Anthropic's Model Context Protocol (MCP) is an open standard designed to connect Large Language Models (LLMs) with external data sources and tools, offering a streamlined alternative to custom integrations that previously required extensive coding. Comparable to a "USB-C port for AI applications," MCP provides a standardized framework with a client-server architecture, allowing applications like Claude Desktop to interface with data sources such as databases and APIs. MCP's core capabilities include accessing resources, executing tool functions, and utilizing prompts, all while sitting atop function calling mechanisms to ensure secure and consistent execution across different systems. The protocol facilitates setups ranging from basic installations using pre-built servers to advanced custom client-server configurations, with support for popular platforms like Cloudflare Workers. MCP's growing ecosystem includes pre-built servers available from various sources and has recently expanded with OpenAI's announcement to incorporate MCP into its SDK, signaling broader adoption in the AI community. Debugging tools and best practices are provided to assist developers in troubleshooting, ensuring the secure and efficient operation of MCP-integrated systems.