feat(mcp): add title and tags annotations to all MCP tool decorators (issue #826 phase 1)

Adds human-readable `title` and categorization `tags` to all ~24 @mcp.tool
decorators across the MCP tools package. FastMCP 3.3.1 (pinned in pyproject.toml)
supports both fields natively. Tags used: notes, search, projects, cloud, schema,
navigation, canvas, ui.

Extends test_tool_contracts.py with an async test that asserts every registered
tool has a non-empty title and at least one tag to prevent future regressions.

output_schema is explicitly deferred as a follow-up (phase 2): it requires
per-tool design decisions about which tools reliably return structured JSON and
how to handle tools that return str|dict depending on output_format.

Co-Authored-By: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com>
Signed-off-by: Drew Cain <groksrc@gmail.com>

src/basic_memory/mcp/tools/build_context.py

@@ -112,6 +112,7 @@ def _format_context_markdown(graph: GraphContext, project: str) -> str:
 
 
 @mcp.tool(
+    title="Build Context",
     description="""Build context from a memory:// URI to continue conversations naturally.
 
     Use this to follow up on previous discussions or explore related topics.
@@ -131,6 +132,7 @@ def _format_context_markdown(graph: GraphContext, project: str) -> str:
     - "json" (default): Structured JSON with internal fields excluded
     - "text": Compact markdown text for LLM consumption
     """,
+    tags={"navigation", "notes"},
     annotations={"readOnlyHint": True, "openWorldHint": False},
 )
 async def build_context(

src/basic_memory/mcp/tools/canvas.py

@@ -17,7 +17,9 @@ from basic_memory.mcp.tools.utils import call_put, call_post, resolve_entity_id
 
 
 @mcp.tool(
+    title="Create Canvas",
     description="Create an Obsidian canvas file to visualize concepts and connections.",
+    tags={"canvas", "notes"},
     annotations={"destructiveHint": False, "idempotentHint": True, "openWorldHint": False},
 )
 async def canvas(

src/basic_memory/mcp/tools/chatgpt_tools.py

@@ -105,7 +105,9 @@ def _format_document_for_chatgpt(
 
 
 @mcp.tool(
+    title="Search Knowledge Base",
     description="Search for content across the knowledge base",
+    tags={"search"},
     annotations={"readOnlyHint": True, "openWorldHint": False},
 )
 async def search(
@@ -167,7 +169,9 @@ async def search(
 
 
 @mcp.tool(
+    title="Fetch Document",
     description="Fetch the full contents of a search result document",
+    tags={"search", "notes"},
     annotations={"readOnlyHint": True, "openWorldHint": False},
 )
 async def fetch(

src/basic_memory/mcp/tools/cloud_info.py

@@ -7,6 +7,8 @@ from basic_memory.mcp.server import mcp
 
 @mcp.tool(
     "cloud_info",
+    title="Cloud Info",
+    tags={"cloud"},
     annotations={"readOnlyHint": True, "openWorldHint": False},
 )
 def cloud_info() -> str:

src/basic_memory/mcp/tools/delete_note.py

@@ -182,7 +182,9 @@ def _directory_path_for_delete(
 
 
 @mcp.tool(
+    title="Delete Note",
     description="Delete a note or directory by title, permalink, or path",
+    tags={"notes"},
     annotations={"destructiveHint": True, "openWorldHint": False},
 )
 async def delete_note(

src/basic_memory/mcp/tools/edit_note.py

@@ -304,7 +304,9 @@ Error editing note '{identifier}': {error_message}
 
 
 @mcp.tool(
+    title="Edit Note",
     description="Edit an existing markdown note using various operations like append, prepend, find_replace, replace_section, insert_before_section, or insert_after_section.",
+    tags={"notes"},
     annotations={"destructiveHint": False, "openWorldHint": False},
 )
 async def edit_note(

src/basic_memory/mcp/tools/list_directory.py

@@ -11,7 +11,9 @@ from basic_memory.mcp.server import mcp
 
 
 @mcp.tool(
+    title="List Directory",
     description="List directory contents with filtering and depth control.",
+    tags={"navigation", "notes"},
     annotations={"readOnlyHint": True, "openWorldHint": False},
 )
 async def list_directory(

src/basic_memory/mcp/tools/move_note.py

@@ -357,7 +357,9 @@ delete_note("{identifier}")
 
