Merge Agent Handler vs Smithery

Merge Agent Handler

Agent Handler's access keys can be limited to named users, tool packs and a runtime scope, with an expiry, and an agent can create an account with one documented request. No rate limit figures are published, Pro starts at $1,000 a month with no published overage rate, and failed or blocked calls spend credits.

Smithery

Service tokens can be limited by namespace, resource, operation and connection metadata, with a lifetime of at most 24 hours. No terms of service, rate limits or SLA were found, the pricing page could not be read, and the newest client release is from 20 July 2026.

Merge Agent Handler

1. Call search_tools with a plain-language intent before tools/list. A Tool Pack can hold hundreds of tools and Slack alone lists 50
2. Add ?connectors=slack to the MCP URL to limit a connection to named connectors, and ?paginated=true only if the client follows nextCursor
3. Carry a user-scoped key with runtime:all only. The production key reaches every Registered User and the management endpoints
4. On reauth_required read data.reauth_reason, then call authenticate_<connector> by name. Intent search doesn't return the authenticate tools
5. Pin MCP-Protocol-Version to 2025-03-26 when context is tight. Later revisions repeat object results in structuredContent

Smithery

1. Keep the API key on the backend and hand an agent a service token limited to connections with read and execute and a metadata match
2. Create connections with PUT /connect/{namespace}/{connectionId}, which is an upsert, and check status.state before calling a tool
3. On auth_required or input_required, send the person to setupUrl, then retry with the same connectionId
4. Tool names on the namespace MCP endpoint are prefixed with the connection ID, such as user-123-github.search_repositories
5. Do not rely on smithery skill commands. Version 1.1.1 of the CLI removed them