, the agent takes a detour to write Node.js/Python scripts to call raw CDP, instead of calling mcp__chrome__* tools.
Cause:Claude Code v2.x's tool discovery mechanism does not eager-load MCPs registered only at the user level.
Forced registration method(also register a copy of chrome in each agent project directory):
cd ~/agents/identity-A/publisher
claude mcp add chrome -s project bash $HOME/chrome-mcp-proxy/chrome-mcp-proxy.sh 9401 9222
And state clearly in the project CLAUDE.md:"Only use mcp__chrome__* tools; writing scripts in Bash or other languages to detour and call CDP is prohibited".
If it still takes a detour → send /mcp to confirm chrome is listed before assigning tasks.
9. Buffett SOP Case (Lao Huang Exclusive)
newtype · MCP Protocol and Ecosystem in Practice §9 —— Replicating Buffett's Investment SOP with MCP:
Claude 自动调:
Sequential Thinking(规划) → Tavily(搜索) → 至少 3 轮迭代
→ 调 Prompt House 取"内在价值计算" Prompt
→ FMP MCP 取财务数据
→ 输出深度报告
Why this model is meaningful:
- A single Prompt template can only handle single-step tasks
- The "Prompt → Prompt" chain = a cross-step, cross-tool Workflow
- More lightweight than complex frameworks like LangChain
10. How to Choose —— MCP Paths by Identity
| Who you are | Primary MCP | Starting point |
|---|---|---|
| Individual user / Single Agent | Lao Huang default stack | Sequential Thinking + Tavily + 1-2 project-related MCPs (e.g., Obsidian) |
| Investment / data accuracy scenarios | Wang Kai self-built MCP | FMP / Bloomberg API → self-built MCP / bypass AI web search |
| Multi-Agent matrix operations | Wang Kai Chrome MCP modification | chrome-mcp-proxy + sessionId routing + Project-level registration |
| Domestic one-click publishing | Lao D rap.dev + Xiaohongshu MCP | Playwright + Pillow + Claude 4.5 writing titles |
| Workflow orchestration | Lao Huang n8n MCP | Claude writes JSON → import into n8n → expose via MCP Server Trigger |
| Want to build an MCP server | Lao Huang learning path | Give the Obsidian MCP GitHub link to Cursor / Cline for explanation |
General starting order(for any identity):
- Install Sequential Thinking + Tavily(Lao Huang default stack)
- Use
claude mcp addcommands,Do not manually edit JSON - Register chrome MCP at Project level(Wang Kai forced registration method)
- Data accuracy scenarios → self-build MCP(do not use AI web search)
- Write CLAUDE.md to record MCP usage scenarios(repeatedly emphasized by Lao Huang)
- Go through the 7 major pitfalls quick reference(especially npx / smithery / Cursor red light)
11. Reference List
Main original author wikis:
- newtype · MCP Protocol and Ecosystem in Practice —— Lao Huang's complete MCP / DOS→Win95 evolution / Obsidian/Flux/Prompt House MCP / common checklist / 7 major pitfalls / Buffett SOP
- newtype · AI Tool Stack Practice and Evolution —— Overall view of the MCP tool stack
- newtype Miscellaneous Practices: llms.txt Protocol + CrewAI Obsidian Project + n8n MCP Workflow —— N8N MCP integration / mcpTrigger + toolWorkflow
- Wang Kai Agent Engineering Hands-On Practice §3 —— FMP MCP / Chrome MCP / self-built MCP / data accuracy discipline
- Wang Kai Multi-Agent Browser Matrix Architecture (v1.1 Practical Guide) —— Chrome MCP sessionId routing / port pairs / 4-layer isolation
- Wang Kai Claude Code Terminal Workflow Methodology (Complete Version) §5+§9.4 —— configuration hierarchy / forced registration method
- dontbesilent AI Self-Media Course / 13 Systematic Methodology Lessons §L11 —— rap.dev + Xiaohongshu MCP / Playwright + Pillow
- AWS Agent Lecture Series 2025 (Compilation of 4 Articles) §7.3 —— Chang Gaowei ANP protocol / W3C DID + P2P
Related topic wikis (this series):
- Claude Code Workflows (Cross-Author Thematic Synthesis) —— Claude Code Workflows (Batch 1)
- Claude Skill Engineering (Cross-Author Thematic Synthesis) —— Skill Engineering (this batch, Batch 3)
- AI Agent Architecture and Multi-Agent Orchestration (Cross-Author Thematic Synthesis) —— Agent Architecture (Batch 2)
- Anthropic Engineering Team First-Party Perspective: Agent Engineering / Skills / MCP / Claude Code (2025-2026 Complete Collection) —— Anthropic Engineering Team 25-article hub(added 2026-05-19)
2026-05-19 Supplement: 3 New Primitives Added by Anthropic to the MCP Ecosystem
From 3 MCP-related articles on anthropic.com/engineering:Code execution with MCP / Claude Desktop Extensions / Introducing advanced tool use on the Claude Developer Platform. After MCP was launched in 2024-11, Anthropic itself also encountered pitfalls; in 2025-2026 it introduced 3 new primitives to solve the "context explosion when there are too many tools" problem.
