MCP client

Definition

An MCP client is the component inside an AI application that connects to MCP servers and makes their tools available to the model.

Claude Desktop, Cursor, Windsurf and VS Code each ship an MCP client. The client handles the handshake, lists each server's tools, and routes the model's tool calls to the right server. You rarely interact with the client directly — but when 'tools aren't showing up', it's the client's view of the server you're debugging.