- Dead tools enlarge the model's choice space and add maintenance cost.
- Sort by call volume over weeks of real traffic to spot them.
- A good tool with a bad description looks identical to a dead one.
When you look at a real MCP server's usage, a pattern shows up fast: a few tools do almost all the work, and a long tail does nothing. Those dead tools are not free.
Why dead tools cost you
- They enlarge the tool list the model has to reason over
- They add schema and code you still maintain and secure
- They make the useful tools harder to choose correctly
How to spot them
Sort tools by call volume over a meaningful window. Anything at zero across weeks of real traffic is a candidate. Before deleting, check whether it is genuinely unused or just badly described, because a good tool with a bad description looks identical in the data.
Fix or remove
If a tool should be used but isn't, rewrite its description and name so the model knows when to reach for it. If it truly has no job, remove it. Either way you shrink the surface and make the server easier for agents to use well.
See this on your own server
TrackMCP turns your MCP server's calls into adoption, workflows, and outcomes. One line to install.