Compact mode is a special configuration for SMCP server that only exposes 4-5 core tools to prevent context window overflow, while maintaining full functionality through search and execute capabilities.

What is Compact Mode?

When enabled, compact mode:

Only exposes 4-5 core tools instead of 1000++ tools
Reduces context window usage by ~99%
Maintains full functionality - all tools are still accessible via execute_tool
Enables progressive disclosure - start with minimal info, get details when needed

Core Tools

Compact mode exposes 4 core discovery tools, plus optionally find_tools if search is enabled (default):

list_tools - List available tools with different modes:
- mode="names" - List only tool names
- mode="categories" - List category statistics
- mode="by_category" - List tools grouped by category
grep_tools - Search tools by text or regex pattern:
- Search in tool names, descriptions, or other fields
- Supports text and regex search modes
get_tool_info - Get tool information:
- detail_level="description" - Get name and description
- detail_level="full" - Get complete tool definition
- Supports single or multiple tools
execute_tool - Execute any ToolUniverse tool by name:
- Pass tool name and arguments as dictionary
- Returns tool execution result
find_tools - AI-powered tool discovery using natural language queries (optional, enabled by default):
- Natural language search for tools
- Supports category filtering
- Uses AI-powered semantic search when available

Usage

Command Line

# STDIO mode (for Claude Desktop)
tooluniverse-smcp-stdio --compact-mode

# HTTP mode
tooluniverse-smcp-server --compact-mode --port 8000

Claude Desktop Configuration

Add this to your Claude Desktop settings (~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json on macOS):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "tooluniverse-compact": {
      "command": "python",
      "args": [
        "-m", "tooluniverse.smcp_server",
        "--transport", "stdio",
        "--compact-mode"
      ],
      "env": {
        "FASTMCP_NO_BANNER": "1",
        "PYTHONWARNINGS": "ignore"
      }
    }
  }
}

Workflow Example

List available tools

tools = list_tools(mode="names")
# Returns: ~750 tool names

Search for relevant tools

results = grep_tools(pattern="protein", field="name", limit=10)
# Returns: Tools matching "protein" in name

Get tool details

info = get_tool_info(tool_names="UniProt_get_entry_by_accession", detail_level="full")
# Returns: Complete tool definition with parameters

Execute tool

result = execute_tool(
    tool_name="UniProt_get_entry_by_accession",
    arguments={"accession": "P05067"}
)

Comparison

Feature	Normal Mode	Compact Mode
Tools Exposed	~750 tools	4-5 tools (4 core + find_tools if search enabled)
Context Window Usage	High	Low (~99% reduction)
Functionality	Full	Full (via execute_tool)

README.md

SMCP Compact Mode