What It Is
MCP is the open protocol introduced by Anthropic in November 2024 for connecting AI applications to external tools and data sources. As of 2026, it has 97M monthly SDK downloads, 10,000+ active servers, and is supported by every major AI lab — effectively the USB-C of AI tools.
Strengths & Weaknesses
✓ Strengths
- Industry standard
- Every AI client supports it
- Eliminates custom integrations
- Open spec
× Weaknesses
- Newer spec (2024)
- Security is your responsibility
- Learning curve
Best Use Cases
Tool integrationAgentic appsCross-client tool sharing
Alternatives
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