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Why Filter Tools?

Every active MCP tool consumes context in your agent’s conversation window. Loading all 22 tools when your agent only needs catalog search wastes tokens and can confuse the model with irrelevant options. Tool filtering lets you load only the tools relevant to your use case — reducing context size and improving focus.

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Environment Variables

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ALANA_MCP_GROUPS

Load an entire category of tools by group name: 
ALANA_MCP_GROUPS=catalog,search
Multiple groups are comma-separated. Available groups:
GroupTools Included
catalogsearch_products, get_product, list_catalogs, get_catalog_stats
optimizationoptimize_product, batch_optimize, get_score, compare_scores
mediagenerate_description, enhance_images, get_brand_context
analyticsget_search_analytics, get_query_performance, get_recommendation_stats
feedFeed generation and status tools
searchAdvanced search and recommendation tools

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ALANA_MCP_TOOLS

Load specific tools by exact name: 
ALANA_MCP_TOOLS=search_products,get_product,optimize_product
If both ALANA_MCP_GROUPS and ALANA_MCP_TOOLS are set, the union of both sets is loaded.

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Configuration Examples

ALANA_MCP_GROUPS=catalog
Loads 4 tools: search_products, get_product, list_catalogs, get_catalog_stats.

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Content optimization agent

ALANA_MCP_GROUPS=catalog,optimization,media
Loads 11 tools covering discovery, optimization, and content generation.

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Analytics-only agent

ALANA_MCP_GROUPS=analytics
Loads 3 tools — minimal context footprint for reporting workflows.

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Single-tool agent

ALANA_MCP_TOOLS=search_products
Loads exactly 1 tool — maximum focus for a search-specific integration.

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Applying to MCP Client Config

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Claude Desktop

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "alana-catalog": {
      "url": "https://app.alana.shopping/api/mcp/sse",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer sk_live_your_api_key",
        "X-MCP-Groups": "catalog,search"
      }
    }
  }
}

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Environment variable in server config

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "alana": {
      "url": "https://app.alana.shopping/api/mcp/sse",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer ${ALANA_API_KEY}"
      },
      "env": {
        "ALANA_MCP_GROUPS": "catalog,optimization"
      }
    }
  }
}

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Context Window Impact

ConfigurationTools LoadedApprox. Token Cost
All tools (default)22~4,200 tokens
catalog group only4~760 tokens
Single tool1~190 tokens
Filtering to the tools you need can save 3,000+ tokens per conversation — significant for long agent sessions.
Last modified on March 18, 2026