What is MCP?
Updated July 7, 2026
A short explanation of Model Context Protocol and why AIOS uses it.
Model Context Protocol (MCP) is an open standard for connecting AI applications to tools and data sources.
Instead of copying data into a chat window, an MCP client (like Cursor or Claude Desktop) calls tools exposed by your local AIOS server: search mail, query connected databases, deploy files to remote hosts, and more.
Why a local server
AIOS Desktop keeps the MCP server on your machine so:
- Credentials are not sent through a third party cloud
- Tools can reach private systems (VPN, localhost, internal APIs)
- Responses can be cached to reduce token usage