Browse AI Agents & MCP SECTION 4: Model Context Protocol (MCP)

The Tools vs Resources Decision

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The Tools vs Resources Decision

For each of these capabilities, tell me whether it should be an MCP
tool, a resource, or a prompt.

Capabilities:
[LIST]

For each, give:
1. The classification
2. The reasoning
3. What changes about how the model interacts with it
4. If it is a resource: the URI scheme
5. If it is a tool: why the model needs to invoke it rather than
   read it
6. If it is a prompt: what workflow it encodes and what arguments
   it takes

The distinction to apply:
- RESOURCE: data the model reads. Reading it has no side effects
  and returns the same thing given the same URI at the same moment.
- TOOL: something the model does. It computes, searches, filters,
  or changes state.
- PROMPT: a reusable template a user invokes, which structures a
  task rather than performing it.

Flag anything that could reasonably be either, and explain the
trade-off.

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