MCP

As explained in Building LLM Applications with DSPy

Model Context Protocol is a standard protocol for connecting language-model applications with external tools and data sources.

Model Context Protocol (MCP) connects language-model applications with external tools and data sources. A host is the application the user interacts with; it manages MCP clients, which communicate with servers providing services. section 9.6.1

MCP supports two connection types:

• stdio connects processes on the same machine, such as when using a local filesystem. section 9.6.1
• HTTP connects remote machines to remote MCP servers. section 9.6.1

Figure 9.5 During initialization, the agent connects to the set of MCP servers that may be used by the host, creating a pool of MCP clients to communicate with them. Whenever the agent chooses to execute an MCP-based tool, the appropriate MCP client communicates with its server, passing the necessary arguments and collecting the tool’s output.

The diagram shows a host coordinating clients for multiple servers and routing tool calls through the appropriate client. section 9.6.1

How Building LLM Applications with DSPy covers it

How deep it goes

Defines host, client, server, and stdio/HTTP connections, stopping short of a broader protocol treatment.

Examples

Uses a host connected to three MCP servers and a server exposing WixQA retrieval methods.

What you can do after

Understand how a host uses clients to communicate with servers and execute tools.

How it connects

Links hosts, clients, servers, tools, stdio, and HTTP.

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Also explained in

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  Grokking AI ApplicationsThe Model Context Protocol is an open standard for discovering and invoking tools exposed by servers for use by AI applications and agents.
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  AI Agents in Action, Second EditionThe Model Context Protocol is an open protocol for connecting AI applications and models with external tools, data sources, and contextual resources.
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  Build AI-Enhanced Web AppsA standardized protocol for connecting AI applications and agents with externally provided tools, prompts, resources, and data sources.
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  Build an AI Agent (From Scratch)Model Context Protocol is an open protocol that standardizes how AI applications connect to tools, prompts, resources, and external services.
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  AI Agents and ApplicationsThe Model Context Protocol is a standard protocol for services to expose tools that AI applications can discover and access.
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  Architecting an Apache Iceberg LakehouseThe Model Context Protocol is a standardized protocol that lets large language models interact with external data, tools, and services through governed calls.
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  Building Reliable AI SystemsA protocol for connecting AI applications and agents to external data sources and tools.
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  Financial AI in PracticeMCP is a protocol for standardizing how AI models or agents interact with external tools and data sources.
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  Spring AI in ActionThe Model Context Protocol is an open protocol for connecting AI applications with external tools and sources of contextual information.
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  Investing for ProgrammersA model context protocol is a standardized interface that lets AI agents connect to external data sources and retrieve data in a consistent format.
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  Introduction to Generative AI, Second EditionThe Model Context Protocol is an open standard for secure, two-way connections between external data sources, services, and AI-powered tools.
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  Authorization in ActionModel Context Protocol is a standard protocol for connecting AI applications to external tools and data sources.
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  Building Distributed Applications that WorkModel Context Protocol is a protocol for connecting language-model applications with external tools, data sources, and capabilities through a standardized interface.

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Related concepts

• toolconfigures · A tool is an instrument or software capability that enables a person or system to perform a task, obtain information, or interact with resources.
• contractcontrasts with · An API contract is a specification of the operations, data, and behavioral expectations that govern interactions between software components.
• A2Acontrasts with · A2A is an interoperability protocol that enables software agents to discover, communicate, and coordinate with one another across systems.
• client-server architectureuses · A distributed computing pattern in which clients request services or resources from servers, which process the requests and provide results.
• N×M integration problemaddresses · The N×M integration problem is the growth in custom integrations that results when each of N applications must connect independently to each of M external systems or providers.
• schemauses · A data schema is a formal specification of the structure, fields, types, relationships, and constraints of data.

This explainer was generated by Manning's knowledge graph from the text of Building LLM Applications with DSPy. The section links point to the parts of the book it draws on.