{
  "schema": "vedokrok.public-item.v1",
  "release_id": "MHC-RPUB-20260920-75ad787a",
  "url": "/knowledge/measure-the-active-tool-set-not-the-catalog-size",
  "id": "MHC-D-RESEARCH-1169",
  "version": "0.1.0",
  "title": "Measure the active tool set, not the catalog size",
  "summary": "The catalog is inventory. The working set is cognitive load.",
  "kind": "principle",
  "body": "Track the count and token footprint of tool schemas active per request, alongside tool-selection accuracy and task success. A large catalog can be acceptable if the working set remains relevant; a small catalog can still be wasteful if every verbose schema is always loaded.",
  "limits": [
    "Do not optimize the working set in isolation. Extra routing steps or low recall can erase the savings."
  ],
  "topics": [
    "union-ai-runtime-verification-2026"
  ],
  "intents": [],
  "source_ids": [
    "RS-ED013467FB90D730"
  ],
  "evidence": [
    {
      "claim": "The active number and size of tool schemas presented to the model can be measured separately from the total catalog to diagnose context and selection overhead.",
      "source_id": "RS-ED013467FB90D730",
      "role": "supports",
      "note": "A smaller working set is not automatically better; over-pruning can reduce task coverage or force extra routing turns.",
      "locator": "12:47-20:22, measure the working set and connect retrieval to evaluation and maintenance"
    }
  ],
  "use_when": [
    "A team argues about how many tools an agent can support but does not know how much tool context each request actually sees."
  ],
  "avoid_when": [
    "Do not optimize the working set in isolation. Extra routing steps or low recall can erase the savings."
  ],
  "example": "Two agents both expose 80 available tools. One routinely shows six relevant schemas; the other shows all 80. Catalog size alone hides the meaningful difference.",
  "check": "Tool-context changes are evaluated with working-set size and task outcomes rather than only total tools registered.",
  "sources": [
    {
      "id": "RS-ED013467FB90D730",
      "title": "The 100-Tool Agent Is a Trap: Scaling with Semantic Routers and JIT Context",
      "url": "https://ai.engineer/talks/vh2VGuQ3zhY-100-tool-agent-is-trap-scaling-semantic"
    }
  ],
  "relations": [],
  "collections": [
    {
      "id": "RC-ACD6385FB70207D3",
      "title": "Operate AI agents as systems you can replay, verify and constrain",
      "url": "/collections/operate-ai-agents-as-systems-you-can-replay-verify-and-constrain"
    }
  ]
}