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MCP Server

MCP Server

The running process on the other end of an MCP connection

✓ Building Blocks
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A real running processExposes callable toolsLocal or remote

What is a MCP Server

An MCP server is the process on the other end of an MCP connection, the thing that actually implements the protocol and exposes a defined set of tools or resources for an agent's harness to discover and call. It can run locally on the same machine as the agent, or remotely as a hosted service the harness connects to over the network.

When a session starts, the harness connects to every configured MCP server and asks it what it offers. The server responds with its list of tools, each with a name and a defined input shape, which the harness then makes available to the model just like any other tool. From that point, the model can call those tools the same way it calls anything else.

An MCP server is not the protocol itself, MCP is the standard, the server is one specific implementation of it, built for one specific system: a database, a project management tool, a search index. If the server goes down mid-session, its tools stop working, since there is a live process behind them, not a static file the harness already has a full copy of.

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Key properties

✓A live process, not a static configuration file
✓Declares the tools and resources it makes available
✓Can run locally or connect to a remote service

Related terms

🔗 MCP🔗 Tool🔗 Tool Call