 
 @mcp.tool(
+    title="Move Note",
     description="Move a note or directory to a new location, updating database and maintaining links.",
+    tags={"notes"},
     annotations={"destructiveHint": False, "openWorldHint": False},
 )
 async def move_note(

src/basic_memory/mcp/tools/project_management.py

@@ -357,6 +357,8 @@ def _format_project_list_json(
 
 @mcp.tool(
     "list_memory_projects",
+    title="List Memory Projects",
+    tags={"projects"},
     annotations={"readOnlyHint": True, "openWorldHint": False},
 )
 async def list_memory_projects(
@@ -495,6 +497,8 @@ async def _resolve_workspace_routing(
 
 @mcp.tool(
     "create_memory_project",
+    title="Create Memory Project",
+    tags={"projects"},
     annotations={"destructiveHint": False, "openWorldHint": False},
 )
 async def create_memory_project(
@@ -636,6 +640,8 @@ async def create_memory_project(
 
 
 @mcp.tool(
+    title="Delete Project",
+    tags={"projects"},
     annotations={"destructiveHint": True, "openWorldHint": False},
 )
 async def delete_project(

src/basic_memory/mcp/tools/read_content.py

@@ -155,7 +155,9 @@ def optimize_image(img, content_length, max_output_bytes=350000):
 
 
 @mcp.tool(
+    title="Read Content",
     description="Read a file's raw content by path or permalink",
+    tags={"notes"},
     annotations={"readOnlyHint": True, "openWorldHint": False},
 )
 async def read_content(

src/basic_memory/mcp/tools/read_note.py

@@ -74,7 +74,9 @@ def _parse_opening_frontmatter(content: str) -> tuple[str, dict | None]:
 
 
 @mcp.tool(
+    title="Read Note",
     description="Read a markdown note by title or permalink.",
+    tags={"notes"},
     # TODO: re-enable once MCP client rendering is working
     # meta={"ui/resourceUri": "ui://basic-memory/note-preview"},
     annotations={"readOnlyHint": True, "openWorldHint": False},

src/basic_memory/mcp/tools/recent_activity.py

@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@ from basic_memory.schemas.search import SearchItemType
 
 
 @mcp.tool(
+    title="Recent Activity",
     description="""Get recent activity for a project or across all projects.
 
     Timeframe supports natural language formats like:
@@ -36,6 +37,7 @@ from basic_memory.schemas.search import SearchItemType
     - "3 weeks ago"
     Or standard formats like "7d"
     """,
+    tags={"navigation", "notes"},
     annotations={"readOnlyHint": True, "openWorldHint": False},
 )
 async def recent_activity(

src/basic_memory/mcp/tools/release_notes.py

@@ -7,6 +7,8 @@ from basic_memory.mcp.server import mcp
 
 @mcp.tool(
     "release_notes",
+    title="Release Notes",
+    tags={"cloud"},
     annotations={"readOnlyHint": True, "openWorldHint": False},
 )
 def release_notes() -> str:

src/basic_memory/mcp/tools/schema.py

@@ -204,7 +204,9 @@ def _no_schema_guidance(note_type: str, tool_name: str) -> str:
 
 
 @mcp.tool(
+    title="Validate Schema",
     description="Validate notes against their Picoschema definitions.",
+    tags={"schema"},
     annotations={"readOnlyHint": True, "openWorldHint": False},
 )
 async def schema_validate(
@@ -317,7 +319,9 @@ async def schema_validate(
 
 
 @mcp.tool(
+    title="Infer Schema",
     description="Analyze existing notes and suggest a Picoschema definition.",
+    tags={"schema"},
     annotations={"readOnlyHint": True, "openWorldHint": False},
 )
 async def schema_infer(
@@ -438,7 +442,9 @@ async def schema_infer(
 
