OpenAPI spec versus MCP for agent tool integration

The author argues that while OpenAPI is sufficient for single-agent or internal use, Model Context Protocol (MCP) provides a valuable standardized interface when integrating services into popular multi-agent client applications like Claude or ChatGPT. However, MCP can introduce significant token overhead for large tool lists, prompting developers to carefully curate tools or employ code generation for complex workflows rather than exposing every endpoint directly. Open article →