Model Context Protocol — 2025

The Protocol
Powering AI

MCP is the open standard that connects AI models to real-world tools, data, and systems — enabling agents that actually do things.

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01 — The Protocol
What is MCP?

Model Context Protocol creates a universal language between AI models and external systems — tools, databases, APIs, and services.

MCP Clients
Claude / LLM
AI reasoning layer
Cursor / IDE
Developer tools
Custom App
Any MCP host
JSON-RPC
MCP
SERVER
Tools
Capabilities
🗄 Databases
Query, read, write data
🌐 APIs & Web
External services
📁 File System
Local files & docs
⚡ Custom Tools
Your own logic

↑ Click any box to learn more ↑

02 — Evolution
Before vs After MCP

See how MCP transforms AI integration from fragmented custom code to a unified, scalable protocol.

Without MCP Legacy

  • ✗ Custom integration code per tool
  • ✗ Brittle, hardcoded API calls
  • ✗ No standard for tool discovery
  • ✗ Duplicate effort across projects
  • ✗ Each model requires re-integration

With MCP Modern

  • ✓ Unified protocol for all tools
  • ✓ Dynamic tool discovery at runtime
  • ✓ Build once, connect everywhere
  • ✓ Any MCP client works instantly
  • ✓ Community of shared servers

Without MCP Legacy

  • ✗ Months of integration work
  • ✗ Unique schemas per model
  • ✗ Maintenance nightmare
  • ✗ Testing is unpredictable

With MCP Modern

  • ✓ Days to build an MCP server
  • ✓ Standardized JSON-RPC schema
  • ✓ SDK abstracts complexity
  • ✓ Inspector tools for debugging

Without MCP Legacy

  • ✗ Ad-hoc permission models
  • ✗ No consent lifecycle standard
  • ✗ Credentials embedded in prompts
  • ✗ Audit trails inconsistent

With MCP Modern

  • ✓ Explicit tool approval flows
  • ✓ OAuth2 & credential managers
  • ✓ Structured lifecycle management
  • ✓ Clear audit logging patterns
03 — Knowledge Base
Explore All Topics

Browse the complete catalog of MCP instruction resources. Filter by category or search by name.

04 — Deep Dive
MCP Architecture

Click each layer to understand how MCP is structured from transport to application.

🤖 Host
AI Application Layer
The host is any AI-powered application (Claude, Cursor, custom app) that contains an MCP client. It initiates connections and manages user context and permissions.
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🔌 Client
Protocol Connector
The MCP client lives inside the host app and manages 1:1 connections with MCP servers. It handles capability negotiation, protocol version matching, and message routing.
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⚙️ Server
Capability Provider
MCP servers expose tools, resources, and prompts to clients. Each server has a focused purpose — a database server, a file system server, or a custom tool server. They can run locally or remotely.
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📡 Transport
Communication Channel
MCP supports stdio (for local subprocess servers) and HTTP with SSE (for remote servers). The JSON-RPC 2.0 message format ensures interoperability across all implementations.
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🗂 Primitives
Tools · Resources · Prompts
The three core primitives: Tools (executable functions), Resources (context data like files or DB rows), and Prompts (reusable templates). Together they form the vocabulary of what an AI can do.
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