Tool Search

Dynamic tool loading for opencode, inspired by the Kimi K3 tool-search pattern.

Note on the name: the unscoped opencode-tool-search package on npm belongs to another author with a different implementation. This project publishes under @yulimfish/opencode-tool-search to keep the namespaces distinct.

When a session accumulates dozens of tools (built-ins + MCP servers + custom plugins), every request pays for the full tools[] catalog. The model also loses accuracy as the option surface grows.

opencode-tool-search collapses the tools you designate as noisy (MCP servers by default) into short stubs, exposes a single tool_search tool that the model uses to discover them by keyword, and un-collapses tools once they've been searched or used this session.

Why not exactly the Kimi API pattern?

Kimi K3 lets clients dynamically inject {role:"system", tools:[…]} messages mid-conversation. opencode's plugin runtime doesn't (yet) expose the outgoing tools[] array to plugins, so we can't do the raw protocol thing.

Instead we use two opencode hooks that reach the same goal:

Goal (Kimi API)	Achieved via
top-level tools[] stays lean	tool.definition hook rewrites descriptions to short stubs so the model's attention isn't consumed
search_tools reveals full definitions	custom tool_search tool, activated tools stay visible for the rest of the session
Activated tools persist across turns	in-memory per-session set, keyed by tool id
tool_choice: required on the first turn	not needed — the system-prompt hint tells the model to search first

Same effect, different plumbing.

Install

npm i -g @yulimfish/opencode-tool-search  # or per-project

Add to your ~/.config/opencode/opencode.jsonc:

{
  "plugin": ["@yulimfish/opencode-tool-search"]
}

By default, everything under mcp_* / mcp__* gets collapsed. Restart opencode.

Configure

Two ways, use whichever you like — options passed through plugin win over the JSON file for scalar fields; the tools map is merged.

1) inline in opencode.jsonc

{
  "plugin": [
    ["@yulimfish/opencode-tool-search", {
      "hide": ["mcp_*", "figma_*", "yuque_*"],
      "keep": ["mcp_critical_tool"],
      "topK": 6,
      "descriptionLimit": 800,
      "injectSystemHint": true
    }]
  ]
}

2) stand-alone ~/.config/opencode/tool-search.json

Handy for large tag catalogs:

{
  "hide": ["mcp_*", "yuque_*"],
  "topK": 5,
  "tools": {
    "yuque_yuque_search": {
      "tags": ["knowledge", "wiki", "notes", "语雀"]
    },
    "yuque_yuque_get_doc": {
      "tags": ["read", "wiki", "语雀"]
    },
    "mcp_github_create_issue": {
      "tags": ["github", "issue", "create"],
      "description": "Create a GitHub issue in the given repo. Args: owner, repo, title, body."
    }
  }
}

Options reference

Field	Type	Default	Meaning
enabled	boolean	true	Master switch.
hide	string[]	["mcp_*","mcp__*"]	Wildcard patterns for tools to collapse. * = any run of chars, ? = single, re:... = raw regex.
keep	string[]	[]	Force-visible patterns; wins over hide. (tool_search is always kept.)
topK	number	5	Max results per search.
descriptionLimit	number	600	Chars per description before truncation.
injectSystemHint	boolean	true	Whether to append a hint paragraph to system prompts telling the model that tool_search exists.
tools	object	{}	Per-tool overrides: { toolId: { tags?: string[], description?: string } }. Tags feed the search index; a custom description replaces the LLM-facing one.

How the runtime behaves

1. Every request — for each tool opencode would send to the LLM, we hit the tool.definition hook. If the tool matches hide and hasn't been activated this session, we replace its description with [hidden — call tool_search(…) to reveal]. Parameters schemas are left intact (so the model can still call the tool without another round trip if it's confident).
2. Model calls tool_search — we rank by name/tag/description overlap, return the top K with their real descriptions + parameters, and mark each result as activated for the rest of the session.
3. Model calls any tool — we auto-activate it via tool.execute.after, so future turns get the full description without another search.
4. System prompt — via experimental.chat.system.transform, we append a short hint listing how many tools are currently collapsed.

Verifying it works

After restart, prompt the model with a request that would hit a hidden MCP tool. It should call tool_search first. In the log stream:

[tool-search] plugin initialized
[tool-search] tool_search executed { query: 'github issue', hits: [...] }

Or manually:

> use tool_search to find any tool related to "figma"

Design notes

• Zero runtime dependencies. Fuzzy matching is bag-of-words — good enough for a few hundred tools; if your workspace has thousands, open an issue.
• Session-scoped activation only. Restarting opencode resets which tools are "revealed". This is intentional — new sessions should start with the smallest prompt possible.
• Doesn't touch tools[] on the wire. We can't; that surface isn't exposed. What we can do is make the descriptions worthless-looking so the model won't waste attention on them.

License

MIT © Yulimfish · contact: epeiuss@waterflames.cn