--- title: "How many tools an MCP server should list | Agent MCP Directory" description: "How many tools an MCP server should list. Choose a tool count by what the servers in this directory list. 5 steps, each with a dated source." canonical: https://agentmcpdirectory.com/guides/how-many-tools-an-mcp-server-should-list site: "Agent MCP Directory" last_updated: 2026-11-05 section: "Guides" --- # How many tools an MCP server should list | Agent MCP Directory > How many tools an MCP server should list. Choose a tool count by what the servers in this directory list. 5 steps, each with a dated source. Source: https://agentmcpdirectory.com/guides/how-many-tools-an-mcp-server-should-list Site: Agent MCP Directory Last reviewed: 2026-11-05 # How many tools an MCP server should list Choose a tool count by what the servers in this directory list, what scanners reward and what Ora's own two servers do. The median open server lists 8 tools and 31 list more than forty. First step: Count what tools/list returns; an agent reads that list before anything else. ## Steps 1. Count what tools/list returns; an agent reads that list before anything else. 2. Group tools by job and merge near-duplicates; fewer sharp tools beat many overlapping ones. 3. Name tools by action and object so the list reads at a glance. 4. Keep a docs server small and focused; let a product server be as broad as the product. 5. Re-count after each release. ## What the sources say - Ora's tool-listing check calls tools/list and grades the surface: product servers earn on breadth and docs servers on focus. ([ora.ai](https://ora.ai/api/checks?utm_source=agentmcpdirectory.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=guide), read 5 November 2026) - Ora's main MCP server lists 18 tools and its docs MCP server lists three: search\_docs, get\_docs\_page and get\_endpoint. ([ora.ai](https://ora.ai/llms-full.txt?utm_source=agentmcpdirectory.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=guide), read 5 November 2026) - Arcade's rescan of 30 September 2026 found quality peaked at 16 to 31 tools per server; this is vendor research. ([www.arcade.dev](https://www.arcade.dev/blog/toolbench-rescan-90000-mcp-servers), read 4 November 2026) - The 2026-07-28 MCP specification says servers SHOULD return tools in a deterministic order. ([modelcontextprotocol.io](https://modelcontextprotocol.io/specification/2026-07-28/changelog), read 4 November 2026) ## Tool counts in the directory The 263 open servers by the number of tools they listed on 4 November 2026. The table has the counts and shares. | Tools listed | Servers | Share | | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | 5 | 1.9% | | 2-5 | 86 | 32.7% | | 6-10 | 65 | 24.7% | | 11-20 | 49 | 18.6% | | 21-40 | 27 | 10.3% | | 41-100 | 24 | 9.1% | | 100+ | 7 | 2.7% | ## The longest lists | Company | Tools | Ora score | | --- | --- | --- | | Courier courier.com | 173 | 57 C | | YouSpot youspot.com | 171 | 98 A+ | | AthenaHQ athenahq.ai | 113 | 67 C | | Ciphyr ciphyr.ai | 112 | | | Okfindex okfindex.com | 107 | | | Almxpp almxpp.com | 104 | | | AgentBIT agentbit.app | 101 | | | DC Hub dchub.cloud | 94 | | The median is 8, the largest list has 173 tools, and Ora's own main server lists 18 and its docs server three. Arcade's finding that quality peaks between 16 and 31 tools is vendor research and covers far more servers than this directory. [What Ora grades in a tool list](https://agentmcpdirectory.com/mcp-checks/#servers). ## Testing your own MCP server Ora scans an MCP server URL and runs 28 of its 132 public checks on it, with check sets that differ for a docs server and a product server. It is the check this directory recommends; it reads public URLs only and publishes no repeat-scan data. [The reasons, the limits and the alternatives](https://agentmcpdirectory.com/test-your-mcp-server/). Edition 4 November 2026 Method [How rows are verified](https://agentmcpdirectory.com/method/) Data [CSV and JSON](https://agentmcpdirectory.com/data/) Markdown [This page as markdown](https://agentmcpdirectory.com/guides/how-many-tools-an-mcp-server-should-list/index.md) ## Sources - [How many tools an MCP server should list](https://ora.ai/api/checks?utm_source=agentmcpdirectory.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=guide), read 5 November 2026 - [ora.ai/llms-full.txt](https://ora.ai/llms-full.txt?utm_source=agentmcpdirectory.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=guide), read 5 November 2026 - [www.arcade.dev/blog/toolbench-rescan-90000-mcp-servers](https://www.arcade.dev/blog/toolbench-rescan-90000-mcp-servers), read 4 November 2026 - [modelcontextprotocol.io/specification/2026-07-28/changelog](https://modelcontextprotocol.io/specification/2026-07-28/changelog), read 4 November 2026 - [Ora leaderboard, GET /api/leaderboard](https://ora.ai/api/leaderboard?utm_source=agentmcpdirectory.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=guide), read 5 November 2026 Last reviewed 5 November 2026