AI EngineeringInterview preparation
Advanced·Concept·2 min read

Do I need tools? Do I need MCP?

Practice this question
  • Use narrow tools for fresh data and actions.
  • MCP is useful when approved hosts need a shared discoverable integration, not merely because the model has one function call.
  • Keep the existing business API behind either a direct wrapper or the MCP facade.

Authority: caller identity, tenant, permission, and approval must be established independently of model arguments. A tool should expose a business capability, not arbitrary database or network power.

Adapted from 13_AI.MD · “4. Do I need tools? Do I need MCP?”. Code examples are study fragments. Difficulty and core labels are editorial estimates; version-specific behavior should be checked against your project.