mcp-tool-discovery

name	mcp-tool-discovery
description	Use tool_search to discover and enable lazy-loaded Serac MCP tools (snow_*, jira_*, github_*, etc). Explains naming conventions, search strategies, and always-available activity tools.
license	Apache-2.0
compatibility	Designed for Snow-Code and ServiceNow development
metadata	{"author":"serac","version":"1.0.0","category":"platform"}
tools	["tool_search"]

MCP Tool Discovery Guide

Serac provides 429 tools via MCP (Model Context Protocol) servers. Tools are lazy-loaded to save tokens - use tool_search to discover them.

Quick Start

// Find tools for a specific task
tool_search({ query: "incident" }) // ServiceNow incidents
tool_search({ query: "widget" }) // Widget development
tool_search({ query: "update set" }) // Update Set management
tool_search({ query: "cmdb" }) // CMDB operations

Tool Categories

ServiceNow Core Operations

Query	Tools Found
"incident"	Incident CRUD, metrics, SLA
"change"	Change requests, CAB, risk
"problem"	Problem management, known errors
"cmdb"	CI search, relationships, discovery
"user lookup"	User/group queries
"query table"	Universal table queries

ServiceNow Development

Query	Tools Found
"widget"	Widget create/update/sync
"business rule"	BR creation and management
"script include"	Reusable scripts
"client script"	Client-side scripts
"ui policy"	Form policies
"ui action"	Buttons and links
"update set"	Update Set lifecycle
"snow deploy"	Artifact deployment

ServiceNow Platform

Query	Tools Found
"flow designer"	Flow/subflow creation
"workspace"	Workspace builder
"catalog"	Service catalog items
"knowledge"	Knowledge articles
"notification"	Email notifications
"scheduled job"	Scheduled scripts
"rest"	REST API integration
"import"	Import sets, transform maps

Activity & Instance

Query	Tools Found
"activity"	Activity tracking (always available)
"instance info"	Instance URL and config
"property"	System properties
"logs"	System logs

Enterprise (if enabled)

Query	Tools Found
"jira"	Jira issues, transitions, comments
"azure devops"	Work items, boards, pipelines
"confluence"	Pages, spaces, search
"github"	Issues, PRs, workflows, releases
"gitlab"	Issues, MRs, pipelines

Always-Available Tools

These tools are loaded by default (no discovery needed):

// Activity tracking
activity_start({ source, storyTitle, storyType, ... })
activity_update({ activityId, status, summary })
activity_complete({ activityId, summary })
activity_add_artifact({ activityId, artifactType, ... })

// Core tool discovery
tool_search({ query, enable: true })

How tool_search Works

1. Search - Finds tools matching your query
2. Enable - Automatically enables found tools for your session
3. Use - Call the discovered tool by name

// Step 1: Search
tool_search({ query: "jira" })
// Returns: jira_search_issues, jira_get_issue, jira_create_issue, ...

// Step 2: Call discovered tool
jira_search_issues({ jql: "project = PROJ AND status = Open" })

Search Tips

Be Specific

// Too broad - may not find what you need
tool_search({ query: "github" }) // Returns 20+ tools

// More specific - finds exactly what you need
tool_search({ query: "github content" }) // File content tools
tool_search({ query: "github repository" }) // Repo info tools
tool_search({ query: "github pull request" }) // PR tools

Search by Action

tool_search({ query: "create incident" })
tool_search({ query: "update widget" })
tool_search({ query: "query cmdb" })
tool_search({ query: "deploy business rule" })

Search by Table

tool_search({ query: "sys_script_include" })
tool_search({ query: "sp_widget" })
tool_search({ query: "sysevent_email_action" })

Tool Naming Patterns

Tools follow consistent naming patterns:

Pattern	Example	Purpose
snow_*	snow_query_table	ServiceNow operations
snow_deploy_*	snow_artifact_manage (action='create', type='sp_widget')	Artifact creation
snow_update_*	snow_update_set_manage	Update operations
jira_*	jira_search_issues	Jira integration
azdo_*	azdo_search_work_items	Azure DevOps
confluence_*	confluence_create_page	Confluence
github_*	github_create_issue	GitHub
gitlab_*	gitlab_create_mr	GitLab

MCP Server Categories

Serac includes specialized MCP servers:

Server	Purpose	Example Tools
ServiceNow Unified	Core ServiceNow ops	Query, CRUD, scripts
ServiceNow Development	Artifact management	Deploy, widget sync
ServiceNow Automation	Script execution	Background scripts
ServiceNow ITSM	IT Service Management	Incidents, changes
ServiceNow Platform	Platform features	Flows, workspaces
Enterprise	External integrations	Jira, Azure, GitHub

Best Practices

1. Discover Before Using - Always use tool_search first
2. Be Specific - Narrow queries find better matches
3. Check Results - Review tool descriptions before calling
4. Enable by Default - enable: true is the default
5. Silent Discovery - Don't tell users you're discovering tools

Troubleshooting

Issue	Solution
Tool not found	Try different query terms
Too many results	Be more specific in query
Tool doesn't work	Check parameters, may need auth
Enterprise tool missing	Verify enterprise auth status

Example Workflows

Finding Incident Tools

// Discover
tool_search({ query: "incident" })

// Use discovered tools
snow_record_manage({ action: "query", table: "incident", query: "active=true^priority=1" })
snow_record_manage({ action: "create", table: "incident", short_description: "...", caller_id: "..." })

Finding Widget Tools

// Discover
tool_search({ query: "widget" })

// Use discovered tools
snow_artifact_manage({ action: "find", type: "sp_widget", query: "incident" })
snow_pull_artifact({ sys_id: "<widget sys_id>", table: "sp_widget", output_dir: "./widgets" })

Finding Enterprise Tools

// Discover Jira tools
tool_search({ query: "jira" })

// Use discovered tools
jira_search_issues({ jql: "project = SNOW AND status = Open" })
jira_transition_issue({ issueKey: "SNOW-123", transition: "In Progress" })