From 5df7e14576237dbf89ab8415739085d9acfe01ff Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Dan Barr <6922515+danbarr@users.noreply.github.com> Date: Wed, 15 Apr 2026 10:28:14 -0400 Subject: [PATCH 1/2] Add deprecation notice to UI Optimizer guide Signed-off-by: Dan Barr <6922515+danbarr@users.noreply.github.com> --- docs/toolhive/guides-ui/mcp-optimizer.mdx | 20 +++++++++++++------- 1 file changed, 13 insertions(+), 7 deletions(-) diff --git a/docs/toolhive/guides-ui/mcp-optimizer.mdx b/docs/toolhive/guides-ui/mcp-optimizer.mdx index ebaa6951..4a17987a 100644 --- a/docs/toolhive/guides-ui/mcp-optimizer.mdx +++ b/docs/toolhive/guides-ui/mcp-optimizer.mdx @@ -4,6 +4,19 @@ description: Enable the MCP Optimizer to enhance tool selection and reduce token usage. --- +:::danger[Deprecated - removal on April 22, 2026] + +The MCP Optimizer in the ToolHive UI is deprecated and will be removed on April +22, 2026. The optimizer is now built into +[Virtual MCP Server (vMCP)](../guides-vmcp/optimizer.mdx), which provides the +same tool filtering and token reduction at the team level with no per-user +configuration needed. + +For details on the migration, see the +[announcement blog post](https://stacklok.com/blog/mcp-optimizer-is-now-built-into-the-stacklok-platform/). + +::: + ## Overview The ToolHive MCP Optimizer acts as an intelligent intermediary between AI @@ -11,13 +24,6 @@ clients and MCP servers. It provides tool discovery, unified access to multiple MCP servers through a single endpoint, and intelligent routing of requests to appropriate MCP tools. -:::info[Status] - -The MCP Optimizer is currently experimental. If you try it out, please share -your feedback on the [Stacklok Discord community](https://discord.gg/stacklok). - -::: - Learn more about the MCP Optimizer, its benefits, and how it works in the tutorial: [Reduce token usage with MCP Optimizer](../tutorials/mcp-optimizer.mdx). From 2a87b9ebcb0e0a05769d5c7088262a3b21b9db4b Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Dan Barr <6922515+danbarr@users.noreply.github.com> Date: Wed, 15 Apr 2026 10:35:38 -0400 Subject: [PATCH 2/2] Update tutorial with note and remove UI tab Signed-off-by: Dan Barr <6922515+danbarr@users.noreply.github.com> --- docs/toolhive/tutorials/mcp-optimizer.mdx | 124 ++++------------------ 1 file changed, 18 insertions(+), 106 deletions(-) diff --git a/docs/toolhive/tutorials/mcp-optimizer.mdx b/docs/toolhive/tutorials/mcp-optimizer.mdx index 162a8468..d0ebaaad 100644 --- a/docs/toolhive/tutorials/mcp-optimizer.mdx +++ b/docs/toolhive/tutorials/mcp-optimizer.mdx @@ -12,10 +12,13 @@ clients and MCP servers. It provides tool discovery, unified access to multiple MCP servers through a single endpoint, and intelligent routing of requests to appropriate MCP tools. -:::info[Status] +:::note[Moving to vMCP] -The MCP Optimizer is currently experimental. If you try it out, please share -your feedback on the [Stacklok Discord community](https://discord.gg/stacklok). +The optimizer is now integrated into +[Virtual MCP Server (vMCP)](../guides-vmcp/optimizer.mdx), which provides the +same tool filtering and token reduction at the team level. You can deploy it in +Kubernetes today, and a local experience is coming soon. This tutorial covers +the standalone CLI approach in the meantime. ::: @@ -74,7 +77,7 @@ flowchart TB - macOS: Docker Desktop, Podman Desktop, or Rancher Desktop (using dockerd) - Windows: Docker Desktop or Rancher Desktop (using dockerd) - Linux: any container runtime (see [Linux setup](#linux-setup)) -- ToolHive UI version 0.12.0 or later +- ToolHive CLI ## Step 1: Install MCP servers in a ToolHive group @@ -82,30 +85,8 @@ Before you can use MCP Optimizer, you need to have one or more MCP servers running in a ToolHive group. If you don't have any MCP servers set up yet, follow these steps: - - - -1. Open the ToolHive UI and go to the **MCP Servers** screen -2. Ensure you're in the `default` group (or create a new group if desired) -3. Run one or more MCP servers by clicking the **Add an MCP Server** button and - selecting from the registry or using a custom server image - - For this tutorial, you can run the following example MCP servers: - - `github`: Provides tools for interacting with GitHub repositories - ([guide](../guides-mcp/github.mdx?mode=ui)) - - `fetch`: Provides a web search tool to fetch recent news articles - - `time`: Provides a tool to get the current time in various time zones - -4. Wait for the MCP servers to start and become healthy - -See the [Run MCP servers](../guides-ui/run-mcp-servers.mdx) guide for more -details. - - - - -Run one or more MCP servers in the `default` group using the ToolHive CLI. For -this tutorial, you can run the following example MCP servers: +Run one or more MCP servers in the `default` group. For this tutorial, you can +run the following example MCP servers: - `github`: Provides tools for interacting with GitHub repositories ([guide](../guides-mcp/github.mdx?mode=cli)) @@ -127,9 +108,6 @@ Verify the MCP servers are running: thv list ``` - - - ## Step 2: Connect your AI client Connect your AI client to the ToolHive group