Lesson 18 / 25

MCP in Workflows

Connect an agent to external systems through the Model Context Protocol and manage the risks.

A standard plug

The Model Context Protocol (MCP) is an open standard that lets an agent connect to tools and data through MCP servers: for example a database, an issue tracker or a browser. You write or install a server once and any MCP-capable client can use it.

Registering a server

Claude Code can add a server from the command line. Prefer read-only servers or scoped credentials for data sources.

claude mcp add --transport http issues https://mcp.example.com/mcp
claude mcp list

Only install servers you trust

An MCP server can run code and its tool results go into the model's context. A malicious or compromised server can return instructions hidden in data. Review servers as you would any dependency.

Quick check: What does MCP standardise?

  • How agents connect to external tools and data
  • How to format Python code
  • How to price API calls
  • How to train models
Answer

How agents connect to external tools and data — It is a common interface so one server works with many clients.