The Model Context Protocol (MCP) is an open standard that lets AI tools access external resources like files, databases, and APIs beyond their training data. It uses a client-server architecture where AI tools send requests through MCP and servers handle interactions with external systems. Encore has built an MCP server exposing database schemas, API endpoints, real-time traces, and infrastructure config to AI tools. Running `encore mcp start` makes your app accessible to MCP-compatible tools like Claude Desktop and Cursor. The post also covers security, language support, performance impact, and how MCP differs from GraphQL.
