One common misconception about MCP

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MCP is used to connect AI agents to tools.

Not only that.

Tools are just one of the three core primitives an MCP server can expose.

These three components are:

Resources – data/context that the AI application can access

For example, an email, a file, a database record, or documentation.

Prompts – reusable prompt templates for specific interactions.

For example, a predefined “review this pull request”; prompt.

Tools – functions that the AI application can execute.

For example, send an email, create a Jira ticket, or book a flight ticket.

So a better mental model is:

Resources ->Read

Prompts -> Guide

Tools -> Do

This distinction matters because when you think of MCP only as a way to connect tools, you miss a significant part of what the protocol actually provides.

Now, the question for you is

Why not just put the prompt in the agent’s system prompt? Why access it through MCP?

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