Mcp Search Pattern Mismatch Blocks Discovery
TL;DR - Session insights
- Agent attempted to convert customer needs to product requirements but found no NEED entries in the 52vibes project despite 10 existing notes with “Needs” in their titles
- The todo MCP search patterns differ from note content patterns - searching for “NEED:” returned 0 results while notes contain NEED items in different format
- Session ended abruptly (33 seconds) after failing to locate task entries, indicating a mismatch between expected data format and actual project structure
Session Log
USER: Convert customer needs to product requirements. Use associated agent skill to do that.
TOOL-CALL: view
{"file_path":"~/.config/crush/skills/user/needs-to-requirements/SKILL.md"}TOOL:
<file> 1|--- 2|name: needs-to-requirements 3|description: Convert captured customer needs into formal product requirements and QA tests. Use after `needs-elicitation` skill when NEED/VERIFY items exist in project notes and user wants to formalize them into product requirements specifications. Creates REQ and QA entries following RFC 2119 conventions. Leverages note, todo, zet, and graphviz MCPs. 4|--- 5| 6|# Needs to Requirements 7| 8|Transform informal needs into formal product requirements specifications with comprehensive QA test coverage. 9| 10|## Core Principles 11| 12|1. **Externalize everything** - Persist requirements and tests to MCPs immediately 13|2. **One requirement, one product** - Each REQ entry targets exactly one product 14|3. **Maximalist QA** - Cover happy paths, boundaries, failures, load, and security 15|4. **Update frequently** - Save progress often to survive context limits 16| 17|## Workflow 18| 19|1. **Assess scope**: Review all NEEDs via `todo` MCP - determine single vs multi-product structure 20|2. **Pick a need**: Select one unprocessed NEED (not marked DONE) 21|3. **Analyze**: Read need content, identify applicable products, check if product requirement zettels exist 22|4. **Create requirements**: Add REQ entries to appropriate product zettels 23|5. **Create QA tests**: Add QA entries immediately after each REQ. Refer to VERIFY entries for that specific NEED for testing context. 24|6. **Mark complete**: Set NEED and its VERIFYs as DONE 25|7. **Iterate**: Continue until all needs are processed 26| 27|## Product Structuring 28| 29|Unless customer explicitly requested single product: [...30 more lines...]TOOL-CALL: view
{"file_path":"~/.config/crush/skills/user/needs-to-requirements/references/requirement-format.md"}TOOL-CALL: view
{"file_path":"~/.config/crush/skills/user/needs-to-requirements/references/qa-test-format.md"}TOOL-CALL: view
{"file_path":"~/.config/crush/skills/user/mcp-tools.md"}TOOL:
<file> 1|# Requirement Specification Format 2| 3|Add requirements to product-specific zettels using `note` MCP. One zettel per product. 4| 5|## Structure 6| 7|```markdown 8|REQ: [<PROD>001] - <Product name> -> <Requirement title> #N001 9| * Key information (use RFC 2119 keywords) 10| * Additional specifications 11| * References: 12| + [link](URL) 13| + [zettel](../zettel-id/README.md) 14|``` 15| 16|## Components 17| 18|| Component | Description | 19||-----------|-------------| 20|| `REQ` | Keyword indicating product requirement | 21|| `[PROD001]` | Unique ID: 1-4 letter product keyword + 3-digit number | 22|| `#N001` | Tag linking to source need for traceability | 23| 24|## RFC 2119 Keywords 25| 26|Use these requirement levels in formal specification voice: 27| 28|| Keyword | Meaning | 29||---------|---------| [...56 more lines...]TOOL:
<file> 1|# QA Test Specification Format 2| 3|Add QA tests immediately after the associated requirement in the same zettel. 4| 5|## Structure 6| 7|```markdown 8|QA: [<PROD>_QA_001] - <Product name> -> <Test title> #<PROD>001 9| * Test preconditions/setup 10| * Test action/stimulus 11| * Expected result (use RFC 2119 keywords) 12| * Sub-scenarios (if applicable) 13| * References: 14| + [link](URL) 15|``` 16| 17|## Components 18| 19|| Component | Description | 20||-----------|-------------| 21|| `QA` | Keyword indicating QA test specification | 22|| `[PROD_QA_001]` | Unique ID: product keyword + `_QA_` + 3-digit number | 23|| `#PROD001` | Tag linking to source requirement for traceability | 24| 25|## Test Design Methods 26| 27|Apply systematically to each requirement: 28| 29|| Method | Description | When to use | [...69 more lines...]TOOL:
