MCP Server

Medium — good to knowAI & ML

ELI5 — The Vibe Check

An MCP Server is like a plugin for your AI assistant. It gives the AI new superpowers — like being able to read files, browse the web, query a database, or control a browser. The Model Context Protocol is a standard way for AI models to connect to external tools. Think of it as USB ports for AI: any tool that speaks MCP can plug right in.

Real Talk

An MCP (Model Context Protocol) Server is a service that exposes tools, resources, and prompts to AI models through a standardized protocol. MCP servers allow LLMs to interact with external systems — databases, APIs, file systems, browsers, etc. — in a consistent way. The protocol defines a JSON-RPC-based interface for tool discovery, invocation, and resource access.

Show Me The Code

// MCP server exposing a database tool
{
  "tools": [{
    "name": "query_database",
    "description": "Run SQL against the database",
    "inputSchema": {
      "type": "object",
      "properties": {
        "sql": { "type": "string" }
      }
    }
  }]
}

When You'll Hear This

"Add an MCP server so Claude can access our Jira board." / "The Playwright MCP server lets the AI control the browser."

Related Terms

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An AI agent is an LLM that doesn't just answer questions — it takes actions.

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Claude Code

Claude Code is Anthropic's agentic coding tool that lives in your terminal.

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Function Calling

Function Calling is the OpenAI term for what Anthropic calls Tool Use — teaching the AI to call your code functions.

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Model Context Protocol (MCP)

MCP is a standard protocol that lets AI assistants connect to external tools and data sources — like a universal adapter for AI.

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Tool Use

Tool use is when an AI can call external functions, APIs, or programs to do things it can't do alone.

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