← Learning
Tuesday, April 7, 2026•1 min•🇬🇧

An MCP server is not an API. It's a teacher.

The instructions field matters more than the tools.

We built an MCP server with 12 tools. "Create note." "Search notes." "Update note." Clean API, good docs.

The agent used it like a database. It created notes, stored them, never connected them. The vault was a pile of files.

We rewrote the instructions. Same 12 tools. But now each tool says when and why to use it. The server teaches a methodology: capture, compile, query, output, lint. The agent stopped being a CRUD client and started being a knowledge gardener.

Concrete example: the CIR/CII playbook works because the agent follows a proof-compilation method, not because it merely has access to Linear or GitHub.

Rule: the tools are the verbs. The instructions are the grammar. Ship the grammar.

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