<file> 1|# MCP Tools Reference 2| 3|This skill uses MCPs to externalize state for cross-session continuity. 4| 5|## note MCP 6| 7|Project-specific notetaking following zettelkasten method. 8| 9|**Purpose**: Store needs specifications, acceptance tests, and project context. 10| 11|**Key operations**: 12|- `create_note` - New zettel for a theme/topic 13|- `update_note` - Add needs/tests to existing zettel 14|- `search_notes` - Find existing content by pattern 15|- `list_notes` - Browse project notes 16| 17|**Usage patterns**: 18|- Group related needs into themed zettels (e.g., "Authentication Needs", "Performance Needs") 19|- Each zettel contains NEED items followed by their VERIFY items 20|- Decide whether to create new zettel or extend existing one based on thematic fit 21| 22|## todo MCP 23| 24|Unified task management across all projects. 25| 26|**Purpose**: Track outstanding work, find needs/tests by tag. 27| 28|**Key operations**: 29|- `filter_tasks` - Search by tag (e.g., `#N001` to find tests for a need) [...47 more lines...]AI: Now I understand the skill. Let me assess the current state - check for existing needs in the project.
TOOL-CALL: mcp_todo_list_tasks
{}TOOL-CALL: mcp_note_list_projects
{}TOOL:
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{"count":49,"projects":[{"has_notes":true,"name":"52vibes","note_count":10,"path":"~/Documents/projects/52vibes","task_count":0},{"has_notes":true,"name":"97things","note_count":2,"path":"~/Documents/projects/97things","task_count":2},{"has_notes":false,"name":"AI","note_count":0,"path":"~/Documents/projects/AI","task_count":0},{"has_notes":false,"name":"ARCHIVES","note_count":0,"path":"~/Documents/projects/ARCHIVES","task_count":0},{"has_notes":true,"name":"Karya MCP testing","note_count":12,"path":"~/Documents/projects/Karya MCP 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I see 52vibes project has 10 notes. Let me check for existing needs in this project.
TOOL-CALL: mcp_note_list_notes
{"project":"52vibes"}TOOL-CALL: mcp_todo_filter_tasks
{"filter":"NEED","project":"52vibes"}TOOL:
{"count":10,"notes":[{"id":"20260104215938","path":"./notes/20260104215938/README.md","title":"Week 1: Blog Platform Needs - Community Features and Branding"},{"id":"20260104215933","path":"./notes/20260104215933/README.md","title":"Week 1: Blog Platform Needs - Content Authoring and Analytics"},{"id":"20260104215928","path":"./notes/20260104215928/README.md","title":"Week 1: Blog Platform Needs - Engagement and Accessibility"},{"id":"20260104215922","path":"./notes/20260104215922/README.md","title":"Week 1: Blog Platform Needs - Discovery and SEO"},{"id":"20260104215917","path":"./notes/20260104215917/README.md","title":"Week 1: Blog Platform Needs - Session Logs"},{"id":"20260104215909","path":"./notes/20260104215909/README.md","title":"Week 1: Blog Platform Needs - Blog Posts"},{"id":"20260104215903","path":"./notes/20260104215903/README.md","title":"Week 1: Blog Platform Needs - Content Pages"},{"id":"20260104215858","path":"./notes/20260104215858/README.md","title":"Week 1: Blog Platform Needs - Navigation Structure"},{"id":"20260104215851","path":"./notes/20260104215851/README.md","title":"Week 1: Blog Platform Needs - Visual Design"},{"id":"20260104215844","path":"./notes/20260104215844/README.md","title":"Week 1: Blog Platform Needs - Core Platform"}],"project":"52vibes"}TOOL:
{"count":0,"tasks":[]}AI: Let me check for NEED items directly in the notes:
TOOL-CALL: mcp_note_search_notes
{"project":"52vibes","pattern":"NEED:"}TOOL:
{"count":0,"project":"52vibes","results":[]}TOOL-CALL: mcp_note_get_note ``