MCP (Model Context Protocol)
MCP, the Model Context Protocol, is a shared standard that lets an AI agent connect to outside tools and data.
What it tells you about a developer
MCP on a profile places the developer in agent work from late 2024 onward. Building a server means integration and API design more than model work, and what that server exposed and who consumed it shows the shape of that work.
- Type
- Protocol
- Released
- 2024
- Built by
- Anthropic
- Applied to
- AI agents & tooling
MCP stands for Model Context Protocol. Anthropic introduced it in November 2024 as a shared, open standard so any AI agent could connect to any outside tool the same way, rather than every company writing custom connections. The name describes the job: it is a protocol, a set of agreed-upon rules, for giving a model context, meaning outside information and tools it was not trained on. A developer who works with MCP writes either a server that offers up tools and data, or a client that connects an agent to those servers.