Model Context Protocol (MCP)

MCP is an open protocol (originated by Anthropic) that standardises how AI models connect to external data sources and tools. Think of it as USB-C for AI — a universal plug that lets any model talk to any tool without custom integration code for each pair. MCP defines how agents discover available tools, how they format requests, and how they receive results. It's becoming a critical standard for composable agent systems where you want to swap models or tools without rebuilding everything.