What's Model Context Protocol (MCP) another AI thing?

Rohit Sonar Blogs
Rohit Sonar
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Model Context Protocol (MCP) is an open, model-agnostic standard that lets AI assistants securely access and interact with external tools, data sources, and services in real time. Instead of writing bespoke integrations for every API or database, developers implement an MCP server that exposes a uniform RPC interface, and AI clients (or agents) speak the same “language” to discover resources, authenticate, and invoke functionality .

Why We Need MCP

Today’s AI agents often rely on custom connectors—one per tool or data store—which leads to an “N×M” problem as the number of models and endpoints grows. MCP solves this by defining a single protocol for:

  • Tool Discovery: Agents list available tools with tools/list.
  • Resource Introspection: They query schema and metadata via resources/list.
  • Function Invocation: Agents call tools/invoke to run commands.
  • Context Streaming: The protocol supports Server-Sent Events (SSE) or WebSockets for real-time data streams .

How MCP Works

MCP follows a client–server pattern over a persistent JSON-RPC 2.0 transport (stdio, HTTP with SSE, or WebSockets). Each session begins with protocol negotiation (version tags like “2025-03-26”) and authentication (token or host-mediated) . The server advertises its capabilities, and the AI agent requests operations, receiving typed, streaming responses. This design keeps the AI stateless while enabling complex workflows—fetching database rows, reading file systems, or even spinning up compute jobs—without leaking sensitive credentials .

Real-World Adoption

Since Anthropic open-sourced MCP in November 2024, major players have embraced it:

  • OpenAI added MCP support in its Agents SDK and ChatGPT desktop, allowing agents to create GitHub repos and manage files directly .
  • Google DeepMind announced Gemini’s upcoming MCP compatibility, promoting a unified integration ecosystem.
  • Appwrite launched its own MCP server, enabling AI assistants to query Appwrite databases, manage storage, and invoke serverless functions through the same protocol .

The Future of AI Integration

By standardizing how AI assistants talk to the real world, MCP transforms chatbots into powerful agents. No longer limited to static knowledge, they can fetch live data, perform transactions, and orchestrate tools through a consistent, secure interface—paving the way for more capable, context-aware AI applications.