spb/tools-spboucher-ai
Public
1{2 "slug": "model-context-protocol",3 "name": "Model Context Protocol",4 "aliases": ["MCP", "modelcontextprotocol"],5 "vendor": { "name": "Model Context Protocol, a Series of LF Projects, LLC (originated by Anthropic)", "slug": "mcp-project", "website": "https://modelcontextprotocol.io" },6 "homepage_url": "https://modelcontextprotocol.io/",7 "docs_url": "https://modelcontextprotocol.io/docs/2026-07-28/getting-started/intro",8 "repo_url": "https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/modelcontextprotocol",9 "license_url": "https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/modelcontextprotocol/blob/main/LICENSE",10 "product_type": "specification",11 "product_status": "active",12 "summary": "Open JSON-RPC standard for connecting AI applications to tools, data and prompts through servers, now stewarded under the Linux Foundation with SDKs in many languages",13 "description": "The Model Context Protocol (MCP) is an open standard that lets AI applications connect to external systems in a uniform way. Anthropic published it in November 2024; by late 2025 the project had been placed under the Linux Foundation as \"Model Context Protocol, a Series of LF Projects, LLC\", with a maintainer-led governance model, working groups and a Specification Enhancement Proposal process. New contributions are licensed Apache-2.0 (documentation CC-BY-4.0) while older code remains MIT during a relicensing transition.\n\nThe architecture has three roles: hosts (the AI application, such as Claude, ChatGPT, VS Code or Cursor), clients (connectors inside the host) and servers that expose capabilities. Servers offer tools (functions the model may call), resources (data for the user or model) and prompts (templated workflows); clients may offer elicitation, which lets a server ask the user for input. Messages are JSON-RPC 2.0 over stdio for local servers or Streamable HTTP for remote ones, with capability negotiation per session and an authorization specification based on OAuth for remote servers. The current specification revision is dated 2026-07-28 and adds optional extensions: Tasks for long-running asynchronous operations, Skills over MCP for structured agent instructions, and MCP Apps for interactive UI rendered inside conversations. Official SDKs exist for TypeScript, Python and several other languages, and the specification stresses explicit user consent before tool execution.\n\nFor a developer, MCP means writing one server for a database, API or internal tool and having it work across every compliant assistant and coding agent. Its limits are those of a young standard: the spec changes yearly, security depends heavily on host implementation, remote-server authorization is still maturing, and tool descriptions are untrusted input that can carry prompt injection.",14 "capabilities": ["Standard tool, resource and prompt primitives exposed by servers", "JSON-RPC 2.0 over stdio and Streamable HTTP transports", "Per-session capability negotiation and OAuth-based authorization for remote servers", "Elicitation for server-initiated user input", "Extensions: Tasks (async operations), Skills over MCP and MCP Apps (inline UI)", "Official SDKs for TypeScript, Python and other languages", "Adopted by Claude, ChatGPT, VS Code, Cursor and many other hosts", "Open governance with SEPs and working groups"],15 "workflows": ["Write one MCP server for an internal database and use it from Claude Code, Cursor and ChatGPT", "Expose a hosted API as a remote server with OAuth so a team can connect from any client", "Package domain instructions as skills discoverable over MCP"],16 "advantages": ["Vendor-neutral foundation governance", "Broad adoption across assistants and coding agents", "Simple to implement with the official SDKs", "Local and remote transports cover desktop and server scenarios"],17 "limitations": ["Specification revised annually; clients and servers may lag", "Security depends on host-side consent and sandboxing", "Tool descriptions are untrusted and can carry injection attempts", "Licensing transition means mixed MIT/Apache-2.0 provenance in older code"],18 "prerequisites": ["An MCP-capable host application", "A runtime for the chosen SDK (Node.js, Python, etc.)"],19 "audiences": ["Developers integrating tools and data with AI assistants", "Vendors exposing their products to agents", "Platform teams standardizing agent integrations"],20 "alternatives": ["openai-agents-sdk", "langchain", "claude-code"],21 "comparison_notes": "MCP standardizes the connection between an agent and its tools, whereas agent frameworks such as the OpenAI Agents SDK or LangChain define the loop that uses those tools; most of them now include MCP client support, so the two are complementary rather than competing. Vendor-specific function-calling schemas remain the alternative when only one host matters. Claude Code is listed here as a reference host that consumes MCP servers.",22 "categories": [{ "slug": "agent-frameworks", "primary": true }, { "slug": "api-development", "label": "Protocol specification" }],23 "tags": ["mcp", "agents", "open-source", "api", "json-rpc", "typescript", "python", "specification"],24 "use_cases": ["build-agents", "write-code-with-ai"],25 "operating_systems": ["any"],26 "execution_modes": ["local", "self-hosted", "cloud"],27 "interfaces": ["sdk", "api", "mcp-server"],28 "deployment_models": ["embedded", "on-premises", "saas"],29 "integrations": ["Claude", "Claude Code", "ChatGPT", "VS Code", "Cursor", "LM Studio", "Ollama", "Langfuse"],30 "data_formats": ["JSON-RPC 2.0", "JSON Schema"],31 "languages": ["TypeScript", "Python", "Java", "Kotlin", "C#", "Go", "Rust", "Swift"],32 "source_model": "open-source",33 "pricing_model": ["open-source", "free"],34 "self_hostable": true,35 "sources": [36 { "url": "https://modelcontextprotocol.io/docs/2026-07-28/getting-started/intro", "type": "official_site", "title": "What is the Model Context Protocol?", "supports": ["name", "summary", "integrations"], "checked_at": "2026-11-02" },37 { "url": "https://modelcontextprotocol.io/specification/2026-07-28", "type": "official_docs", "title": "MCP Specification 2026-07-28", "supports": ["capabilities", "data_formats"], "checked_at": "2026-11-02" },38 { "url": "https://modelcontextprotocol.io/community/governance", "type": "official_docs", "title": "Governance and Stewardship", "supports": ["vendor", "source_model"], "checked_at": "2026-11-02", "note": "Project established as Model Context Protocol, a Series of LF Projects, LLC; Apache-2.0 for code and specs, CC-BY-4.0 for docs" },39 { "url": "https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/modelcontextprotocol/blob/main/LICENSE", "type": "license_page", "supports": ["source_model"], "checked_at": "2026-11-02", "note": "Describes the MIT to Apache-2.0 relicensing transition" }40 ],41 "confidence": "high",42 "uncertainty_note": "license_spdx is omitted because the repository is in a documented MIT-to-Apache-2.0 transition with mixed provenance; new contributions are Apache-2.0. The language list reflects SDKs referenced in the official docs and may change.",43 "discovery_method": "editorial-research",44 "depth": "deep",45 "editorial_status": "reviewed",46 "visibility": "public",47 "featured": true,48 "author": "batch-A"49}50