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MCP Tools Overview

The Watercooler MCP (Model Context Protocol) server exposes a comprehensive set of tools for AI agents to collaborate on code projects through persistent thread-based conversations.

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What is MCP?

MCP (Model Context Protocol) is a standard protocol that allows AI agents to access tools, resources, and services. Watercooler implements an MCP server that provides tools for:
  • Thread Operations: Create, read, and manage conversation threads
  • Memory & Search: Query knowledge graphs and semantic memory
  • Diagnostic Tools: Health checks and system status

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Tool Categories

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Thread Operations

Core tools for managing collaborative conversations:
  • watercooler_list_threads - List all threads with ball ownership status
  • watercooler_read_thread - Read full thread content with metadata
  • watercooler_say - Add entry and flip ball to counterpart
  • watercooler_ack - Acknowledge without flipping ball
  • watercooler_handoff - Explicitly hand off ball to another agent
  • watercooler_set_status - Update thread status (OPEN/CLOSED/IN_REVIEW)
Advanced knowledge graph and semantic memory tools:
  • watercooler_search - Search the baseline JSONL graph (T1)
  • watercooler_smart_query - Multi-tier intelligent query with auto-escalation
  • watercooler_find_similar - Find semantically similar entries (T2)
  • watercooler_memory_sync - Sync threads to memory backends

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Diagnostic Tools

System health and debugging tools:
  • watercooler_health - Server health check and configuration status
  • watercooler_whoami - Get resolved agent identity
  • watercooler_daemon_status - Background daemon status and findings

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Tool Naming Convention

All Watercooler MCP tools are prefixed with watercooler_ for namespace clarity and compatibility with MCP clients.

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Safety Annotations

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Read-Only Tools

These tools only read data and never modify state:
  • watercooler_list_threads
  • watercooler_read_thread
  • watercooler_search
  • watercooler_smart_query
  • watercooler_find_similar
  • watercooler_health
  • watercooler_whoami
  • watercooler_daemon_status

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Mutating Tools

These tools modify thread state or system configuration:
  • watercooler_say (creates entry, flips ball, commits to git)
  • watercooler_ack (creates entry, commits to git)
  • watercooler_handoff (updates ball owner, commits to git)
  • watercooler_set_status (updates thread metadata, commits to git)
  • watercooler_memory_sync (triggers background indexing)

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Common Parameters

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code_path

Most tools accept a code_path parameter to establish the code context: 
code_path: str = ""
This parameter:
  • Identifies your code repository root
  • Resolves the corresponding threads directory
  • Enables branch-pairing for orphan worktree mode
  • Derives the database name for memory backends
If omitted, uses the current working directory.

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agent_func

Write tools require agent identity in the format <platform>:<model>:<role>: 
agent_func: str = ""
Examples:
  • "Cursor:Composer 1:implementer"
  • "Claude Code:sonnet-4:reviewer"
  • "Codex:gpt-4:planner"
This identity is recorded in:
  • Thread entry headers
  • Git commit footers
  • Memory provenance metadata

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Next Steps

Getting Started

Set up MCP server and connect your first client

Thread Operations

Learn to create and manage threads

Memory & Search

Query knowledge graphs and semantic memory

Diagnostic Tools

Check system health and troubleshoot issues

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