MCP Tools Overview
Benchmarked against: Anthropic — Tools Overview Protocol: Model Context Protocol (MCP) — open standard by Anthropic Architecture: Multiple MCP servers, each exposing domain-specific tools
SuperPortia agents interact with the world through MCP (Model Context Protocol) tools. Every agent capability — searching knowledge, creating work orders, ingesting files, sending messages, running commands — is exposed as an MCP tool that agents can call.
What is MCP?
The Model Context Protocol is an open standard that defines how AI agents connect to external tools and data sources. Instead of hardcoding integrations, MCP provides a universal interface:
- MCP Server — A process that exposes tools (functions) and resources (data)
- MCP Client — The AI agent (Claude Code, Claude App) that calls these tools
- Tool — A specific function the agent can invoke (e.g.,
search_brain,create_work_order)
SuperPortia runs multiple MCP servers simultaneously, each handling a different domain.
MCP servers in the fleet
| Server | Domain | Tools | Deployment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local UBI | Local knowledge base, file ops, dispatch | ~30 tools | Per-ship (SS1/SS2) |
| Cloud UB | Cloud knowledge base, work orders, messaging | ~20 tools | Cloudflare Workers (shared) |
| Cloudflare | Infrastructure management | API search + execute | Cloudflare MCP |
| Supabase | Database operations | ~25 tools | Supabase MCP |
| Chrome | Browser automation | ~15 tools | Chrome extension |
| Claude Preview | Dev server & preview | ~15 tools | Local dev tools |
| Memory | Knowledge graph | ~8 tools | Local memory server |
| Filesystem | File system access | ~10 tools | Local filesystem server |
For details on each server, see MCP Servers.
Tool categories
Knowledge & search
Tools for finding and retrieving information from the Universal Brain.
| Tool | Server | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
search_brain | Local UBI / Cloud UB | Hybrid search (semantic + keyword) across all UB entries |
search_by_category | Local UBI / Cloud UB | Browse entries by category (knowledge, project_doc, etc.) |
get_entry | Local UBI / Cloud UB | Retrieve a specific entry by ID |
get_recent | Local UBI / Cloud UB | List most recently ingested entries |
get_stats | Local UBI / Cloud UB | UB statistics — total entries, categories, sources |
Ingestion & classification
Tools for adding new knowledge to the Universal Brain. Content passes through the MTAAA pipeline for automatic classification.
| Tool | Server | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
ingest_fragment | Local UBI / Cloud UB | Ingest file, text, URL, or screenshot into UB |
Work order management
Tools for the complete work order lifecycle. See Work Order API for full reference.
| Tool | Server | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
create_work_order | Local UBI / Cloud UB | Create a new WO with structured fields |
list_work_orders | Local UBI / Cloud UB | Query WOs with filters (status, project, assignee) |
get_work_order_detail | Local UBI / Cloud UB | Full WO details including transition history |
accept_work_order | Local UBI / Cloud UB | Accept a pending WO (pending → accepted) |
update_work_order_status | Local UBI / Cloud UB | Transition WO status (state machine rules enforced) |
complete_work_order | Local UBI / Cloud UB | Submit WO for review with summary |
verify_work_order | Local UBI / Cloud UB | Captain approves/rejects a WO |
dispatch_work_order | Local UBI | Trigger WO execution via dispatch engine |
get_work_order_form | Local UBI / Cloud UB | Get blank WO form template |
Agent communication
Tools for inter-agent messaging and status tracking.
| Tool | Server | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
send_agent_message | Local UBI / Cloud UB | Send message to another agent's mailbox |
check_agent_mailbox | Local UBI / Cloud UB | Check messages in an agent's mailbox |
mark_message | Local UBI / Cloud UB | Mark message as read/unread |
archive_message | Local UBI / Cloud UB | Archive (soft delete) a message |
agent_heartbeat | Local UBI / Cloud UB | Register agent as online |
For details, see Agent Messaging.
