Tool Filtering

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.

Environment Variables

ALANA_MCP_GROUPS

Load an entire category of tools by group name:

ALANA_MCP_GROUPS=catalog,search

Multiple groups are comma-separated. Available groups:

Group	Tools Included
`catalog`	`search_products`, `get_product`, `list_catalogs`, `get_catalog_stats`
`optimization`	`optimize_product`, `batch_optimize`, `get_score`, `compare_scores`
`media`	`generate_description`, `enhance_images`, `get_brand_context`
`analytics`	`get_search_analytics`, `get_query_performance`, `get_recommendation_stats`
`feed`	Feed generation and status tools
`search`	Advanced search and recommendation tools

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.

Configuration Examples

Catalog agent (read-only search)

ALANA_MCP_GROUPS=catalog

Loads 4 tools: search_products, get_product, list_catalogs, get_catalog_stats.

Content optimization agent

ALANA_MCP_GROUPS=catalog,optimization,media

Loads 11 tools covering discovery, optimization, and content generation.

Analytics-only agent

ALANA_MCP_GROUPS=analytics

Loads 3 tools — minimal context footprint for reporting workflows.

Single-tool agent

ALANA_MCP_TOOLS=search_products

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

Applying to MCP Client Config

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"
      }
    }
  }
}

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"
      }
    }
  }
}

Context Window Impact

Configuration	Tools Loaded	Approx. Token Cost
All tools (default)	22	~4,200 tokens
`catalog` group only	4	~760 tokens
Single tool	1	~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

⌘I

Overview

Workspace

Members

Brands

Dashboards

Catalogs

Products

Surfaces

AI Services

Billing

API Keys

Integrations

Reference

Search API v1

Platform Adapters

Analytics

Feed API

MCP Tools

Data Pipeline

Marketplace Hub

Platform Guides

Why Filter Tools?

Environment Variables

ALANA_MCP_GROUPS

ALANA_MCP_TOOLS

Configuration Examples

Catalog agent (read-only search)

Content optimization agent

Analytics-only agent

Single-tool agent

Applying to MCP Client Config

Claude Desktop

Environment variable in server config

Context Window Impact

​Why Filter Tools?

​Environment Variables

​ALANA_MCP_GROUPS

​ALANA_MCP_TOOLS

​Configuration Examples

​Catalog agent (read-only search)

​Content optimization agent

​Analytics-only agent

​Single-tool agent

​Applying to MCP Client Config

​Claude Desktop

​Environment variable in server config

​Context Window Impact

Why Filter Tools?

Environment Variables

ALANA_MCP_GROUPS

ALANA_MCP_TOOLS

Configuration Examples

Catalog agent (read-only search)

Content optimization agent

Analytics-only agent

Single-tool agent

Applying to MCP Client Config

Claude Desktop

Environment variable in server config

Context Window Impact