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What is MCP?

The Model Context Protocol (MCP) is an open protocol created and maintained by Anthropic - MCP github organization

MCP defines how AI agents (like Dexto agents) can discover, connect to, and interact with external tools, services, and APIs in a standardized way.

Why MCP Matters​

  • Interoperability: MCP provides a common language for agents and tools, making it easy to connect new services without custom integration code for each one.
  • Extensibility: Anyone can build and share MCP-compatible tools, expanding what agents can do.
  • Modularity: Tools are decoupled from the agent's core logic, so you can add, remove, or swap tools as needed.

How Dexto Agents Use MCP​

Dexto agents use MCP to:

  • Discover available tools: MCP servers advertise what actions they support (e.g., read a file, send an email, browse the web).
  • Connect to tools: Dexto agents communicate with MCP servers using a standard protocol (often over stdio, HTTP, or sockets).
  • Invoke tool actions: When you give a command, Dexto selects the right tool(s) via MCP and orchestrates their use to fulfill your request.
  • Read server resources: Dexto agents can read resources from the server, like files, databases, etc., and use that to reason about what to do next.

Example: Registering a Tool via MCP​

Suppose you want to add a filesystem tool. In your Dexto agent configuration file, you might specify:

mcpServers:
  filesystem:
    type: stdio
    command: npx
    args:
      - -y
      - "@modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem"
      - .
    connectionMode: strict  # Ensure this tool is always available

This tells your Dexto agent to connect to the filesystem MCP server, which then advertises its capabilities to the agent.

Learn More​

MCP is a key part of what makes Dexto flexible, extensible, and able to automate across a wide range of tools and services.

Next steps​