What does MCP stand for?

Model Context Protocol — an open standard introduced by Anthropic for connecting AI applications to external tools and data.

What is the difference between an MCP client and an MCP server?

The client is the AI app (Cursor, Claude Code, Claude Desktop). The server is the tool it connects to (a design generator, a database connector, and so on). One client can use many servers.

Is MCP only for Claude?

No. MCP is an open standard. Cursor, VS Code, Claude Code, and many other clients support it, so one server works across all of them.

Do I need to code to use an MCP server?

No. Most servers install with a single npx command or a few lines of JSON, then you use them through chat.

What Is an MCP Server?

An MCP (Model Context Protocol) server is a small program that gives an AI app a new ability — like generating UI, querying a database, or reading files — through one open standard created by Anthropic. AI clients such as Cursor, Claude Code, and Claude Desktop connect to these servers and use their tools automatically.

Model Context Protocol (MCP) is the USB-C of AI tools — one open standard that lets any AI editor plug into any tool. Here is what a server actually is and why it matters.