# MCP overview
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MCP (Model Context Protocol) is an open protocol that standardizes how AI assistants communicate with external tools. It defines a structured way for AI models to discover available tools, request tool execution with specific parameters, and receive and process tool results.

Think of MCP like a universal connector for AI models, enabling them to interact with external systems, fetch live data, and integrate with various tools seamlessly. This allows Amazon Q to provide more contextually relevant assistance by accessing the information it needs in real-time.

![\[MCP architecture showing how Amazon Q Developer CLI connects to external data sources through MCP servers\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/amazonq/latest/qdeveloper-ug/images/mcp-response-diagram.png)