---
description: Reduce context window usage for MCP servers protected by portals with minimize_tools and search_and_execute query parameters.
title: Context optimization for MCP server portals
image: https://developers.cloudflare.com/changelog/post/2026-03-26-mcp-portal-context-optimization/og.png?v=b9c30694d7d0bb6c
---

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March 26, 2026

## Context optimization for MCP server portals

[Access](https://developers.cloudflare.com/cloudflare-one/access-controls/policies/)

Copy as Markdown| [View as Markdown](https://developers.cloudflare.com/changelog/post/2026-03-26-mcp-portal-context-optimization/index.md)| [Agent setup](https://developers.cloudflare.com/agent-setup/)

[MCP server portals](https://developers.cloudflare.com/cloudflare-one/access-controls/ai-controls/mcp-portals/) support two context optimization options that reduce how many tokens tool definitions consume in the model's context window. Both options are activated by appending the `optimize_context` query parameter to the portal URL.

#### `minimize_tools`

Strips tool descriptions and input schemas from all upstream tools, leaving only their names. The portal exposes a special `query` tool that agents use to retrieve full definitions on demand. This provides up to 5x savings in token usage.

```txt
https://<subdomain>.<domain>/mcp?optimize_context=minimize_tools
```

#### `search_and_execute`

Hides all upstream tools and exposes only two tools: `query` and `execute`. The `query` tool searches and retrieves tool definitions. The `execute` tool runs the upstream tools in an isolated [Dynamic Worker](https://developers.cloudflare.com/dynamic-workers/) environment. This reduces the initial token cost to a small constant, regardless of how many tools are available through the portal.

```txt
https://<subdomain>.<domain>/mcp?optimize_context=search_and_execute
```

For more information, refer to [Optimize context](https://developers.cloudflare.com/cloudflare-one/access-controls/ai-controls/mcp-portals/#optimize-context).

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