MCP Context Budget

MCP Context Budget is a local-first command-line interface designed to optimize the performance and cost-efficiency of working with MCP servers and tools. It provides a robust set of features to manage and control the 'tool surface' that these systems introduce: * Measures server and tool context consumption * Selects an efficient, task-relevant tool set * Generates and maintains a lockfile for configuration * Enforces token budgets within continuous integration (CI) pipelines * Detects and flags regressions in schema or response-token budgets This utility addresses the common problem of MCP servers silently inflating an operator's tool context with numerous tools and extensive schemas, which leads to increased processing time and operational costs. By providing static analysis and enforcement, MCP Context Budget allows users to proactively identify and mitigate these issues without requiring runtime services or proxies. The CLI offers distinct commands for scanning existing configurations, selecting optimized tool sets based on specific tasks and budget constraints, and checking compliance within CI environments. It ensures that the operational environment remains lean and cost-effective, aborting builds if tool surface budgets are exceeded. This makes it an essential instrument for maintaining performance and resource efficiency in dynamic development environments.