Model Context Protocol shipping

One protocol, every connector.

Before MCP, every Drive integration, every Gmail integration, every database integration was bespoke code in each AI client. After MCP, the same connector works in Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Cursor, ChatGPT, and any other compliant client. Anthropic, Google, OpenAI, and the major IDE makers all speak it.

Plug something in.

1. Pick a server. Official ones live at github.com/modelcontextprotocol/servers — Drive, Gmail, GitHub, Slack, Postgres, Filesystem, Brave Search, Puppeteer, and dozens more.
2. Run claude mcp add and paste the install command from the server's README.
3. Restart Claude Code. The new tools show up in /help.
4. Use them in plain English: "search my Drive for the BBQ catering quote from last March" — Claude calls the Drive MCP server.

The starter pack.

Wrap your stack in MCP.

An MCP server is just a small program with a manifest describing the tools it offers. Python, Node, Go SDKs are official. If you have an internal API, wrapping it as MCP makes it instantly usable from any AI client your team uses.

1. Pick the SDK. Python or Node are quickest.
2. Define your tools — name, JSON schema for inputs, what they return. Same shape as Tool Use.
3. Wire each tool to the underlying call (HTTP, DB, library).
4. Run the server locally or as a managed process.
5. Register in Claude Code (or any other client) with claude mcp add.

Treat MCP servers like APIs.

• Authenticate. OAuth, API keys, or mTLS — not "no auth because it's local."
• Scope every tool to the minimum it needs (read-only Drive vs. read-write, single bucket vs. account).
• Audit-log all tool calls. Useful when something goes wrong; required in regulated environments.
• Don't expose servers on the public internet without a tunnel and auth.

Related products.

Every Anthropic surface has its own page on this guide.