A. Code execution with MCP (2025, solving context explosion)
Problem:When an agent connects to dozens of MCP servers / hundreds to thousands of tools,stuffing all of them hits the context limit:the agent uses up the context window50,000+ tokens before even reading the user's question (per Anthropic's real-world testing).
Anthropic's solution:The agent writes code to call tools, instead of calling each one individually in natural language every time.
| Dimension | Natural language invocation | Code invocation |
|---|---|---|
| Form | Each time the LLM says "I want to call tool X with parameter Y" | LLM writes Python/JS code, and the code calls tools |
| 1 tool round trip | 1 inference pass | 0 extra inferences (called directly in code) |
| Intermediate results | All stuffed into context(whether used or not) | Only the final result is stuffed in, intermediate variables exist while the code runs |
| Error handling | Model sees the error → retries → restates | Handled at the code layer via try/except |
Benefit:For complex tasks with hundreds of tools / thousands of turns,token consumption can be reduced to below 10%.
Impact on the previous 8 author wikis:
- Lao Huang's "MCP tool stack" (with dozens of MCPs attached) goes from "theoretically explosive" to "practically feasible"
- Wang Kai's Chrome MCP multi-browser matrix + chrome-mcp-proxy benefits the most (state isolation between each session + code-layer scheduling)
- dontbesilent's rap.dev + Xiaohongshu MCP cross-platform scripting also follows this path
B. Desktop Extensions(.dxt → .mcpb, one-click installation)
Problem:Setting up a local MCP server is too complicated — users need to install developer tools, edit config files, install dependencies,so the installation rate is extremely low.
Anthropic's solution:MCP server one-click installation package, extension name .dxt(early 2025),changed to .mcpb = MCP Bundle in 2025-09 (naming standardized, old .dxt remains compatible).
Form factor:.mcpb = zip package, containing:
- MCP server code
manifest.json(metadata / permissions / entry point)- Dependencies (packaged, no npm install needed)
User experience:Double-click the .mcpb file → Claude Desktop automatically registers the MCP server.
Impact on the ecosystem:Expands MCP openness from "geeks who can edit configs" to all Claude Desktop users. Lao Huang's judgment of a "DOS→Win95 evolution" is realized here — .mcpb DXT is the.exe installer of the Win95 era.
C. Advanced tool use (on-demand discovery + in-code invocation)
2 new primitives(from the advanced-tool-use article):
| Primitive | What it solves |
|---|---|
| Tool discovery on-demand(on-demand discovery) | Do not list all tools upfront; the agent calls a "find tool" tool that returns the relevant N tools for the current task |
| Calling tools from code(in-code invocation) | Expose tools as code APIs, and the agent writes code to compose and call them (same as §A) |
Implication:An unlimited tool library is no longer a problem. Just like a human developer writing code,the agent first greps to find which API to use, then calls it, without needing to stuff all API documentation into its head.
