Glossary
Model Context Protocol (MCP)
An open standard for connecting models to tools and data.
What it is
MCP is an open protocol that standardizes how applications expose tools, resources, and context to LLMs, so agents can connect to external systems through a common interface instead of bespoke integrations.
Why it matters in production
MCP turns 'N models × M tools' bespoke integrations into one interface. For engineers it means writing a tool server once and having any MCP-compatible client (IDEs, agent hosts) use it — but auth and least-privilege still need your own design.
In practice
Exposing your ticketing system as an MCP server with search_ticket and create_ticket tools that any MCP-compatible agent can discover and call.
Related terms
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