What is MCP?

Understand it one step at a time

The short runs these in order in about 27 seconds. Here they are written out — pick any step to jump the short straight to it.

1. 1

   AI can talk. It cannot reach your tools

   A model answers from memory. It has no native route into GitHub, your database, your files or Slack.

   assistant has no tools

2. 2

   Every tool speaks a different language

   Seven tools, seven APIs, seven bespoke integrations — and every AI app has to build all of them again.

   wiring integrations by hand

3. 3

   One protocol replaces all of them

   MCP is a single open standard for how an AI app asks any tool for data, and how that tool answers.

   MCP connected

4. 4

   Client on your side, server on the tool's

   The AI app runs an MCP client. Each tool is wrapped by an MCP server. Requests go down, results come back up.

   request down · response up

5. 5

   Watch a single request travel

   Read my GitHub repository — the ask goes down the stack, and the repo data comes back up as an answer.

   calling the GitHub MCP server

6. 6

   One prompt, many tools

   Read today’s sales from SQL and post a summary to Slack — the model chains two MCP servers on its own.

   SQL → summary → Slack

7. 7

   Build once, connect everywhere

   One MCP server per tool, reused by every AI app you ever ship. M + N connectors instead of M × N.

   M + N, not M × N

8. 8

   One protocol. Unlimited integrations

   User, assistant, MCP client, MCP server, and every tool you already run — all on one open standard.

   MCP · one standard protocol