Hacker News
Wslc: A native Linux container runtime for Windows
Article URL: https://www.boxofcables.dev/wslc-a-native-linux-container-runtime-for-windows/
Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48407427
Points: 1
# Comments: 0
Miracle on Everest: Guide believed dead spotted crawling down ice
Article URL: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvgz2yjl4y3o
Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48407424
Points: 1
# Comments: 0
Here.now: Free, Instant web hosting for agents
Article URL: https://here.now
Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48407420
Points: 1
# Comments: 0
'World-first' vaccine designed by artificial intelligence
Article URL: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/crrpggegwe0o
Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48407411
Points: 1
# Comments: 0
Form design: from zero to hero all in one blog post
Article URL: https://adamsilver.io/blog/form-design-from-zero-to-hero-all-in-one-blog-post/
Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48407403
Points: 1
# Comments: 0
CEO to staff: You're not getting a raise. We're spending on AI instead
Article URL: https://www.businessinsider.com/teradata-pauses-raises-employee-compensation-ai-budget-2026-6
Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48407401
Points: 2
# Comments: 0
Bad MCP design cost your Agent 5× more tokens
I recently did some tests on two MCPs with identical functionalities. Turns out one of them has really bad performance. So I wanna share those bad MCP design patterns that cause this.
It all started when I wrote an MCP Server (MCP-A) for a to-do list app. Later, the app officially released its own MCP Server (MCP-B). Both MCPs have the same functionalities and hit the same backend API.
The experiment is set up as follows:
- Both MCP Servers connect to the same ToDo list account, and it will be reset after each test. - 40 test prompts to simulate typical use cases for these MCPs. - The test was conducted with the same model, system prompt, and Agent framework
Here are the results:
| Metric | MCP-A | MCP-B | Gap | | ------------------- | ----------- | ----------- | ----- | | Tool Desc Length | 11,464 | 3,682 | — | | Pass Rate | 36/40 (90%) | 36/40 (90%) | Same | | Total input tokens | 637,244 | 3,174,329 | 4.98× | | Total output tokens | 17,301 | 23,238 | 1.34× | | Total Agent steps | 122 | 157 | 1.29× | | Total time | 597s | 676s | 1.13× |
---
The result shows that MCP-B took 35 more ReAct loops to complete 40 test cases compared to MCP-A, which means 30% more output tokens. I examined the log and found that the root cause is poor query tool design.
Take the `search tool` for example, its job is to find a todo item in the ToDo list. In MCP-B, this tool returns this:
{ "id": "6a1916b48f08cb3a4c857ed0", "title": "buy some groceries", "url": "https://todo.example.com/tasks/6a1916b48f08cb3a4c857ed0" }
But other CRUD operations require `project_id`, and `search_tool` doesn't return it. So the Agent has to call another tool `get_task_by_id`. On the other hand, MCP-A's query_tasks returns all necessary info to perform the next action in a single call:
Task 1: ID: 6a19143e8f084a8c8101612f Title: buy some groceries Project ID: 6a1914378f084a8c810160a9 Start Date: 2025-07-19 10:00:00 Priority: Medium Status: Active Unfiltered API Data was dumped into context window
If MCP returns pure API results to the Agent's context unprocessed, the Agent's context window will accumulate very fast.
Take MCP-B's `create_task` tool, for example. Its job is to create a to-do item. This is what this tool returns:
{ "id": "6a180de78f086bdead0608be", "projectId": "inbox125587327", ..... "createdTime": "2026-05-28T09:41:59+0000", "modifiedTime": "2026-05-28T09:41:59+0000", "focusSummaries": null }
These 600+ characters mean nothing to the Agent's task, but are still dumped into the Agent's context. On the other hand, MCP-A's create_tasks does a layer of filtering and formatting. This little tweak makes a huge difference in input token usage.
Another issue is tool count. More tools mean a larger candidate set for the model to choose from, which directly increases decision difficulty. In MCP-A, 47 tools were compressed down to 14, covering the same functionality with fewer tools.
---
So here are my takeaways on good MCP tool design: - When designing a tool, think about what the Agent will need next, not just what it's asking for right now. Return enough context in the result so the Agent can take the next action without making another round-trip.
- Too many tools will increase the model's decision burden. So it'd be better to minimize the number of tools within an MCP. Make sure they don't overlap functionalities.
- When your MCP returns data to the LLM, try to keep it LLM-friendly, which means readable. You can filter out unnecessary fields from the API response and format the data, rather than passing through raw JSON.
---
All the tests above were run by MCP-Eval. It's an MCP Server benchmarking tool. If you want to check your MCP's performance, feel free to check this out.
https://github.com/Code-MonkeyZhang/mcp-eval
Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48407391
Points: 2
# Comments: 0
Delacroix's Entry of the Crusaders into Constantinople Restored
Fedora 43 Upgrade revealed 20 years old Outlook Security Bug
Article URL: https://fedoramagazine.org/fedora-43-upgrade-revealed-20-years-old-outlook-security-bug/
Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48407356
Points: 2
# Comments: 0
H-1B Crackdown on Indian Workers Erodes a Texas Real Estate Boom
Article URL: https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2026-dallas-h1b-housing-market/
Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48407355
Points: 3
# Comments: 0
OPRD: On-Policy Representation Distillation
Article URL: https://arxiv.org/abs/2606.06021
Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48407343
Points: 1
# Comments: 0
What We Believe Happened: A Summary Timeline of Bricks and Minifigs Store
Article URL: https://bricksandminifigs.com/blog/blog/2026/06/04/bricks-and-minifigs-salem-store-timeline/
Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48407337
Points: 2
# Comments: 0
Verifying Agentic Development at Scale
Article URL: https://twitter.com/ido_pesok/status/2060416230641881336
Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48407332
Points: 1
# Comments: 0
It's not how much it rose, but how fast
Article URL: https://www.ooooo.law/board/8?lang=en
Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48407316
Points: 1
# Comments: 0
Ask HN: Are people vibe coding internal tools at your companies?
Is replacing SaaS with vibe coding a thing? Are there measurable gains? How much work is it to support/maintain these?
Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48407312
Points: 2
# Comments: 0
Can These Ads Make You Love A.I.?
Article URL: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/04/style/chatgpt-advertising-campaign-artificial-intelligence.html
Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48407290
Points: 1
# Comments: 0
Quantum Odyssey
Article URL: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2802710/Quantum_Odyssey/
Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48407288
Points: 1
# Comments: 0
