The Model Context Protocol SDK is a framework for building clients and servers that connect AI models to external data, tools, and resources using a standardized communication protocol. It provides the foundational libraries and interfaces necessary to establish reliable, transport-agnostic connections between AI agents and external systems, enabling seamless information retrieval and task automation.
The SDK distinguishes itself through a robust capability negotiation handshake that ensures compatibility between connected parties before exchanging messages. It supports a pluggable transport abstraction, allowing developers to choose between streaming or HTTP methods, and features unified resource aggregation that combines tools, prompts, and data from multiple independent sources into a single interface.
The framework covers a broad capability surface, including structured data schemas for input and output validation, asynchronous task orchestration with progress tracking, and secure authentication workflows. It also provides diagnostic utilities for protocol debugging, server lifecycle management, and multi-modal data processing to handle binary assets and media formats.
The project includes comprehensive documentation and testing utilities, such as in-memory connection support, to verify server implementations and protocol behavior during development.
