EXHIBIT 08 / AGENT SYSTEMS
What does MCP standardize—and what does it leave undecided?
MCP standardizes messages between an LLM application and services that provide context or capabilities. It defines how participants identify supported protocol versions and capabilities; it does not decide the application’s goal or make every offered operation safe.
THE SHORT ANSWERA shared protocol for connections—not an agent or a permission system.
6–9 MIN · MANUAL CONTROLS · NO ACCOUNTKeep the participants and primitives separate.
- 01 / HOSTThe application sets the boundary
The host coordinates one or more clients, manages user authorization decisions, and controls how context reaches its model-facing experience.
- 02 / CLIENTA connector holds one session
A client inside the host communicates with a particular server and speaks the negotiated protocol.
- 03 / SERVERA service exposes capabilities
A server may expose tools, resources, or prompts. Advertising a capability does not prove that it is trustworthy.
- 04 / MESSAGEJSON-RPC carries the exchange
Requests, responses, and notifications use a defined message format, with lifecycle and capability negotiation around the session.
MCP specifies interoperability. The official security principles still require implementers to build consent, authorization, access control, and clear review interfaces; protocol compatibility alone is not permission.
Trace a tool call through the protocol boundary.
The names and payload are a compact teaching example. The roles and lifecycle follow the official specification; this page does not connect to an MCP server.
HOST + CLIENT
Initialize the connection
The client and server agree on a protocol version and disclose supported capabilities before ordinary operations proceed.
Negotiated version and capabilities become session facts.
Keyboard: focus the trace and use ← or →. Nothing advances automatically.
Build the minimum path to a permitted tool request.
Switch the lifecycle, capability, and approval facts. Your browser reports whether this teaching client may send the call.
SCENARIORequested operation: weather.lookup({ city: “Lagos” }) from a connected server.
DECISION / 2 OF 3 GATES ON
The action must not proceed.
Stop: ordinary calls do not have a negotiated session basis.
The lab deliberately omits authentication tokens, transport details, schema validation, cancellation, errors, logging, and server trust evaluation.
Read protocol facts at protocol scope.
A standardization goal
Anthropic’s 2024 announcement presented MCP as a way to standardize connections between AI assistants and systems where data lives.
Roles, messages, and capabilities
The official specification defines host/client/server roles, JSON-RPC messages, lifecycle negotiation, and capabilities including tools, resources, and prompts.
Safety or good judgment
The protocol cannot by itself establish server trust, choose the right tool, grant user consent, validate truth, or make an agent complete a task.
OFFICIAL & PRIMARY SOURCES