What is an MCP server?
An MCP server is a program that exposes tools, data, and prompts to an AI client over the Model Context Protocol (MCP), an open standard. Once connected, your AI client can call the server's tools to take real actions on your behalf.
The short answer
The Model Context Protocol (MCP) is an open standard for how AI clients talk to external tools and data. An MCP server is any program that implements it: it advertises a set of tools (and optionally data resources and prompts), and an MCP-capable client — Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, or Cursor — connects to it and calls those tools during a conversation. Because the protocol is standard, one server works across every client that speaks MCP.
Browse remote MCP servers in the MCP server marketplace, or see the full catalogue on the Browse page.
MCP vs plugin vs API
A raw API and a single-vendor plugin both solve part of the problem; an MCP server is the standardized bridge that makes a capability usable by any AI client.
| MCP server | Vendor plugin | Raw API | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open standard | Yes | No (per-vendor) | No standard AI shape |
| Works across clients | Any MCP client (Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, Cursor) | Usually one platform | Requires custom glue per client |
| AI-discoverable tools | Yes — the client lists them | Platform-specific | No — you wire each call |
| How the AI calls it | Standard tool calls over MCP | Platform plugin runtime | Hand-written integration code |
How MCP servers work with Claude, ChatGPT, and Cursor
You connect an MCP server the same way in any client — the two shapes are:
- Hosted (remote). The server runs somewhere else and connects over a URL. Add the URL as a remote MCP connector, sign in once if prompted, and its tools appear in your client — nothing to install, and it works from web and mobile clients too.
- Local (stdio). The server ships a command you run on your own machine. Point your client at that command; everything — including credentials — stays on your device.
On FindAgent, a served agent connects at its hosted gateway URL (like https://mcp.findagent.cloud/agents/<slug>); see the Connect guide for step-by-step client setup.
Frequently asked
- What is an MCP server? An MCP server is a program that exposes tools, data, and prompts to an AI client over the Model Context Protocol (MCP), an open standard. Once connected, the AI client can call the server’s tools to take real actions — read data, run a report, or update a system — on your behalf.
- How is an MCP server different from a plugin or an API? An MCP server speaks one open protocol that any MCP-capable AI client understands, so a single server works across Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, and Cursor. A plugin is usually tied to one vendor’s platform, and a raw API has no standard shape for an AI client to discover or call — the MCP server is the standardized bridge that makes an API usable by an AI agent.
- How do MCP servers work with Claude, ChatGPT, and Cursor? You add the MCP server as a connector in your client: paste its URL for a hosted server, or point the client at a local command for a stdio server. The client then discovers the server’s tools and lets the model call them during a conversation.
- Where can I find MCP servers? FindAgent runs an MCP server marketplace — a directory of remote and local MCP servers you can browse, compare, and connect, each listed with its connection URL.