Yes. An optional reason parameter on every write tool, stored on the history entry of the record it changed, next to the acting identity, the final state, and the timestamp. The evidence that agents use it is Amplitude's MCP server, where an optional Tool Rationale on every tool was filled in about three quarters of the time without prompting and explained a funnel that turned 16 chart tools into four. The counter-position is in Ryan Lohan's October 28, 2026 write-up of the Jira MCP redesign, where the v1 critique calls the transition tool's actor, generator, and cause records ones no agent needs; the same day Jira's autumn release put every agent's identity on the board, which covers the first two. Cause is the one that says why, and it is the one a reader of the record cannot reconstruct.
Yes, optional, on the history entry, next to who, what, and when.
The Atlassian numbers, the sentence in the v1 critique, and the one-field change are in Jira's MCP Judges Agents by Final State. The Record Still Has No Cause Field.. The Amplitude fill rate is in Agents Don't Answer Interviews. Amplitude's Left a Note., and the reversal test is in Which Door Keeps the Receipt.
Last reviewed 2026-10-29 · 1 min read