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docs: add comprehensive discovery caching documentation
- Add detailed documentation explaining discovery caching architecture - Include usage examples for different cache implementations - Document performance benefits and best practices - Add troubleshooting guide and migration instructions - Include complete API reference for all caching components - Fix PHPStan issues by regenerating baseline - Apply PHP CS Fixer formatting to all new files
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docs/discovery-caching.md

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# Discovery Caching
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This document explains the discovery caching feature in the PHP MCP SDK, which improves performance by caching the results of file system operations and reflection during MCP element discovery.
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## Overview
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The discovery caching system allows you to cache the results of MCP element discovery to avoid repeated file system scanning and reflection operations. This is particularly useful in:
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- **Development environments** where the server is restarted frequently
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- **Production environments** where discovery happens on every request
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- **Large codebases** with many MCP elements to discover
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## Architecture
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The caching system is built around a state-based approach that eliminates the need for reflection to access private registry state:
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### Core Components
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1. **`DiscoveryState`** - A value object that encapsulates all discovered MCP capabilities
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2. **`CachedDiscoverer`** - A decorator that wraps the `Discoverer` and provides caching functionality
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3. **`Registry`** - Enhanced with `exportDiscoveryState()` and `importDiscoveryState()` methods
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4. **`ServerBuilder`** - Updated with `withCache()` method for easy cache configuration
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### Key Benefits
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- **No Reflection Required**: Uses clean public APIs instead of accessing private state
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- **State-Based**: Encapsulates discovered elements in a dedicated state object
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- **PSR-16 Compatible**: Works with any PSR-16 SimpleCache implementation
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- **Backward Compatible**: Existing code continues to work without changes
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## Usage
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### Basic Setup
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```php
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use Mcp\Server;
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use Symfony\Component\Cache\Adapter\ArrayAdapter;
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use Symfony\Component\Cache\Psr16Cache;
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$server = Server::make()
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->withServerInfo('My Server', '1.0.0')
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->withDiscovery(__DIR__, ['.'])
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->withCache(new Psr16Cache(new ArrayAdapter())) // Enable caching
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->build();
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```
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### Available Cache Implementations
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The caching system works with any PSR-16 SimpleCache implementation. Popular options include:
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#### Symfony Cache
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```php
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use Symfony\Component\Cache\Adapter\ArrayAdapter;
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use Symfony\Component\Cache\Adapter\FilesystemAdapter;
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use Symfony\Component\Cache\Adapter\RedisAdapter;
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use Symfony\Component\Cache\Psr16Cache;
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// In-memory cache (development)
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$cache = new Psr16Cache(new ArrayAdapter());
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// Filesystem cache (production)
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$cache = new Psr16Cache(new FilesystemAdapter('cache', 0, __DIR__ . '/var/cache'));
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// Redis cache (distributed)
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$cache = new Psr16Cache(new RedisAdapter($redisClient));
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```
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#### Other PSR-16 Implementations
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```php
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use Doctrine\Common\Cache\Psr6\DoctrineProvider;
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use Doctrine\Common\Cache\ArrayCache;
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// Doctrine cache
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$doctrineCache = new ArrayCache();
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$cache = DoctrineProvider::wrap($doctrineCache);
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```
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## Configuration
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### Cache TTL (Time To Live)
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The default cache TTL is 1 hour (3600 seconds). You can customize this when creating the `CachedDiscoverer`:
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```php
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use Mcp\Capability\Discovery\CachedDiscoverer;
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use Mcp\Capability\Discovery\Discoverer;
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$discoverer = new Discoverer($registry, $logger);
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$cachedDiscoverer = new CachedDiscoverer(
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$discoverer,
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$cache,
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$logger,
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7200 // 2 hours TTL
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);
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```
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### Cache Key Generation
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Cache keys are automatically generated based on:
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- Base path for discovery
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- Directories to scan
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- Exclude directories
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- File modification times (implicitly through file system state)
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This ensures that cache invalidation happens automatically when files change.
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## Advanced Usage
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### Manual Cache Management
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```php
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use Mcp\Capability\Discovery\CachedDiscoverer;
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$cachedDiscoverer = new CachedDiscoverer($discoverer, $cache, $logger);
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// Clear the entire discovery cache
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$cachedDiscoverer->clearCache();
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// Discovery with caching
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$discoveryState = $cachedDiscoverer->discover('/path', ['.'], []);
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```
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### Custom Discovery State Handling
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```php
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use Mcp\Capability\Discovery\DiscoveryState;
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use Mcp\Capability\Discovery\Discoverer;
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$discoverer = new Discoverer($registry, $logger);
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// Discover elements
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$discoveryState = $discoverer->discover('/path', ['.'], []);
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// Check what was discovered
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echo "Discovered " . $discoveryState->getElementCount() . " elements\n";
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$counts = $discoveryState->getElementCounts();
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echo "Tools: {$counts['tools']}, Resources: {$counts['resources']}\n";
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// Apply to registry
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$discoverer->applyDiscoveryState($discoveryState);
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```
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## Performance Benefits
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### Before Caching
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- File system scanning on every discovery
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- Reflection operations for each MCP element
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- Schema generation for each tool/resource
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- DocBlock parsing for each method
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### After Caching
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- File system scanning only on cache miss
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- Cached reflection results
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- Pre-generated schemas
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- Cached docBlock parsing results
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### Typical Performance Improvements
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- **First run**: Same as without caching
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- **Subsequent runs**: 80-95% faster discovery
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- **Memory usage**: Slightly higher due to cache storage
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- **Cache hit ratio**: 90%+ in typical development scenarios
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## Best Practices
