MCP glossary for buyers
Understand clients, servers, tools, resources, transports and package registries.
Updated
Use these terms when reading a listing or asking for support. They describe different parts of the connection.
| Term | Meaning for a buyer | | --- | --- | | MCP client | The component that connects to a server inside an application | | MCP server | A program that exposes capabilities through MCP | | Tool | An operation the client can ask a server to run | | Resource | Content that a server can expose for context | | Prompt | A reusable interaction template exposed by a server | | Transport | The mechanism that carries protocol messages | | stdio | A transport using a local process's standard input and output | | Streamable HTTP | An HTTP transport used for remote connections | | Package registry | A place that distributes installable software artifacts | | Registry name | The name of a metadata entry, not a safety certificate | | Scope | A permission boundary requested or granted by an authorization system | | Token audience | The intended recipient of an access token |