From a8a83051ff70f61c104b06b39bdb0d469d2edf5a Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: YueGuobin <yueguobin@outlook.com>
Date: Mon, 15 Jun 2026 21:42:26 +0800
Subject: [PATCH] Add compact array format for link node entries to reduce
 token usage

Supports both standard and compact formats:
  Standard: [{"node_id": "uuid", "adapter_number": 0, "port_number": 0}]
  Compact:  ["uuid", 0, 0, "uuid", 0, 0] - 3x less tokens
---
 gns3server/api/routes/mcp/__init__.py |  4 ++--
 gns3server/api/routes/mcp/links.py    | 27 ++++++++++++++++++++++++---
 2 files changed, 26 insertions(+), 5 deletions(-)

diff --git a/gns3server/api/routes/mcp/__init__.py b/gns3server/api/routes/mcp/__init__.py
index bd522d473..23b14e145 100644
--- a/gns3server/api/routes/mcp/__init__.py
+++ b/gns3server/api/routes/mcp/__init__.py
@@ -596,10 +596,10 @@ async def link_get(
 @mcp.tool()
 async def link_create(
     project_id: Annotated[str, Field(description="UUID of the project")],
-    nodes: Annotated[list | None, Field(description="Single mode: [{node_id, adapter_number, port_number}]")] = None,
+    nodes: Annotated[list | None, Field(description="Single mode: [{node_id, adapter_number, port_number}] or compact [id, ad, pt, id, ad, pt]")] = None,
     link_type: Annotated[str, Field(description="Link type - ethernet or serial")] = "ethernet",
     filters: Annotated[dict | None, Field(description="Optional packet filters")] = None,
-    links: Annotated[list | None, Field(description="Batch mode: [{nodes, link_type?, filters?}] — creates multiple links in parallel")] = None,
+    links: Annotated[list | None, Field(description="Batch mode: [{nodes, link_type?, filters?}] — nodes supports compact [id, ad, pt, id, ad, pt] format")] = None,
     fields: Annotated[list[str] | None, Field(description="Response fields to include (default: [link_id, link_type, nodes]). "
                                                            "Available: link_id, project_id, link_type, nodes, suspend, "
                                                            "link_style, filters, show_filters_icon, capturing, "
diff --git a/gns3server/api/routes/mcp/links.py b/gns3server/api/routes/mcp/links.py
index 2e2f94b79..f4f2d4ca6 100644
--- a/gns3server/api/routes/mcp/links.py
+++ b/gns3server/api/routes/mcp/links.py
@@ -46,6 +46,26 @@ def _get_connector(gns3_ctx: dict[str, Any]):
     )
 
 
+def _normalize_link_nodes(nodes) -> list[dict[str, Any]]:
+    """
+    Normalize link node entries, accepting both standard object format and
+    compact array format to reduce token usage.
+
+    Standard: [{"node_id": "uuid", "adapter_number": 0, "port_number": 0}]
+    Compact:  ["uuid", 0, 0, "uuid", 0, 0]
+    """
+    if not nodes:
+        return nodes
+    if isinstance(nodes[0], dict):
+        return nodes
+    if isinstance(nodes, list) and len(nodes) == 6:
+        return [
+            {"node_id": nodes[0], "adapter_number": nodes[1], "port_number": nodes[2]},
+            {"node_id": nodes[3], "adapter_number": nodes[4], "port_number": nodes[5]},
+        ]
+    return nodes
+
+
 # ── Tool handlers ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 
 VALID_LINK_FIELDS = {
@@ -100,10 +120,11 @@ def create_link_handler(params: dict[str, Any], gns3_ctx: dict[str, Any]) -> dic
         results = []
         conn = _get_connector(gns3_ctx)
         def _create_one(link_data):
-            if not link_data.get("nodes"):
+            raw_nodes = link_data.get("nodes")
+            if not raw_nodes:
                 return {"status": "error", "error": "nodes is required for each link"}
             try:
-                body = {"nodes": link_data["nodes"]}
+                body = {"nodes": _normalize_link_nodes(raw_nodes)}
                 if link_data.get("link_type"):
                     body["link_type"] = link_data["link_type"]
                 if link_data.get("filters"):
@@ -126,7 +147,7 @@ def create_link_handler(params: dict[str, Any], gns3_ctx: dict[str, Any]) -> dic
     if not nodes:
         return {"error": "nodes is required"}
     conn = _get_connector(gns3_ctx)
-    data = {"nodes": nodes}
+    data = {"nodes": _normalize_link_nodes(nodes)}
     if "link_type" in params:
         data["link_type"] = params["link_type"]
     if "filters" in params: