techniques

Overview

A directory of cross-cutting techniques for shaping what a handler returns and how a client retrieves it — patterns that don't belong to a single API surface. Each entry is a self-contained reference under references/: the problem it solves, when to reach for it (and when not to), and how to apply it with current framework primitives.

These are patterns, not new primitives — they compose tool(), discriminated-union output, ctx.state, and the existing helpers. Where a technique has (or will have) a dedicated helper, its reference says so and links the tracking issue.

Techniques

Technique	Path	Use when
Outline-on-overflow	references/outline-on-overflow.md	A single tool call returns one document-shaped payload too big to inline (e.g. a ~130KB record), and you want an honest section outline + a re-call contract instead of truncating.

Adding a technique

One file under references/, one row above. A technique earns a place here when it's a reusable response/retrieval pattern that (a) spans more than one tool or server and (b) isn't already covered by an api-* reference. Keep the reference concise: problem → when-to-use → how-to with current primitives → helper status. Bump metadata.version on any change (skill-versioning policy).

Related

• design-mcp-server — choosing the tool surface and output shapes up front.
• add-tool — the tool() builder, format() ⟷ structuredContent parity, matching response density to context budget.
• api-canvas — spillover(), the row-collection sibling of outline-on-overflow.