 
 @mcp.tool(
+    title="Schema Diff",
     description="Detect drift between a schema definition and actual note usage.",
+    tags={"schema"},
     annotations={"readOnlyHint": True, "openWorldHint": False},
 )
 async def schema_diff(

src/basic_memory/mcp/tools/search.py

@@ -612,7 +612,9 @@ async def _search_all_projects(
 
 
 @mcp.tool(
+    title="Search Notes",
     description="Search across all content in the knowledge base with advanced syntax support.",
+    tags={"search"},
     # TODO: re-enable once MCP client rendering is working
     # meta={"ui/resourceUri": "ui://basic-memory/search-results"},
     annotations={"readOnlyHint": True, "openWorldHint": False},

src/basic_memory/mcp/tools/ui_sdk.py

@@ -18,7 +18,9 @@ def _text_block(message: str) -> List[ContentBlock]:
 
 
 @mcp.tool(
+    title="Search Notes (UI)",
     description="Search notes and return an embedded MCP-UI resource (raw HTML).",
+    tags={"search", "ui"},
     output_schema=None,
     annotations={"readOnlyHint": True, "openWorldHint": False},
 )
@@ -92,7 +94,9 @@ async def search_notes_ui(
 
 
 @mcp.tool(
+    title="Read Note (UI)",
     description="Read a note and return an embedded MCP-UI resource (raw HTML).",
+    tags={"notes", "ui"},
     output_schema=None,
     annotations={"readOnlyHint": True, "openWorldHint": False},
 )

src/basic_memory/mcp/tools/view_note.py

@@ -11,7 +11,9 @@ from basic_memory.mcp.tools.read_note import read_note
 
 
 @mcp.tool(
+    title="View Note",
     description="View a note as a formatted artifact for better readability.",
+    tags={"notes"},
     annotations={"readOnlyHint": True, "openWorldHint": False},
 )
 async def view_note(

src/basic_memory/mcp/tools/workspaces.py

@@ -45,7 +45,9 @@ def _workspace_list_response(workspaces: list[WorkspaceInfo]) -> WorkspaceListRe
 
 
 @mcp.tool(
+    title="List Workspaces",
     description="List available cloud workspaces (tenant_id, type, role, and name).",
+    tags={"cloud", "projects"},
     annotations={"readOnlyHint": True, "openWorldHint": False},
 )
 async def list_workspaces(

src/basic_memory/mcp/tools/write_note.py

@@ -26,7 +26,9 @@ TagType = Union[List[str], str, None]
 
 
 @mcp.tool(
+    title="Write Note",
     description="Create a markdown note. If the note already exists, returns an error by default — pass overwrite=True to replace.",
+    tags={"notes"},
     annotations={"destructiveHint": True, "idempotentHint": False, "openWorldHint": False},
 )
 async def write_note(

tests/mcp/test_tool_contracts.py

@@ -6,7 +6,10 @@ import inspect
 from collections.abc import Callable
 from typing import Any, cast
 
+import pytest
+
 from basic_memory.mcp import tools
+from basic_memory.mcp.server import mcp
 
 
 EXPECTED_TOOL_SIGNATURES: dict[str, list[str]] = {
@@ -157,3 +160,16 @@ def test_mcp_tool_signatures_are_stable():
 
     for tool_name, tool_obj in TOOL_FUNCTIONS.items():
         assert _signature_params(tool_obj) == EXPECTED_TOOL_SIGNATURES[tool_name]
+
+
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_mcp_tools_have_title_and_tags():
+    """Every registered MCP tool must declare a human-readable title and at least one tag.
+
+    This guards against regressions where a new tool is added without the Phase 1
+    FastMCP metadata (title + tags) required by issue #826.
+    """
+    tool_list = await mcp.list_tools()
+    for tool in tool_list:
+        assert tool.title, f"Tool '{tool.name}' is missing a 'title' annotation"
+        assert tool.tags, f"Tool '{tool.name}' is missing 'tags' annotation"