Dynamic MCP Server discovery with goose
Source: Dev.to
Background
A common sentiment I hear about MCP servers is that you have to have them all enabled before your session starts in order to use them, which can feel wasteful. Many engineers aren’t aware that MCP servers can be discovered and enabled dynamically as needed.
Goose Extensions Manager
I often use the goose agent internally. Its Extensions Manager (see the official docs here) lets goose search for and enable relevant MCP servers on‑the‑fly. The manager works even with servers that require authentication, provided you have configured the credentials.
Configuration Example
In the screenshot below, the GitHub MCP server is configured with the required PAT token but is disabled initially.
Task Execution Flow
When I ask goose to complete a task that requires GitHub, the first step is for goose to check whether an MCP tool is available. Because the GitHub server is authenticated, goose prompts for confirmation a second time, then proceeds to run the task.
Terminal Usage
While the screenshots above show Goose Desktop for visual clarity, the same dynamic discovery works perfectly from the terminal if you prefer a CLI‑only workflow.
Check it out and let me know other ways you are using MCP.