MCP, A2A and Agent Skills: the standards that connect AI

What you'll see in this lesson

1. MCP: the USB-C of artificial intelligence

   MCP is an open standard for connecting an AI to your tools and data: one connector works with many apps.

2. Tools, resources and prompts

   An MCP server offers three kinds of pieces, and each is controlled by someone different: the model, the app or you.

3. Local and remote servers

   A local server runs on your computer and talks over stdio; a remote one lives on the internet and connects over HTTP with a URL.

4. Remote with OAuth: sign in without your password

   Protected remote servers use OAuth 2.1: you sign in on the service's website and the app receives a token with limited permissions.

5. MCP Apps: interactive interfaces in the chat

   With the MCP Apps extension, a tool can return a small interactive web page, like a chart, a form or a map.

6. A2A: when agents talk to each other

   A2A is an open protocol for agents from different companies and programs to hand each other tasks, without revealing how they work inside.

7. Agent Skills: package your know-how

   A skill is a folder with a SKILL.md file of instructions and, if needed, scripts, references and templates.

8. Progressive loading: only what's needed

   The agent doesn't read every skill in full: first only its name and description, and the rest only when it needs it.

9. Summary: the standards that connect AI

   MCP connects agents with tools, A2A connects agents with each other and Agent Skills package how to do each task.