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Runtime Consumption Patterns

Agent runtimes consume MCP tool registries through standard patterns.

Discovery Pattern​

  1. Fetch tool registry from known endpoint
  2. Index tools by name, entity, and action type
  3. Cache registry with TTL based on generated_at timestamp

Selection Pattern​

  1. Parse user intent
  2. Match against available tool descriptions
  3. Rank by relevance
  4. Select best matching tool

Invocation Pattern​

  1. Validate parameters against input_schema
  2. Check preconditions from safety
  3. Request confirmation if confirmation_required
  4. Submit approval if approval_required
  5. Execute tool
  6. Validate postconditions
  7. Return results

Error Handling Pattern​

  1. Parameter validation failure → report missing/invalid parameters
  2. Precondition failure → report unmet preconditions
  3. Confirmation rejected → abort
  4. Rate limited → retry with backoff
  5. Execution failure → report error with code