Model Context Protocol

{{POV section|section|date=June 2025}}

The protocol was announced in November 2024 as an open standard{{cite news |last=Roth |first=Emma |date=November 25, 2024 |title=Anthropic launches tool to connect AI systems directly to datasets |url=https://www.theverge.com/2024/11/25/24305774/anthropic-model-context-protocol-data-sources |publisher=The Verge}} for connecting AI assistants to data systems such as content repositories, business management tools, and development environments.{{cite web |url= https://www.anthropic.com/news/model-context-protocol |title= Introducing the Model Context Protocol |publisher= Anthropic |date= November 25, 2024 |access-date= 2025-05-12}}{{primary-inline|date=May 2025}} It addresses the challenge of information silos and legacy systems that constrain even the most sophisticated AI models.

Anthropic introduced MCP to address the growing complexity of integrating LLMs with third-party systems.{{cn|date=June 2025}} Before MCP, developers often had to build custom connectors for each data source or tool, resulting in what Anthropic described as an "N×M" data integration problem.

Earlier stop-gap approaches - such as OpenAI’s 2023 “function-calling” API and the ChatGPT plug-in framework - solved similar problems but required vendor-specific connectors. MCP’s authors note that the protocol deliberately re-uses the message-flow ideas of the Language Server Protocol (LSP) and is transported over JSON-RPC 2.0.{{cite web |date=26 March 2025 |title=Model Context Protocol Specification (§Base Protocol) |url=https://modelcontextprotocol.io/specification/2025-03-26 |access-date=2025-05-24 |website=modelcontextprotocol.io}}

MCP was designed as a response to this challenge, offering a universal protocol for interfacing any AI assistant with any structured tool or data layer. The protocol was released with software development kits (SDK) in multiple programming languages, including Python, TypeScript, Java, and C#.{{cite web |title= Agents and tools: Model Context Protocol (MCP) |website= docs.anthropic.com |url= https://docs.anthropic.com/en/docs/agents-and-tools/mcp }}{{Failed verification |date= May 2025 |reason= Information to support statement not found on specific URL cited}}

{{Prose|date=June 2025|section}}

MCP defines a set of specifications for:

• Data ingestion and transformation
• Contextual metadata tagging
• Model interoperability across platforms
• Secure, two-way connections between data sources and AI-powered tools

The protocol enables developers to either expose their data through MCP servers or build AI applications (MCP clients) that connect to these servers. Key components include:

• Protocol specification and SDKs
• Local MCP server support in Claude Desktop apps
• Open-source repository of MCP servers

{{Prose|date=June 2025|section}}

MCP has been applied{{when|date=June 2025}}{{by whom|date=June 2025}} across a range of use cases in software development, business process automation, and natural language automation:

• Software development: Integrated development environments (IDEs) such as Zed, platforms like Replit, and code intelligence tools such as Sourcegraph integrated MCP to give coding assistants access to real-time code context, useful in vibe coding.
• Enterprise assistants: Companies like Block use MCP to allow internal assistants to retrieve information from proprietary documents, customer relationship management (CRM) systems, and company knowledge bases.
• Natural language data access: Applications like AI2SQL leverage MCP to connect models with SQL databases, enabling plain-language information retrieval.
• Desktop assistants: The Claude Desktop app runs local MCP servers to allow the assistant to read files or interact with system tools securely.
• Multi-tool agents: MCP supports agentic AI workflows involving multiple tools (e.g., document lookup + messaging APIs), enabling chain-of-thought reasoning over distributed resources.
• Web application development: Wix.com uses MCP servers within its website building platform to enable AI tools to access current website data and make live edits to websites.{{Cite web |date=March 27, 2025 |title=Wix just opened the door to quicker and easier coding with new AI tool |url=https://www.techradar.com/pro/website-building/wix-just-opened-the-door-to-quicker-and-easier-coding-with-new-ai-tool |access-date=2025-05-22 |publisher=TechRadar Pro}}{{Cite web |date=March 27, 2024 |title=Wix Unveils the Wix Model Context Protocol Server for AI-Driven Web App Development |url=https://www.enterpriseaiworld.com/Articles/News/News/Wix-Unveils-the-Wix-Model-Context-Protocol-Server-for-AI-Driven-Web-App-Development |access-date=2025-05-22 |publisher=Enterprise AI World}}

Anthropic maintains an open-source repository of reference MCP server implementations for popular enterprise systems including Google Drive, Slack, GitHub, Git, Postgres, Puppeteer and Stripe.{{cite web |title=Model Context Protocol Servers |url=https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/servers |access-date=2025-05-12 |website=GitHub}}{{primary-inline|date=May 2025}}

Developers can create custom MCP servers to connect proprietary systems or specialized data sources to AI models.{{cn|date=June 2025}}

The protocol's open standard allows organizations to build tailored connections while maintaining compatibility with the broader MCP ecosystem. AI models can then leverage these custom connections to provide domain specific assistance while respecting data access permissions.

