The Tools vs Resources Decision
1 fill-in slot · from The AI Prompt Handbook for AI Agents & MCP
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0/1 filledThe 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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