#I'm having troubles with the agent using the mcp tools

1 messages · Page 1 of 1 (latest)

true grail
#

The agent try a hundred of things instead using the mcp to get the data, why could this be? this 2 mcp provices +200 tools, maybe this is too much for the agent?

Even a clear instruction like "use the mcp mcp_servers to obtain basic info from the server" fails
Any advice? am I doing something wrong?

mcp_servers:
homelab_ops:
url: "http://XX.XX.10.10:8043/mcp"
enabled: true
timeout: 120
connect_timeout: 60
tools:
resources: true
prompts: true
arcane_ops:
command: "npx"
args:
- "-y"
- "@randomsynergy/arcane-mcp-server"
env:
ARCANE_BASE_URL: "http://XX.XX.25.4:3000"
ARCANE_API_KEY: "arc_asdasdasd"
enabled: true
timeout: 120
connect_timeout: 60
tools:
resources: true
prompts: true

rocky fjord
#

Yes, 200+ MCP tools can absolutely make tool selection worse. Hermes registers discovered MCP tools into the normal tool pool, so a very large MCP surface makes it much easier for the model to wander or miss the right one even when the intent is clear.

The other thing that stands out is the arcane_ops block you pasted. If that indentation is literal, that server config is malformed and may not be loading the way you expect. In particular, the args, env, enabled, timeout, connect_timeout, and tools sections all need to stay nested under arcane_ops:.

Before changing prompts any further, please check the MCP side directly with:

hermes mcp list
hermes mcp test homelab_ops
hermes mcp test arcane_ops

and then run:

/reload-mcp

If one server does not show up or fails its test, that is the problem to fix first.

If both servers are loading correctly, I would strongly recommend shrinking the visible MCP surface. With 200+ tools, the most reliable setup is to expose only the subset you actually want Hermes to use for this task, using tools.include / tools.exclude on those MCP servers instead of handing the model the full inventory.

So yes, the tool count can hurt you here, and the pasted arcane_ops YAML may also be part of the problem. Please send the output of the three MCP commands above and, if possible, the exact mcp_servers: block from your real config.yaml with the original indentation preserved.

true grail
#

The "hermes mcp list" command goes in the chat? Like /reload_mcp?

rocky fjord
#

no, from the terminal