In March 2025, OpenAI officially adopted the MCP, following a decision to integrate the standard across its products, including the ChatGPT desktop app, OpenAI's Agents SDK, and the Responses API. Altman described the adoption of MCP as a step toward standardizing AI tool connectivity. Prior to OpenAI's adoption, the potential benefits of MCP had been discussed extensively within the developer community, particularly for simplifying development in multi-model environments.{{cite news |first= Vinay |last= Kumar |date= March 26, 2025 |title= The open source Model Context Protocol was just updated — here's why it's a big deal |publisher= VentureBeat |url= https://venturebeat.com/ai/the-open-source-model-context-protocol-was-just-updated-heres-why-its-a-big-deal/ |access-date= 2025-05-12 }}

By adopting MCP, OpenAI joins other organizations such as Block, Replit, and Sourcegraph in incorporating the protocol into their platforms. This wide adoption highlights MCP's potential to become a universal open standard for AI system connectivity and interoperability. The rapid growth and broad community adoption of MCP are demonstrated by Glama's publicly available MCP server directory, which lists over 5,000 active MCP servers as of May 2025.{{Cite web |title=Glama MCP Server Directory |url=https://glama.ai/mcp/servers |access-date=2025-05-21 |language=en}} MCP can be integrated with Microsoft Semantic Kernel, {{Cite web |title= Integrating Model Context Protocol Tools with Semantic Kernel: A Step-by-Step Guide |first= Mark |last= Wallace |date= March 5, 2025 |website= Semantic Kernel Dev Blog, Microsoft |url= https://devblogs.microsoft.com/semantic-kernel/integrating-model-context-protocol-tools-with-semantic-kernel-a-step-by-step-guide/ |access-date= 2025-05-12 }} and Azure OpenAI. {{cite web |author1= mrajguru |date= March 16, 2025 |title= Model Context Protocol (MCP): Integrating Azure OpenAI for Enhanced Tool Integration and Prompting |website= AI - Azure AI services Blog, Microsoft |url= https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/azure-ai-services-blog/model-context-protocol-mcp-integrating-azure-openai-for-enhanced-tool-integratio/4393788 |access-date= 2025-05-12 }} MCP servers can be deployed to Cloudflare.{{cite web |author1= Brendan Irvine-Broque |author2= Dina Kozlov |author3= Glen Maddern |date= March 25, 2025 |title= Build and deploy Remote Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers to Cloudflare |publisher= Cloudflare |url= https://blog.cloudflare.com/remote-model-context-protocol-servers-mcp/ |access-date= 2025-05-12}}

Demis Hassabis, CEO of Google DeepMind, confirmed in April 2025 MCP support in the upcoming Gemini models and related infrastructure, describing the protocol as "rapidly becoming an open standard for the AI agentic era".

Many MCP servers have since been added, allowing integration of LLMs with diverse applications.{{Cite web |last=Awan |first=Abid Ali |title=10 Awesome MCP Servers |url=https://www.kdnuggets.com/10-awesome-mcp-servers |access-date=2025-05-12 |website=KDnuggets}}

The Verge reported that MCP addresses a growing demand for AI agents that are contextually aware and capable of securely pulling from diverse sources. The protocol's rapid uptake by OpenAI, Google DeepMind, and toolmakers like Zed and Sourcegraph suggests growing consensus around its utility.{{cite web |last=Sha |first=Arjun |date=April 14, 2025 |title=What is Model Context Protocol (MCP) Explained |url=https://beebom.com/model-context-protocol-mcp-explained/ |website=Beebom.com}}

In April 2025, security researchers released analysis that there are multiple outstanding security issues with MCP, including prompt injection,{{cite web |first= Ravie |last= Lakshmanan |date= 30 April 2025 |title= Researchers Demonstrate How MCP Prompt Injection Can Be Used for Both Attack and Defense |publisher= thehackernews.com |url= https://thehackernews.com/2025/04/experts-uncover-critical-mcp-and-a2a.html }} tool permissions where combining tools can exfiltrate files,{{cite web |first1= Luca |last1= Beurer-Kellner |first2= Marc |last2= Fischer |date= 1 April 2025 |title= MCP Security Notification: Tool Poisoning Attacks |publisher= InvariantLabs |url= https://invariantlabs.ai/blog/mcp-security-notification-tool-poisoning-attacks }} and lookalike tools can silently replace trusted ones.{{cite web |first1= Kasimir |last1= Schulz |first2= Jason |last2= Martin |first3= Marcus |last3= Kan |first4= Kenneth |last4= Yeung |first5= Conor |last5= McCauley |first6= Leo |last6= Ring |date= 10 April 2025|title= MCP: Model Context Pitfalls in an Agentic World |publisher= hiddenlayer.com |url= https://hiddenlayer.com/innovation-hub/mcp-model-context-pitfalls-in-an-agentic-world/}}

It has been likened to OpenAPI, a similar specification that aims to describe APIs.{{cite web |last1=MacManus |first1=Richard |title=MCP: The Missing Link Between AI Agents and APIs |url=https://thenewstack.io/mcp-the-missing-link-between-ai-agents-and-apis/ |website=The New Stack |access-date=29 May 2025 |date=13 March 2025}}{{cite web |last1=Fanelli |first1=Alessio |title=Why MCP Won |url=https://www.latent.space/p/why-mcp-won |website=www.latent.space |access-date=29 May 2025 |language=en}}

