Model Context Protocol Glossary
Understand key communication formats, transport mechanisms, systems design patterns, and protocol primitives that govern the modern Model Context Protocol (MCP) ecosystem.
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Model Context Protocol (MCP)
An open, secure protocol that standardizes how artificial intelligence agents and large language models (LLMs) exchange context, tools, prompts, and data resources with external servers.
MCP Server
An application that implements the Model Context Protocol, hosting tools, resources, and prompt templates, responding to JSON-RPC requests from compliant AI clients.
MCP Client
An AI interface or application (e.g., Claude, Cursor, or custom routers) that initiates connections to MCP servers, orchestrates interactions, and coordinates tool execution.
MCP Gateway
A secure routing and proxy server that aggregates multiple local or remote MCP servers into a single endpoint for centralized management, rate-limiting, and security governance.
MCP Tools / Tool
Executable functions exposed by an MCP server to an AI client, enabling models to perform real-world actions with user-consented safety guards.
MCP Resources / Resource
Static or dynamic data inputs (such as files, databases, or API readouts) that servers expose to the client as read-only context feeds for the model.
MCP Prompts / Prompt
Pre-engineered, standardized instructions and context templates registered at the server level, providing quick conversational configurations for specific roles or jobs.
MCP Robot Control
A guarded MCP pattern for exposing robot status, simulation, planning, and approved control actions to AI agents.
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ROS (Robot Operating System)
A robotics middleware ecosystem used to build robot applications with nodes, topics, services, messages, and simulation tools.
ROS2 MCP Bridge
A bridge pattern that translates selected ROS2 topics, services, and actions into MCP resources and tools for AI clients.
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Stdio Transport (Standard Input/Output)
A local-only transport mechanism where the AI client spawns the MCP server as a child process and communicates via standard input (stdin) and standard output (stdout) channels.
SSE Transport (Server-Sent Events)
A lightweight, unidirectional HTTP-based streaming protocol used by remote MCP servers to push messages to AI clients, with client-to-server writes sent over standard POST requests.
Simulation MCP
An MCP server pattern that connects AI agents to robotics, infrastructure, or workflow simulators before real-world execution.