modelcontextprotocol / modelcontextprotocol/python-sdk
Add `ClientSession.register_tool_schema()` for dynamic tool discovery patterns
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Description
Description
Problem
ClientSession.validate_tool_result() validates tool results against cached output schemas in self._tool_output_schemas, which is populated exclusively by list_tools(). When a tool is invoked that wasn't returned by list_tools(), two things happen:
- A warning is logged:
"Tool {name} not listed by server, cannot validate any structured content" - If the tool returns
structuredContentwith anoutputSchema, validation is skipped entirely — a correctness gap.
This affects MCP servers that use dynamic tool discovery, where list_tools() intentionally returns only a small subset of available tools (e.g., meta-tools like a search tool) and actual tools are discovered at runtime via semantic search or catalog queries.
Use case
AWS Bedrock AgentCore Gateway is an MCP-compatible server that can host hundreds or thousands of tools. Rather than returning all tools in list_tools() (which would overwhelm LLM context windows), it exposes a built-in tool called x_amz_bedrock_agentcore_search. Clients call this tool with a natural language query, and the gateway returns matching tool definitions — including names, descriptions, input schemas, and output schemas. The client then invokes these discovered tools by name via call_tool().
At that point, the SDK doesn't recognize these tools because they never appeared in a list_tools() response. This triggers the warning and skips output validation. The only workaround today is accessing the private _tool_output_schemas dict directly.
AWS Prescriptive Guidance documents this "search function" approach as one of three canonical tool discovery strategies for MCP (alongside static definition and dynamic discovery via list_tools()).
Proposed API
A single public method on ClientSession:
def register_tool_schema(
self, name: str, output_schema: dict[str, Any] | None = None
) -> None:
"""Register a tool's output schema for result validation.
Use this when tools are discovered dynamically (e.g., via a catalog
search API) and won't appear in list_tools() responses.
"""
self._tool_output_schemas[name] = output_schema
Usage:
# Client discovers tools via semantic search (not list_tools)
search_results = await session.call_tool("x_amz_bedrock_agentcore_search", {"query": "data analysis"})
# Register discovered tools for proper validation
for tool in parse_discovered_tools(search_results):
session.register_tool_schema(tool.name, tool.output_schema)
# Now call_tool validates structuredContent correctly, no warning logged
result = await session.call_tool("data_analysis_v2", {"input": "..."})
This is purely additive — no changes to existing behavior, no new data structures. It writes to the same dict that _absorb_tool_listing() already populates.
References
- Search for tools in your AgentCore gateway with a natural language query — Official docs for the
x_amz_bedrock_agentcore_searchtool - Tool discovery - AWS Prescriptive Guidance — Documents "search function" as a canonical MCP tool discovery strategy
- aws-samples/sample-aws-ops-agentcore-gateway-search — Working example with 268+ tools behind semantic search, reduced to 10-15 per query
Contributor guide
First steps
- Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
- Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
- Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
- Open a pull request that references the issue number.
Research direction
Start at ClientSession.validate_tool_result() and the existing _tool_output_schemas population in list_tools() and _absorb_tool_listing(). Add the public registration entry point described in the issue, then verify that a dynamically discovered tool can be registered and its structuredContent is validated without the missing-tool warning.
Written by the indexing model from the issue text.
Assessment
- Tech stack
- python
- Domain
- api, backend
- Issue type
- Feature
- Difficulty
- 2/5
- Estimated time
- 1-3 hours
- Activity status
- Quiet
- Clarity
- Clearly specified
- Newbie friendliness
- 72/100