# MCP Basics

> Markdown variant of <https://www.skillzdrive.com/docs/mcp-basics>.

What is the Model Context Protocol and how does it work?

## What is MCP?

MCP (Model Context Protocol) is an open standard that lets AI
models interact with external tools and data sources through a
unified interface. It uses JSON-RPC 2.0 over HTTP, providing a
structured request/response pattern that any language or platform
can implement.

Think of it as a universal plugin system — any MCP-compliant client
can connect to any MCP-compliant server, regardless of who built
either side.

## How it works

```
Your Agent → MCP Client → SkillzDrive MCP Server → Skills
(AI model)   (SDK / lib)  (www.skillzdrive.com/api/mcp)  (scripts, docs, tools)
```

The MCP protocol defines three core concepts:

- **Tools** — functions the server exposes that clients can call. SkillzDrive provides 29 `skills_*` tools for skill discovery, documentation, script execution, and session management. This is the primary capability used by the SkillzDrive server.
- **Resources** — data the server provides that clients can read. SkillzDrive uses these for skill documentation TOCs and section content.
- **Prompts** — pre-built templates for common tasks. SkillzDrive doesn't use these.

## What you need

1. **An MCP client** — a library or built-in support in your platform. Claude.ai, Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Cursor, and ChatGPT all have MCP support built in. For custom agents, use an official SDK.
2. **A transport** — Streamable HTTP is recommended for remote servers like SkillzDrive. It's the modern MCP transport and what most clients use by default.
3. **Authentication** — a SkillzDrive API key, passed as a Bearer token in the `Authorization` header. Get one from <https://www.skillzdrive.com/dashboard/get-setup>.

## MCP client libraries

| Language | Package | Repo |
|----------|---------|------|
| TypeScript | `@modelcontextprotocol/sdk` | <https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/typescript-sdk> |
| Python | `mcp` | <https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/python-sdk> |
| Kotlin | `io.modelcontextprotocol:kotlin-sdk` | <https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/kotlin-sdk> |
| C# | `ModelContextProtocol` | <https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/csharp-sdk> |

## Official resources

- [MCP Specification](https://modelcontextprotocol.io/specification/2025-11-25) — the full protocol reference.
- [Build an MCP Client](https://modelcontextprotocol.io/docs/develop/build-client) — official tutorial.
- [MCP GitHub](https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol) — SDKs, examples, and the spec itself.

You don't need to understand the full MCP spec. SkillzDrive uses
standard MCP — any compliant client works out of the box.

## Next steps

- [Quickstart](https://www.skillzdrive.com/docs/quickstart.md): connect and run your first skill in 5 minutes.
- [Connecting](https://www.skillzdrive.com/docs/guides/connecting.md): transport options, session management, platform-specific setup.
- [Custom agent integration](https://www.skillzdrive.com/docs/agent-integration.md).