Tool Naming Conventions

Tool Naming Conventions are best practices for naming MCP tools to ensure they are easily understood by AI models and consistent across the ecosystem.

Recommended Patterns

• → Action-Noun: Use verbs followed by descriptive nouns (e.g., get_user, create_ticket).
• → Namespace-Prefixing: For servers with many tools, use a prefix (e.g., github_list_repos, github_get_issue).
• → Snake Case or Camel Case: Both snake_case (e.g., fetch_api_data) and camelCase (e.g., fetchApiData) are widely used.
• → HasMCP Standard: HasMCP specifically enforces the camelCase convention for maximum consistency and interoperability across all its MCPs.

Consistency in naming is critical for better readability and discoverability, helping the model build a more accurate "mental map" of available capabilities.

Questions & Answers

Why is tool naming important for AI models?

Standardized tool naming helps AI models understand and categorize available capabilities more accurately. Consistent naming patterns reduce ambiguity and prevent collisions between tools from different servers, leading to better discoverability.

What is the "Action-Noun" naming pattern?

This is a recommended pattern where tools are named using a verb followed by a descriptive noun (e.g., get_user or create_ticket). It clearly communicates the purpose and effect of the tool to the model.

Which naming convention should I use?

While both snake_case and camelCase are valid, staying consistent within your project is the most important factor for readability. If you are building for the HasMCP ecosystem, you should use camelCase as it is the enforced standard for all its MCP implementations to ensure a unified developer experience.