where the MCP servers are running @@ -143,19 +121,6 @@ the groups to avoid unpredictable behavior. ::: - - - -Open the ToolHive UI and use the **Manage Clients** button on the main MCP -Servers screen to register your AI client with the appropriate group (for -example, `default`). - -See the [Client configuration](../guides-ui/client-configuration.mdx) guide for -more details. - - - - Run the following command to register your AI client with the ToolHive group where the MCP servers are running (for example, `default`): @@ -166,55 +131,14 @@ thv client setup See the [Client configuration](../guides-cli/client-configuration.mdx) guide for more details. - - - Open your AI client and verify that it is connected to the correct MCP servers. If you installed the `github`, `fetch`, and `time` servers, you should see almost 50 tools available. ## Step 3: Enable MCP Optimizer - - - -The ToolHive UI automates the setup of the MCP Optimizer. - -1. Open the **Settings** (⚙️) screen and enable **MCP Optimizer** under - **Experimental Features** -2. Click the **Configure** button on the notification that pops up, or go to the - main **MCP Servers** screen and click **MCP Optimizer** in the left sidebar -3. Select the group that contains the MCP servers you want to optimize and click - **Apply Changes** - -ToolHive automatically updates clients that were registered with the selected -group to use the MCP Optimizer. If you want to connect a new client, go to the -`default` group and use the **Manage Clients** button to register it. - -Open your AI client and check its MCP configuration. You should see a single MCP -server named `toolhive-mcp-optimizer`. - -:::info[What's happening?] - -When you enable MCP Optimizer, ToolHive automatically creates an internal group -and runs the `mcp-optimizer` MCP server in that group. - -The MCP Optimizer server discovers the MCP servers in the selected group and -builds an index of their tools for intelligent routing. Automatic polling keeps -the index up to date as servers are added or removed from the optimized group. - -ToolHive also disconnects your AI clients from the original MCP server group and -reconnects them to the MCP Optimizer group. - -::: - - - - -The ToolHive UI is the recommended way to set up MCP Optimizer, but you can also -do it manually with the ToolHive CLI. If you are on Linux with native -containers, follow the steps below but see [Linux setup](#linux-setup) for the -modified `thv run` command. +If you are on Linux with native containers, follow the steps below but see +[Linux setup](#linux-setup) for the modified `thv run` command. **Step 3.1: Run the API server** @@ -291,9 +215,6 @@ flowchart TB client x-. 🚫 .-x def ``` - - - ## Step 4: Sample prompts After you configure and run MCP Optimizer, you can use the same prompts you @@ -323,14 +244,13 @@ The setup depends on which type of container runtime you are using. If you are using a container runtime that runs containers inside a virtual machine (such as Docker Desktop for Linux), the setup is the same as on macOS -and Windows. No additional configuration is needed - follow the UI or CLI tabs -in the steps above. +and Windows. No additional configuration is needed - follow the steps above. ### Native containers (Docker, Podman, Rancher Desktop, and others) :::note -Before running the command below, complete the following using the CLI tabs: +Before running the command below, complete the following: 1. [Step 1](#step-1-install-mcp-servers-in-a-toolhive-group) - install your MCP servers @@ -371,28 +291,20 @@ thv run --group optimizer --network host \ To change which groups MCP Optimizer can optimize after initial setup, remove the workload and run the command again with the updated `ALLOWED_GROUPS` value -(see [Remove a server](../guides-cli/manage-mcp-servers.mdx#remove-a-server)), -or edit the configuration directly via the ToolHive UI (see -[Manage MCP servers](../guides-ui/run-mcp-servers.mdx#manage-mcp-servers)). +(see [Remove a server](../guides-cli/manage-mcp-servers.mdx#remove-a-server)). See [Step 4: Sample prompts](#step-4-sample-prompts) to verify the setup. ## What's next? -Now that you've set up MCP Optimizer, consider exploring these next steps: - - Experiment with different MCP servers to see how MCP Optimizer enhances tool selection and reduces token usage -- Monitor the performance and effectiveness of MCP Optimizer in your AI - applications -- Use the [ToolHive Playground](../guides-ui/playground.mdx) to test and refine - your prompts with MCP Optimizer -- Provide feedback on your experience with MCP Optimizer on the - [Stacklok Discord community](https://discord.gg/stacklok) +- Explore the [vMCP optimizer](../guides-vmcp/optimizer.mdx) for team-level + optimization in Kubernetes ## Related information -- [MCP Optimizer UI guide](../guides-ui/mcp-optimizer.mdx) - [Optimize tool discovery in vMCP](../guides-vmcp/optimizer.mdx) - Kubernetes operator approach -- [Organize MCP servers into groups](../guides-ui/group-management.mdx) +- [Optimizing LLM context](../concepts/tool-optimization.mdx) - background on + tool filtering and context pollution