diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 995e0d5..68cb7a6 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -14,6 +14,13 @@ All notable changes to the `agent-root` CLI are documented in this file. Format
   (keyword-only). One request per failed search; `--all` unaffected. `--json`
   gains a top-level `approximate` boolean.
 
+### Fixed
+
+- `resolve` and `install` now render MCP record tool names when a manifest
+  publishes `tools` as a string array (e.g. `["search", "get_info"]`) — previously
+  they showed an empty `tools:    , , ,` line. A shared `normalizeTools` helper
+  tolerates both the spec's `[{name, description}]` shape and plain strings.
+
 ## [0.3.0] 2026-05-20
 
 First standalone release. Cut from the independent
diff --git a/src/commands/install.ts b/src/commands/install.ts
index 45aaecc..5b36fca 100644
--- a/src/commands/install.ts
+++ b/src/commands/install.ts
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ import { note } from '../cli/streams';
 import { RECORD_TYPES } from '../constants/record-types';
 import { searchWithFallback, selectResult, promptSearch, type SearchResult } from './search';
 import { installSkill } from '../services/install/install-skill';
+import { normalizeTools } from '../utils/normalize-tools';
 import type { JsonOut } from '../types/install';
 
 // Re-exported for callers that still import these from this module.
@@ -44,9 +45,10 @@ export function installMcp(
   console.log(`${colors.green('found')} MCP server: ${displayName}\n`);
   if (record['description']) console.log(`  ${record['description'] as string}\n`);
 
-  if (Array.isArray(record['tools']) && record['tools'].length > 0) {
+  const tools = normalizeTools(record['tools']);
+  if (tools.length > 0) {
     console.log(`  ${colors.dim('Tools:')}`);
-    for (const t of record['tools'] as Array<{ name: string; description?: string }>) {
+    for (const t of tools) {
       console.log(`    ${colors.cyan(t.name)}${t.description ? `: ${colors.dim(t.description)}` : ''}`);
     }
     console.log();
diff --git a/src/utils/format-record.ts b/src/utils/format-record.ts
index d55b274..1cad81c 100644
--- a/src/utils/format-record.ts
+++ b/src/utils/format-record.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 import { colors } from '../cli/colors';
 import { RECORD_TYPES } from '../constants/record-types';
+import { normalizeTools } from './normalize-tools';
 
 export function formatRecord(r: Record<string, unknown>, indent?: string): string {
   const ind = indent || '  ';
@@ -18,8 +19,9 @@ export function formatRecord(r: Record<string, unknown>, indent?: string): strin
   if (Array.isArray(r.capabilities) && r.capabilities.length > 0) {
     out += `${ind}${colors.dim('caps:')}     ${(r.capabilities as string[]).join(', ')}\n`;
   }
-  if (Array.isArray(r.tools) && r.tools.length > 0) {
-    out += `${ind}${colors.dim('tools:')}    ${(r.tools as Array<{ name: string }>).map(t => t.name).join(', ')}\n`;
+  const tools = normalizeTools(r.tools);
+  if (tools.length > 0) {
+    out += `${ind}${colors.dim('tools:')}    ${tools.map(t => t.name).join(', ')}\n`;
   }
   return out;
 }
diff --git a/src/utils/normalize-tools.ts b/src/utils/normalize-tools.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..11208bc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/utils/normalize-tools.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,28 @@
+export interface NormalizedTool {
+  name: string;
+  description?: string;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Normalize an mcp record's `tools` into a uniform list of named tools.
+ * Tolerates the spec shape (`[{ name, description }]`) and the real-world string
+ * shape (`["search", …]`), plus mixed/malformed arrays. Entries without a usable
+ * name are dropped; non-array input returns [].
+ */
+export function normalizeTools(tools: unknown): NormalizedTool[] {
+  if (!Array.isArray(tools)) return [];
+  const out: NormalizedTool[] = [];
+  for (const t of tools) {
+    if (typeof t === 'string') {
+      const name = t.trim();
+      if (name) out.push({ name });
+    } else if (t && typeof t === 'object' && 'name' in t) {
+      const name = String((t as { name: unknown }).name ?? '').trim();
+      if (!name) continue;
+      const desc = (t as { description?: unknown }).description;
+      out.push(typeof desc === 'string' && desc ? { name, description: desc } : { name });
+    }
+    // else: skip malformed entries (numbers, null, name-less objects)
+  }
+  return out;
+}
diff --git a/tests/utils/format-record.test.ts b/tests/utils/format-record.test.ts
index 1040c01..2b63a0a 100644
--- a/tests/utils/format-record.test.ts
+++ b/tests/utils/format-record.test.ts
@@ -82,6 +82,17 @@ describe('formatRecord', () => {
     expect(out).toContain('tool-a, tool-b');
   });
 
+  it('renders a string tool array as comma-joined names (regression: tools were blank)', () => {
+    const out = formatRecord({
+      id: 'r',
+      type: 'mcp',
+      _domain: 'czarcash.com',
+      tools: ['search', 'get_info', 'list_pages'],
+    });
+    expect(out).toContain('tools:');
+    expect(out).toContain('search, get_info, list_pages');
+  });
+
   it('omits caps line when capabilities array is empty', () => {
     const out = formatRecord({ id: 'r', type: 'agent', _domain: 'x.com', capabilities: [] });
     expect(out).not.toContain('caps:');
diff --git a/tests/utils/normalize-tools.test.ts b/tests/utils/normalize-tools.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c8781bc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/utils/normalize-tools.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,35 @@
+import { describe, it, expect } from 'vitest';
+import { normalizeTools } from '../../src/utils/normalize-tools';
+
+describe('normalizeTools', () => {
+  it('maps a string array to named tools', () => {
+    expect(normalizeTools(['search', 'get_info'])).toEqual([{ name: 'search' }, { name: 'get_info' }]);
+  });
+
+  it('passes through {name, description} objects', () => {
+    expect(normalizeTools([{ name: 'query', description: 'Run SQL' }])).toEqual([{ name: 'query', description: 'Run SQL' }]);
+  });
+
+  it('drops description when absent or non-string', () => {
+    expect(normalizeTools([{ name: 'a' }, { name: 'b', description: 42 }])).toEqual([{ name: 'a' }, { name: 'b' }]);
+  });
+
+  it('handles a mixed array (strings + objects)', () => {
+    expect(normalizeTools(['search', { name: 'query', description: 'q' }])).toEqual([{ name: 'search' }, { name: 'query', description: 'q' }]);
+  });
+
+  it('skips name-less objects, numbers, null, and empty/whitespace strings', () => {
+    expect(normalizeTools([{ description: 'no name' }, 7, null, '', '   ', { name: '' }])).toEqual([]);
+  });
+
+  it('trims tool names', () => {
+    expect(normalizeTools(['  search  '])).toEqual([{ name: 'search' }]);
+  });
+
+  it('returns [] for non-array input', () => {
+    expect(normalizeTools(undefined)).toEqual([]);
+    expect(normalizeTools(null)).toEqual([]);
+    expect(normalizeTools('search')).toEqual([]);
+    expect(normalizeTools({ name: 'x' })).toEqual([]);
+  });
+});