Elicitation

ELI5 — The Vibe Check

Elicitation is the MCP pattern where a tool pauses mid-task to ask you clarifying questions — the AI learned to ask before guessing. Instead of charging ahead and implementing the wrong thing confidently, the tool surfaces a form or prompt: "Which database should I use?" "Should this be public or authenticated?" It's the difference between an assistant who clarifies ambiguity and one who figures it out themselves and gets it wrong spectacularly.

Real Talk

In the Model Context Protocol spec, elicitation is a server-to-client request where an MCP server asks the host (and by extension the user) for additional information mid-operation. The server sends a structured schema describing what data it needs; the host renders a UI or prompt to collect it. This enables interactive MCP tools that can handle ambiguous tasks without hardcoding assumptions or failing silently on missing inputs.

When You'll Hear This

"The MCP server uses elicitation to ask which environment to target before deploying." / "Elicitation makes the tool feel interactive instead of fire-and-forget."