Glossary · mcp
MCP (Model Context Protocol)
Definition
An open protocol introduced by Anthropic in late 2024 that lets AI agents connect to external tools, data sources, and APIs through a standardized interface. MCP servers expose capabilities (file access, database queries, search, custom APIs); MCP clients (agents) call them. The protocol decouples agent code from tool integrations, so any MCP-compatible agent can use any MCP server.
Context
Before MCP, every agent tool integration was bespoke: each agent had its own plugin format, its own authentication model, its own discovery mechanism. MCP standardizes the wire format so the same `playwright-mcp` server works with Claude Code, Cursor, and any other compliant client. On an agent workstation, MCP servers run as long-lived processes alongside the agent, with credentials brokered by the shield rather than passed in plaintext to the server process.
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