So far, we’ve seen:

The model decides what to do

The MCP server executes it

But something is missing.

Who actually connects these two?

That’s the MCP client.

🧠 Simple Definition

The MCP client is:

The component that connects the model and the MCP server, and manages the entire interaction between them.

⚠️ Common Misunderstanding

It’s easy to think:

“The model calls the server directly”

But that’s not what happens.

👉 The model only generates instructions (as text)

👉 The MCP client reads those instructions and acts on them

🧩 What the MCP Client Actually Does

It has three core responsibilities:

1. Provide Context to the Model

Before the model can decide anything, it needs to know:

what tools are available

what they do

The client fetches this from the server and sends it to the model.

2.…