# What is Model Context Protocol? Definition & Technical Mechanics

> **Source:** [SPIDITS AI AI Glossary](https://spidits.com/ai-glossary)  
> **Category:** Agentic Systems  
> **Canonical Citation:** [https://spidits.com/ai-glossary/mcp](https://spidits.com/ai-glossary/mcp)

## Definition
Model Context Protocol (MCP) is an open-source standard created by Anthropic that enables AI applications and agents to connect securely to local or remote data sources, developer tools, and API services via a standardized protocol.

## Architectural Mechanics & Deep Dive
MCP (Model Context Protocol) is an open standard protocol developed by Anthropic that enables Large Language Models to securely interact with external tools, databases, and client environments. By separating the LLM reasoning engine from tool implementation, MCP allows developers to build secure, modular client connectors that expose local contexts to AI agents.

## Industry Applications & Real-World Use Cases
Agent tool integration, database connection utilities, and IDE coding plugins.

## Frequently Asked Questions

### Who created the Model Context Protocol?
MCP was introduced by Anthropic in late 2024 as an open standard to unify how AI models connect to data and tools.

### What is the difference between Model Context Protocol (MCP) and traditional APIs?
Unlike custom APIs that require writing bespoke integration adapters for every tool-model pair, MCP acts as a unified standard allowing any client (like an IDE or LLM agent) to connect directly to any data source using a uniform protocol.

## Related Terminology
- [ai-agent](https://spidits.com/ai-glossary/ai-agent)
- [agentic-ai](https://spidits.com/ai-glossary/agentic-ai)
- [function-calling](https://spidits.com/ai-glossary/function-calling)

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*From the SPIDITS AI Knowledge Base (336+ terms indexed). Explore full technical definitions: [https://spidits.com/ai-glossary](https://spidits.com/ai-glossary)*