tool-tax 0.5.1

Measure the hidden token bill of MCP and agent tool catalogs.

tool-tax

See how many tokens your agent tools burn before the user even asks a question.

tool-tax scans MCP-style tool catalogs, JSON/YAML tool manifests, and OpenAPI files. It can also probe a live MCP stdio server with tools/list. It shows the full schema cost, ranks the heaviest tools, diffs catalog changes in pull requests, writes a slim tool index for progressive loading, and can run a small stdio proxy that lazy-loads upstream schemas.

pipx install tool-tax

tool-tax mcp -- npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem /tmp
tool-tax scan examples
tool-tax diff old-tools.json new-tools.json
tool-tax pack examples --out .tool-tax

Example result:

Tools: 14
Full tool tax: 2,102 est. tokens
Slim index: 647 est. tokens
Slim-index savings: 1,455 est. tokens (69.2%)

Why

Agents keep getting more tools. MCP servers, browser tools, GitHub tools, database tools, and internal APIs all ship long schemas. If every schema is loaded up front, your agent pays a context tax before it starts working.

tool-tax gives that tax a number.

Install If

• You use Claude Code, Cursor, or another agent with multiple MCP servers.
• You expose internal OpenAPI routes or tool catalogs to an agent.
• You want CI to catch tool-schema bloat before it lands in a pull request.

Do Not Use If

• You need a provider billing meter. est. tokens are local estimates.
• You need a full MCP gateway for resources, prompts, streamable HTTP, or auth.
• You are trying to compress normal chat prompts or model responses.

What It Does

• Finds tool definitions in JSON, YAML, and OpenAPI files.
• Probes live MCP stdio servers through initialize + tools/list.
• Estimates token cost for each tool schema.
• Ranks the most expensive tools.
• Diffs base/head catalogs for PR budget checks.
• Generates a slim tool-index.json plus separate schema files.
• Runs a stdio proxy with list_tools, get_schema, and call_tool wrappers.
• Fails CI when the tool catalog grows past a budget.
• Posts or updates a GitHub PR report comment when configured.

Install

From PyPI:

pipx install tool-tax

From GitHub:

pipx install git+https://github.com/SihyeonJeon/tool-tax.git@v0.5.1

From a clone:

git clone https://github.com/SihyeonJeon/tool-tax.git
cd tool-tax
python3 -m pip install -e .

Installs one runtime dependency: PyYAML.

Use

Scan a repo:

tool-tax scan .

Scan a live MCP stdio server:

tool-tax mcp -- npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem /tmp
tool-tax mcp --pack-out .tool-tax-mcp -- npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-memory

Run the lazy-schema proxy:

tool-tax proxy -- npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem /tmp
tool-tax proxy --call-timeout 120 -- npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem /tmp

Write Markdown and JSON reports:

tool-tax scan examples --format md --out tool-tax-report.md
tool-tax scan examples --format json --out tool-tax-report.json

Create a progressive-loading pack:

tool-tax pack examples --out .tool-tax

That writes:

.tool-tax/
  tool-index.json       # small always-load index
  schemas/*.json        # full schemas loaded only when needed

Fail CI on tool bloat:

tool-tax scan mcp-tools.json --max-tokens 12000 --max-tool-tokens 750

Compare a pull request:

tool-tax diff base-tools.json head-tools.json --max-delta-tokens 500

Slice a large OpenAPI file before scanning or packing:

tool-tax scan openapi.json --tag payments
tool-tax scan openapi.json --path /v1/payment_intents
tool-tax pack openapi.json --operation "PostPayment*" --out .tool-tax-payments

Use it as a GitHub Action:

- uses: SihyeonJeon/tool-tax@v0.5.1
  with:
    path: .
    max-tokens: "12000"
    max-tool-tokens: "750"

Output

# Tool Tax Report

Grade: **lean**

| Metric | Value |
| --- | ---: |
| Tools | 7 |
| Full tool tax | 1,144 est. tokens |
| Slim index | 309 est. tokens |
| Slim-index savings | 835 est. tokens (73.0%) |
| Worst tool | 255 est. tokens |

Supports

• Live MCP stdio servers
• Lazy-schema MCP stdio proxy
• MCP-style JSON/YAML tool arrays
• Agent tool manifests with name, description, and inputSchema
• OpenAPI paths operations
• OpenAPI slicing by --tag, --path, and --operation
• Nested JSON catalogs
• GitHub Step Summary and PR comment reports

Benchmarks

These are local estimates for upfront schema text, not provider billing totals. See Estimator for the method and limits.

Catalog	Tools	Full tool tax	Slim index	Slim-index savings
Live MCP Filesystem	14	2,102	647	69.2%
Live MCP Memory	9	1,324	340	74.3%
Live MCP Sequential Thinking	1	858	46	94.6%
GitHub REST API	1,184	366,962	70,996	80.7%
Stripe OpenAPI	587	649,797	28,047	95.7%

Direct-vs-proxy upfront schema tax:

Upstream MCP server	Direct upfront tax	Proxy upfront tax	Reduction
Filesystem	2,102	260	87.6%
Memory	1,324	260	80.4%
Sequential Thinking	858	260	69.7%

Repo Shape

src/tool_tax/   # library + CLI
tests/          # unittest smoke coverage
examples/       # sample MCP/OpenAPI catalogs and reports
docs/           # trend scan and repo structure notes

What It Is Not

• Not a provider billing meter.
• Not prompt compression for normal chat messages.
• Not a security sandbox for untrusted MCP servers.
• Not a full MCP gateway.

It measures the up-front schema tax, creates a smaller index, and includes an experimental stdio proxy that exposes three wrapper tools so upstream schemas can be fetched only when needed. The proxy is intentionally narrow: stdio, tools/list, and tools/call.

More

• Roadmap
• Estimator
• Compared
• Changelog
• Public scan gallery
• Proxy benchmark
• PyPI publish notes
• Launch kit
• Trend scan
• Repo shape scan

License

MIT