Ask AI:
Execution Modes (Direct vs Dynamic)
Every MCP server can run in one of two execution modes:
- Direct: your AI client loads the full tool list up front and calls tools directly.
- Dynamic: the MCP server starts with a small “meta” surface, discovers tools only when needed, and runs multi-step workflows without flooding the model’s context with tool definitions and intermediate results.
Same MCP URL. Same slug in /bundle/{slug}. Same credential bindings.
Just a different execution strategy.
Why Dynamic exists
Dynamic mode solves two scaling problems:
- Tool definition bloat: large tool libraries can be slow and brittle for AI clients to load and use.
- Intermediate-result bloat: big tool outputs can pollute context and derail the rest of a workflow.
Dynamic mode keeps context small by:
- discovering tools on-demand
- executing workflows in a controlled code execution environment
- returning only the final output to the conversation
The rule: Direct is limited to 100 tools
Direct mode is still ideal for small, focused MCP servers.
But once an MCP server exceeds 100 tools, Direct becomes unreliable for many AI clients.
So we enforce a simple constraint:
- MCP servers with more than 100 tools must use Dynamic mode.
You can enable Dynamic at any size. Switching back to Direct is only allowed at 100 tools or fewer.
Dynamic is “Hub-style,” but MCP-server–scoped
If you’ve used the Hub, Dynamic will feel familiar.
The key difference: Dynamic is scoped to one MCP server:
- tool search only returns tools inside this MCP server
- tool execution only uses this MCP server’s credential bindings