Intelligence & research
Tools for gathering external intelligence and web search.
| Tool | Server | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
intel_search | Local UBI | Search any topic, auto-ingest findings into UB |
search_web | Local UBI | Web search via low-cost engines (Groq/Gemini) |
run_patrol | Local UBI | Trigger Intelligence Officer patrol across configured domains |
list_patrol_domains | Local UBI | List available patrol domains and their config |
call_model | Local UBI | Call low-cost LLM for subtasks (summary, translation, analysis) |
list_models | Local UBI | List available low-cost LLM providers and models |
Fleet operations
Tools for monitoring and managing the fleet.
| Tool | Server | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
factory_floor_status | Local UBI / Cloud UB | Real-time overview — who's doing what |
check_dispatch | Local UBI | Check dispatch center for pending WOs and reports |
update_captain_location | Local UBI / Cloud UB | Update Captain's current working location |
File operations
Tools for reading, writing, and searching files on the local filesystem.
| Tool | Server | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
ubi_read_file | Local UBI | Read file with line numbers and pagination |
ubi_write_file | Local UBI | Write file (creates .bak backup) |
ubi_edit_file | Local UBI | Exact string replacement in files |
ubi_list_directory | Local UBI | List directory contents, optional recursive tree |
ubi_run_command | Local UBI | Execute sandboxed shell commands |
ubi_search_code | Local UBI | Search code files using grep/rg patterns |
For details, see File Tools and Run Command.
Browser automation
Tools for controlling Chrome browser via MCP.
| Tool | Server | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
computer | Chrome MCP | Mouse, keyboard, screenshots, scrolling |
read_page | Chrome MCP | Accessibility tree of page elements |
find | Chrome MCP | Natural language element search |
navigate | Chrome MCP | URL navigation, back/forward |
javascript_tool | Chrome MCP | Execute JavaScript in page context |
form_input | Chrome MCP | Set form field values |
get_page_text | Chrome MCP | Extract raw text from page |
For details, see Computer Use.
Tool resolution: Local UBI vs Cloud UB
Many tools exist on both the Local UBI and Cloud UB servers. The naming follows a pattern:
| Local UBI tool | Cloud UB tool | Difference |
|---|---|---|
mcp__ubi__search_brain | mcp__ss3-cloud-ub__search_brain | Local searches local DB; Cloud searches D1 |
mcp__ubi__ingest_fragment | mcp__ss3-cloud-ub__ingest_fragment | Local runs MTAAA pipeline; Cloud does direct ingest |
mcp__ubi__create_work_order | mcp__ss3-cloud-ub__create_work_order | Both write to Cloud UB (WOs are always cloud) |
mcp__5595db01-*__* | — | Local UBI tools via stdio MCP |
Current direction: Cloud UB is the single source of truth. Local UBI tools increasingly proxy to Cloud UB. See UB Governance for the unified UB architecture.
Cost awareness for tool usage
Different tools have different cost implications:
| Tool type | Cost | Guidance |
|---|---|---|
| UB search/read | Free | Use freely — search before deciding |
| WO management | Free | Use the WO system for all tasks |
intel_search (Groq) | Free | Default for research |
intel_search (Gemini) | ~$0.014/search | Use for authoritative results with citations |
call_model (Groq) | Free | Default for subtasks |
call_model (Gemini/DeepSeek) | Cents | For quality-sensitive tasks |
dispatch_work_order (Claude) | ~$1–2/run | Only for tasks requiring code/file operations |
| Opus direct work | $$$$ | Architecture, decisions, delegation only |
See Cost Awareness for the full engine selection guide.
Related pages
| Page | Relationship |
|---|---|
| How to Add an MCP Tool | Guide for adding new tools to the ecosystem |
| MCP Servers | Server-level configuration and deployment |
| Work Order API | Full WO tool reference |
| Agent Messaging | Communication tool details |
| File Ingestion (MTAAA) | How ingest_fragment processes content |