Topic 2: Server patterns

Thin API wrappers, and why one tool per endpoint underperforms

A thin API wrapper is an MCP server that exposes an existing API one-to-one: one tool per REST endpoint or per method of a client library, returning whatever the endpoint returns. It is the fastest server to write (some generators produce one automatically from an OpenAPI file), so it is the most common first attempt.

A task-shaped server is designed around what the model is trying to do. The canonical notes server is one: search_notes returns titles, snippets, scores, and a notes:// URI in a single call, because "find the notes about X" is the task.

Opinions about which is better are cheap. Let us build the thin wrapper for real, over the same NoteStore, and measure both.