Tool discovery

tool_search

Group: Agent orchestration
Turned on by: MCP tool discovery on demand (the MCP page of Conversation settings).
Approval: Not reviewed: runs without asking, within the limits on this page.
Profile key: tool_search.tool_description

Fetches the full definitions of MCP tools that Mework holds back, so the model can call the ones it turns out to need.

With Tool discovery set to On demand (Conversation settings → MCP), the model is told only the names of the selected servers' tools and fetches the definitions it needs with this tool. Set to All declared, every definition is sent with each request and this tool is not offered. See MCP servers.

Good to know

Tool discovery needs a model with the Mid-conversation tools capability.
A fetched tool stays callable until the run ends. The next run, after your next message for example, starts with every MCP tool held back again.
Fetching never asks. Calling the MCP tool afterwards is approved like any other MCP tool call.

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Details
`query` required Query	string	Query to find deferred tools. Use "select:<tool_name>" for direct selection, or keywords to search.
`max_results` Maximum results	integer	Maximum number of results a keyword search returns (default: 5). Ignored by "select:" queries, which return every name they resolve. Default `5`