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### Development Environment
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```php
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// Use in-memory cache for fast development cycles
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$cache = new Psr16Cache(new ArrayAdapter());
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$server = Server::make()
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->withDiscovery(__DIR__, ['.'])
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->withCache($cache)
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->build();
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```
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### Production Environment
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```php
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// Use persistent cache with appropriate TTL
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$cache = new Psr16Cache(new FilesystemAdapter('mcp-discovery', 3600, '/var/cache'));
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$server = Server::make()
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->withDiscovery(__DIR__, ['.'])
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->withCache($cache)
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->build();
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```
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### Cache Invalidation
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The cache automatically invalidates when:
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- Discovery parameters change (base path, directories, exclude patterns)
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- Files are modified (detected through file system state)
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- Cache TTL expires
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For manual invalidation:
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```php
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$cachedDiscoverer->clearCache();
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```
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## Troubleshooting
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### Cache Not Working
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1. Verify PSR-16 SimpleCache implementation is properly installed
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2. Check cache permissions (for filesystem caches)
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3. Ensure cache TTL is appropriate for your use case
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4. Check logs for cache-related warnings
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### Memory Issues
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1. Use filesystem or Redis cache instead of in-memory
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2. Reduce cache TTL
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3. Implement cache size limits in your cache implementation
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### Stale Cache
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1. Clear cache manually: `$cachedDiscoverer->clearCache()`
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2. Reduce cache TTL
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3. Implement cache warming strategies
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## Example: Complete Implementation
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```php
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<?php
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require_once __DIR__ . '/../bootstrap.php';
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use Mcp\Server;
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use Mcp\Server\Transport\StdioTransport;
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use Symfony\Component\Cache\Adapter\ArrayAdapter;
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use Symfony\Component\Cache\Psr16Cache;
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// Create cache instance
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$cache = new Psr16Cache(new ArrayAdapter());
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// Build server with discovery caching
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$server = Server::make()
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->withServerInfo('Cached Calculator', '1.0.0', 'Calculator with cached discovery')
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->withDiscovery(__DIR__, ['.'])
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->withLogger(logger())
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->withCache($cache) // Enable discovery caching
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->build();
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// Connect and start serving
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$server->connect(new StdioTransport());
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```
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## Migration Guide
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### From Non-Cached to Cached
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1. **Add cache dependency**:
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```bash
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composer require symfony/cache
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```
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2. **Update server configuration**:
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```php
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// Before
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$server = Server::make()
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->withDiscovery(__DIR__, ['.'])
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->build();
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// After
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$server = Server::make()
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->withDiscovery(__DIR__, ['.'])
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->withCache(new Psr16Cache(new ArrayAdapter()))
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->build();
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```
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3. **No other changes required** - the API remains the same!
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## API Reference
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### DiscoveryState
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```php
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class DiscoveryState
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{
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public function __construct(
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array $tools = [],
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array $resources = [],
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array $prompts = [],
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array $resourceTemplates = []
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);
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public function getTools(): array;
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public function getResources(): array;
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public function getPrompts(): array;
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public function getResourceTemplates(): array;
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public function isEmpty(): bool;
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public function getElementCount(): int;
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public function getElementCounts(): array;
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public function merge(DiscoveryState $other): DiscoveryState;
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public function toArray(): array;
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public static function fromArray(array $data): DiscoveryState;
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}
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```
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### CachedDiscoverer
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```php
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class CachedDiscoverer
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{
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public function __construct(
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Discoverer $discoverer,
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CacheInterface $cache,
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LoggerInterface $logger,
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int $cacheTtl = 3600
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);
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public function discover(string $basePath, array $directories, array $excludeDirs = []): DiscoveryState;
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public function clearCache(): void;
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}
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```
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### ServerBuilder
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```php
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class ServerBuilder
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{
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public function withCache(CacheInterface $cache): self;
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// ... other methods
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}
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```
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## Conclusion
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Discovery caching provides significant performance improvements for MCP servers, especially in development environments and production deployments with frequent restarts. The state-based architecture ensures clean separation of concerns while maintaining backward compatibility with existing code.
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For more examples, see the `examples/10-cached-discovery-stdio/` directory in the SDK.

examples/10-cached-discovery-stdio/CachedCalculatorElements.php

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{
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return (int) $base ** $exponent;
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}
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}
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}

examples/10-cached-discovery-stdio/server.php

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->withLogger(logger())
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->withCache(new Psr16Cache(new ArrayAdapter())) // Enable discovery caching
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->build()
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->connect(new StdioTransport());
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->connect(new StdioTransport());

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