Local AI Automation and Permissions AI assistant · Q&A

What does “Unknown tool” mean in MCP?

Use the list returned by the current client, verify the tool name and version, and separate a missing tool from a denied call.

Updated Aug 24, 2026

“Unknown tool” means the requested name is not in the tool list currently exposed by MaskPilot.

  1. Ask the caller to fetch and list the current MCP tools again.
  2. Use the exact tool name returned by that list.
  3. Confirm that the client is on a compatible version.
  4. If the tool exists but the call is denied, check feature permission and access to the target resource.

The list can change with the client version, but it is not filtered by the signed-in account or member permissions. Automation should discover the tools for the current version, then handle “unknown tool” separately from a permission denial.

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