Foundations in Model Context Protocol

Lessons in this section

1. MCP Basics

   What the Model Context Protocol is, why it was made, the open spec and its 2026-07-28 version, the standard shape of every setup, and the three things a server can offer: tools, resources and prompts.

2. MCP Mental Model

   The five roles in every MCP setup (user, host, client, server, backend), why each server gets its own client, and the main duties of hosts and servers.

3. Connected Protocol Workflows

   Custom integrations versus MCP, hardcoded versus discovered tools, the steps of one connected request from discovery to answer, context assembly, interoperable servers, and governance basics.