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The Test Genie MCP server costs 2,229 tokens before the first call.

Connect Test Genie and its 19 tool definitions are loaded into the model's context on every request — 1.1% of a 200k window spent before your agent does anything.

QUICK ANSWER The Test Genie MCP server's tool definitions consume 2,229 tokens — around the median MCP server (1,905 tokens). A scoped grant exposing only the tools you use cuts that roughly in proportion.

MEASURED FROM SCHEMAS 19 tools · 2,229 tokens · 1.1% of 200k · 0.2% of 1M Method →

What that buys before your agent starts working.

Tool definitions are overhead: they occupy context on every request and compete with your code, documents and conversation history for the same window.

200K WINDOW 1.1%
1M WINDOW 0.2%

Corpus context: Test Genie ranks #1500 of 3,213 measured MCP servers by definition cost. The median is 1,905 tokens, p90 is 7,952, and the heaviest (Fusionauth) is 183,337 — 92% of a 200k window on its own.

Where the 2,229 tokens go.

Each row is one tool definition as a tools/list entry — name, description and input schema — counted with o200k_base. Average: 117 tokens per tool.

ToolCategoryTokens% of server
generate_cicd_config Write 181 8.1%
run_full_automation Execute 168 7.5%
generate_scenarios Write 168 7.5%
create_test_plan Write 166 7.4%
run_simulation Execute 158 7.1%
run_stress_test Execute 154 6.9%
run_scenario_test Execute 140 6.3%
analyze_app_structure Read 130 5.8%
detect_logic_errors Read 124 5.6%
generate_report Write 124 5.6%
confirm_fix Read 106 4.8%
detect_memory_leaks Read 101 4.5%
apply_fix Write 92 4.1%
analyze_code_deep Read 86 3.9%
suggest_fixes Read 86 3.9%
analyze_performance Read 85 3.8%
get_test_history Read 61 2.7%
get_pending_fixes Read 50 2.2%
rollback_fix Read 49 2.2%

Most agents use a handful of these tools. They pay for all 19.

A PolicyLayer grant exposes only the tools you allow — ungranted definitions are filtered out of the tool list, so they never enter the context window. Estimates below assume typical-weight tools (117 tokens each).

Grant scopeDefinition costReduction
All 19 tools (no gateway) 2,229 tokens
3 granted tools ~352 tokens −84%
5 granted tools ~587 tokens −74%
10 granted tools ~1,173 tokens −47%

Test Genie token-cost questions.

How many tokens does the Test Genie MCP server use?+

Its 19 tool definitions total 2,229 tokens — 1.1% of a 200k context window — measured with tiktoken o200k_base over the serialised tools/list payload. Exact counts vary slightly by client and model.

Why does Test Genie consume tokens before I send a message?+

MCP clients load every connected server's tool definitions — name, description, and input schema — into the model's context so it knows what it can call. That payload is charged against your context window on every request, whether or not a tool is used.

How do I reduce Test Genie's token usage?+

Expose fewer tools. A PolicyLayer grant scopes Test Genie to only the tools you allow — ungranted definitions are filtered out of the tool list, so they never enter the context window. A grant of 3 typical tools costs roughly 352 tokens, a 84% reduction.

Does deferred tool loading fix this?+

Partially, in some clients. Claude Code defers MCP tool schemas behind a tool-search step by default, and VS Code has experimental grouping — but you still pay tokens per search and reload, and Cursor, Windsurf and Gemini CLI load definitions upfront. Reducing the exposed tool set cuts the cost in every client.

How these numbers were measured.

01
Serialisation

Each tool is serialised as a tools/list entry — name, description, input schema — from the schemas in the PolicyLayer scan database. Clients differ slightly in framing, so treat counts as close estimates.

02
Tokeniser

tiktoken o200k_base (GPT-4o/o-series). Anthropic's current tokeniser isn't published, so Claude's exact counts will differ; for English text and JSON schemas the totals are close enough to treat these as estimates.

03
Deferred loading

Some clients now defer schema loading (Claude Code's tool search; VS Code experimental grouping). You still pay per search and reload — and Cursor, Windsurf and Gemini CLI load everything upfront.

Computed 07-06-2026 from the PolicyLayer scan database over all 19 catalogued Test Genie tools. Counts refresh with every site build.

Expose only the tools you use — the rest never enter your context.

A PolicyLayer grant scopes Test Genie to the tools you actually allow. Ungranted definitions never load, and every call that does run is checked against policy first.

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