Glossary
MCP (Model Context Protocol) Server
A lightweight program that exposes a specific tool, data source or service to AI models over the MCP protocol. Ethora ships its own MCP server so AI agents can integrate directly with the platform.
General definition
An MCP server is a lightweight program that exposes a specific tool, data source or service to AI models using the Model Context Protocol. It acts as an intermediary, making external systems accessible to AI through standardized communication.
MCP servers operate through three primary capabilities:
- Tools — actions the AI can perform, such as sending messages or querying a database
- Resources — data the AI can read, such as file contents or API responses
- Prompts — pre-written templates for common tasks
Communication is JSON-RPC over one of two transports: stdio for a server launched locally by the client, or Streamable HTTP for a remote server reached by URL. Remote servers identify the caller with an API key or an OAuth 2.1 token; the older Server-Sent Events transport is deprecated.
A remote MCP server can be added to Claude.ai or ChatGPT as a custom connector, to Claude Code with one command, and to Cursor or VS Code with a URL in a config file. Public directories such as the official MCP Registry list servers so clients and agents can find them.
The Ethora MCP server
Ethora runs a hosted MCP server at mcp.chat.ethora.com/mcp (Streamable HTTP) with 90 tools grouped by job: accounts and API keys, apps, rooms and messages, AI agents, RAG knowledge bases built from websites and documents, the website chat widget, bulk user provisioning and B2B orchestration. Every tool carries read-only or destructive flags so clients auto-approve reads and confirm deletions.
Three ways in: a personal connector URL for Claude.ai and ChatGPT, an API key sent as a Bearer header for Claude Code, Cursor and VS Code, or OAuth 2.1 with read, write and admin scopes for listed connectors. An autonomous agent with no account can register itself in the session and receive a revocable API key. The same server ships with the self-hosted Ethora deploy, so agent traffic can stay inside your own infrastructure. A local stdio version (npx -y @ethora/mcp-server) remains for development.
See the Ethora MCP server page for connection snippets and the tool reference for all 90 tools.
