Model Context Protocol
The standard for plugging tools and data into a model, and when a plain HTTP call is still the better answer.
5 topics
What MCP Is
An open protocol that turns the N×M problem of wiring every model to every tool into a plug-in interface both sides implement once.
core20 minMCP Primitives
Tools, resources, and prompts — three capability types distinguished by who decides to use them, which is the detail most explanations skip.
core15 minBuilding an MCP Server
A small process that declares capabilities over JSON-RPC — an afternoon's work, where the effort goes into designing the surface rather than the plumbing.
deep20 minTransports & Authorisation
Local servers over stdio need no auth and get filesystem access; remote servers over HTTP need OAuth, and that difference is the whole security story.
deep20 minWhen MCP Is the Wrong Answer
If you control both the model harness and the tool, MCP is a protocol between two things you own — and that indirection buys nothing.
core15 min