D. Anthropic's 5 principles for writing tools (writing-tools-for-agents)
From the writing-tools-for-agents article.Anthropic iterated on its own tool descriptions using Claude Code, and distilled 5 principles:
| Principle | Content |
|---|---|
| 1 | Choose the right tools to implement(don't add tools that shouldn't be implemented — the more tools, the more confused the agent gets) |
| 2 | Namespacing(Namespaces) clearly demarcate tool boundaries |
| 3 | Return meaningful context(not just data, include hints on "how the agent should handle it") |
| 4 | Token-efficient(concise return values) |
| 5 | Tool descriptions + specifications also require prompt engineering(test, tune, iterate) |
Meta insight:Let Claude Code itself participate in revising your tool descriptions — give it "the tool + failure transcripts", let it suggest how to revise the descriptions, and iterate to convergence.
This is mutually consistent with Wang Kai §3 "MCP tool data accuracy discipline" — tool description quality is the bottleneck for production-grade MCP usability.
E. MCP evolution timeline (completed in this batch)
| Time | Milestone | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-11 | MCP launched as an open standard | (official) |
| First half of 2025 | The community built thousands of MCP servers, with SDKs covering mainstream languages | (tracked by Lao Huang's blog) |
| Mid-2025 | Anthropic itself hit pitfalls — too many tools caused context explosion | (acknowledged in this batch's code-execution-with-mcp article) |
| Mid-2025 | Code execution with MCP released (solves context explosion) | This batch |
| 2025-Q3 | Desktop Extensions released (.dxt one-click install) |
This batch |
| 2025-09 | .dxt changed to .mcpb standard naming |
This batch |
| 2026-Q1 | Advanced tool use on Developer Platform — on-demand discovery + in-code invocation | This batch |
MCP has become the de-facto industry standard(even OpenAI and others have adopted MCP). See Anthropic Engineering Team First-Party Perspective: Agent Engineering / Skills / MCP / Claude Code (2025-2026 Complete Collection) §4.
F. Key cross-checks with the previous 8 author wikis
| Topic | Three-party practitioners | Anthropic official |
|---|---|---|
| Context explosion when there are too many tools | Lao Huang "MCP overload when there are too many" / Wang Kai "keep the tool stack as minimal as possible" | Official solution: Code Execution with MCP(tokens reduced to below 10%) |
| Low installation rate for local MCP | Lao Huang's 7 major pitfalls / dontbesilent SKILL.md cross-platform reuse | Official solution:.mcpb one-click installation package |
| Poorly written tool descriptions → agent uses tools incorrectly | Wang Kai's emphasis on discipline / dontbesilent rap.dev real-world testing | Official 5 principles + using Claude Code to revise its own tool descriptions |
| MCP vs ANP protocol | Chang Gaowei's ANP pushes W3C DID + P2P | Anthropic still pushes MCP as the sole standard | Disagreement remains(already noted in Lao Huang wiki §B.1) |
History
- 2026-05-19:Added §2026-05-19 section (3 new primitives Anthropic added to the MCP ecosystem). Added Code Execution with MCP, Desktop Extensions(
.mcpb), Advanced Tool Use, Writing Tools 5 principles, MCP evolution timeline, and cross-checks with the previous 8 author wikis. Added cross-link to Anthropic Engineering Team First-Party Perspective: Agent Engineering / Skills / MCP / Claude Code (2025-2026 Complete Collection). - 2026-05-18:Topic-dimension wiki first release. Synthesized and rewritten from 8 author wikis. Explicitly marked 3 disagreements: DOS vs Win95 user experience / MCP vs ANP protocol / Smithery value
Sources and related materials
- newtype · MCP Protocol and Ecosystem in Practice
- newtype · AI Tool Stack in Practice and Evolution
- newtype Miscellaneous Practices: llms.txt Protocol + CrewAI Obsidian Project + n8n MCP Workflows
- Wang Kai Multi-Agent Browser Matrix Architecture (v1.1 Practical Guide)
- Wang Kai Agent Engineering Practices
- Wang Kai Claude Code Terminal Workflow Methodology (Complete Edition)
- dontbesilent AI Self-Media Course / 13-Lesson Systematic Methodology
- AWS Agent Lecture Series 2025 (4-article Compilation)
- Claude Code Workflows (Cross-Author Thematic Synthesis)
- Claude Skill Engineering (Cross-Author Thematic Synthesis)
- AI Agent Architecture and Multi-Agent Orchestration (Cross-Author Thematic Synthesis)