---
title: "MCP server: definition and example | Agent MCP Directory"
description: "MCP server: A program that exposes tools, resources or prompts to MCP clients over stdio or Streamable HTTP. Defined with a sourced example."
canonical: https://agentmcpdirectory.com/glossary/mcp-server
site: "Agent MCP Directory"
last_updated: 2026-11-04
section: "Glossary"
---

# MCP server: definition and example | Agent MCP Directory

> MCP server: A program that exposes tools, resources or prompts to MCP clients over stdio or Streamable HTTP. Defined with a sourced example.

Source: https://agentmcpdirectory.com/glossary/mcp-server
Site: Agent MCP Directory
Last reviewed: 2026-11-04

# MCP server

MCP server: A program that exposes tools, resources or prompts to MCP clients over stdio or Streamable HTTP. Example: Stripe runs its MCP server at https://mcp.stripe.com. Next in the glossary is MCP server portal: Cloudflare's product that puts many MCP servers behind one authenticated endpoint with per-tool controls.

## Definition

A program that exposes tools, resources or prompts to MCP clients over stdio or Streamable HTTP.

## Example, with source

Stripe runs its MCP server at https://mcp.stripe.com. ([docs.stripe.com](https://docs.stripe.com/mcp), read 4 November 2026)

## Where it appears on this site

-   [MCP](https://agentmcpdirectory.com/standards/mcp/)
-   [Tool descriptions and agent success](https://agentmcpdirectory.com/guides/tool-descriptions-and-agent-success/)
-   [Building a remote MCP server](https://agentmcpdirectory.com/guides/build-remote-mcp-server-cloudflare-vercel/)

## Neighbouring terms

-   [MCP registry](https://agentmcpdirectory.com/glossary/mcp-registry/): A catalog of MCP server metadata that clients and directories read; the official one is registry.modelcontextprotocol.io.
-   [MCP server portal](https://agentmcpdirectory.com/glossary/mcp-server-portal/): Cloudflare's product that puts many MCP servers behind one authenticated endpoint with per-tool controls.
-   [mcp-publisher](https://agentmcpdirectory.com/glossary/mcp-publisher/): The CLI that publishes a server.json to the official registry after namespace verification.

Edition

4 November 2026

Method

[How rows are verified](https://agentmcpdirectory.com/method/)

Data

[CSV and JSON](https://agentmcpdirectory.com/data/)

Markdown

[This page as markdown](https://agentmcpdirectory.com/glossary/mcp-server/index.md)

## Sources

-   [Source for the MCP server example](https://docs.stripe.com/mcp), read 4 November 2026

Last reviewed 4 November 2026