Model Context Protocol (MCP) — An open standard by Anthropic that enables AI models to connect with external tools, data sources, and services through a unified interface.
The Model Context Protocol (MCP) is an open-source standard developed by Anthropic that standardizes how AI models interact with external tools and data sources. Instead of each AI tool implementing custom integrations, MCP provides a unified protocol. This allows AI coding assistants to connect to databases, APIs, file systems, and other services in a consistent way. Cursor, Claude Code, and other major AI tools have adopted MCP as a core part of their architecture.
MCP (Model Context Protocol) is an open standard by Anthropic that lets AI models connect to external tools, data sources, and APIs through a unified interface, enabling more powerful and flexible AI applications.
MCP is widely adopted: Cursor, Claude Code, Windsurf, Cline, and many other tools support MCP, enabling them to connect to databases, file systems, and APIs consistently.
MCP simplifies building AI-powered tools by providing a standard interface. Instead of writing custom integrations for each AI tool, developers can build MCP servers once and have them work across all MCP-compatible AI assistants.
AI Agent
An AI system that can autonomously plan and execute multi-step tasks, using tools and making decisions to achieve a goal.
Large Language Model (LLM)
A type of AI model trained on massive amounts of text data, capable of understanding and generating human-like text across a wide range of tasks.
System Prompt
A set of instructions given to an AI model before the user conversation begins, shaping its behavior, tone, and capabilities.
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