• {{annotated link|AI governance}}
• {{annotated link|Application programming interface}}
• {{annotated link|LangChain}}
• {{annotated link|Machine learning}}
• {{annotated link|Software agent}}

{{reflist}}

• {{cite arXiv|eprint=2503.23278 |last1=Hou |first1=Xinyi |last2=Zhao |first2=Yanjie |last3=Wang |first3=Shenao |last4=Wang |first4=Haoyu |title=Model Context Protocol (MCP): Landscape, Security Threats, and Future Research Directions |date=2025 |class=cs.CR }}
• {{cite news |first= Benj |last= Edwards |date= April 1, 2025 |title= MCP: The new "USB-C for AI" that's bringing fierce rivals together |publisher= Ars Technica |url= https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2025/04/mcp-the-new-usb-c-for-ai-thats-bringing-fierce-rivals-together }}
• {{cite news |first= Fiona |last= Jackson |date= March 28, 2025 |title= OpenAI Agents Now Support Rival Anthropic's Protocol, Making Data Access 'Simpler, More Reliable' |publisher= TechRepublic |url= https://www.techrepublic.com/article/news-openai-anthropic-model-context-protocol/ }}
• {{cite news |author= Janakiram MSV |date= November 30, 2024 |title= Why Anthropic's Model Context Protocol Is A Big Step In The Evolution Of AI Agents |work= Forbes |url= https://www.forbes.com/sites/janakirammsv/2024/11/30/why-anthropics-model-context-protocol-is-a-big-step-in-the-evolution-of-ai-agents/ }}
• {{cite news |first= Lynn |last= Greiner |date= November 26, 2024 |title= Anthropic introduces the Model Context Protocol |publisher= InfoWorld |url= https://www.infoworld.com/article/3613143/anthropic-introduces-the-model-context-protocol.html }}
• {{cite news |first= Kyle |last= Wiggers |date= November 25, 2024 |title= Anthropic proposes a new way to connect data to AI chatbots |publisher= TechCrunch |url= https://techcrunch.com/2024/11/25/anthropic-proposes-a-way-to-connect-data-to-ai-chatbots/ }}
• {{cite web |first= Ben |last= Dickson |date= March 31, 2025 |title= What is Model Context Protocol (MCP)? |publisher= TechTalks |url= https://bdtechtalks.com/2025/03/31/model-context-protocol-mcp/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=model-context-protocol-mcp }}
• {{cite web |first= Colin |last= Masson |date= March 25, 2025 |title= Context Is the Missing Link: The Emergence of the Model Context Protocol in Industrial AI |publisher= ARC Advisory Group |url= https://www.arcweb.com/blog/context-missing-link-emergence-model-context-protocol-industrial-ai }}
• {{cite web |first= Matthias |last= Bastian |date= November 25, 2024 |title= Anthropic's new open protocol lets AI systems tap into any data source |publisher= The Decoder |url= https://the-decoder.com/anthropics-new-open-protocol-lets-ai-systems-tap-into-any-data-source/ }}
• {{cite web |author1= Jimin Kim |author2= Anita Lewis |author3= Justin Lewis |author4= Laith Al-Saadoon |author5= Paul Vincent |author6= Pranjali Bhandari |title= Introducing AWS MCP Servers for code assistants (Part 1) |date= April 1, 2025 |publisher= Amazon AWS |url= https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/machine-learning/introducing-aws-mcp-servers-for-code-assistants-part-1/ }}
• {{cite web |first= Zankar |last= Desai |date= March 19, 2025 |title= Introducing Model Context Protocol (MCP) in Copilot Studio: Simplified Integration with AI Apps and Agents |publisher= Microsoft Copilot Studio Blog, Microsoft |url= https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-copilot/blog/copilot-studio/introducing-model-context-protocol-mcp-in-copilot-studio-simplified-integration-with-ai-apps-and-agents/ }}
• {{cite web |first= Chris |last= McKenzie |date= December 19, 2024 |title= Getting Started: Model Context Protocol |website= Medium |url= https://medium.com/@kenzic/getting-started-model-context-protocol-e0a80dddff80 }}
• {{Cite web |url= https://www.datacamp.com/tutorial/mcp-model-context-protocol |title= Model Context Protocol (MCP): A Guide With Demo Project |website= datacamp.com}}
• [https://www.vendia.com/blog/understanding-model-context-protocol-mcp/ Understanding Model Context Protocol]: Dr. Tim Wagner, Vendia

• {{Official website|https://modelcontextprotocol.io/}}
• {{GitHub|https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol}}
• [https://openai.github.io/openai-agents-python/mcp/ SDK documentation from OpenAI]

{{Generative AI}}

{{Artificial intelligence navbox}}

Category:Application layer protocols

Category:Generative artificial intelligence

Category:Open standards