Curated · Model Context Protocol
Top 100 Model Context Protocol Interview Questions
Here are the top 100 AI interview questions on Model Context Protocol, sorted by community quality. Each entry links to a detailed answer with explanations, hints, and source-grade follow-ups. See all in this topic →
Sorted by community quality · refreshed as new questions are published.
- 01What is the Model Context Protocol (MCP) and what problem does it solve?Multiple ChoiceEasy·Qual 4.6
- 02What distinguishes an AI agent from a plain LLM call?Multiple ChoiceEasy·Qual 4.5
- 03How does MCP differ from OpenAI-style function calling?FlashcardMedium·Qual 4.5
- 04Your MCP tool just failed. How does the server tell the model what went wrong?FlashcardEasy·Qual 4.0
- 05An MCP tools/call result comes back. Which content types could it contain?Multiple ChoiceEasy·Qual 4.0
- 06A local stdio MCP server has no auth token. Is that a security hole?FlashcardEasy·Qual 4.0
- 07Your MCP server builds but the host can't see its tools. What's the first debugging move?FlashcardEasy·Qual 4.0
- 08Someone asks you what MCP is at a meetup. How do you explain it?FlashcardEasy·Qual 4.0
- 09You need to add an MCP server to Claude Desktop. Which file do you edit and what goes in it?FlashcardEasy·Qual 4.0Cursor
- 10The filesystem MCP server gives agents file access. How does it stop them from reading everything on disk?FlashcardEasy·Qual 4.0
- 11Where does the MCP client live, and why is it one to one with a server?FlashcardEasy·Qual 4.0
- 12Your teammate says they built an 'MCP server'. What did they actually build?FlashcardEasy·Qual 4.0
- 13In MCP, how is a notification different from a request?FlashcardEasy·Qual 4.0
- 14You want to build an MCP server in Python. What do you install and what does the API look like?FlashcardEasy·Qual 4.0
- 15What happens during the MCP initialize handshake, and why does it matter?FlashcardEasy·Qual 4.0
- 16Where do you configure MCP servers in Zed, and where do their tools appear?FlashcardEasy·Qual 4.0Cursor
- 17GitHub ships an official MCP server. What can it do, and how does it authenticate?FlashcardEasy·Qual 4.0
- 18Walk me through what tools/list returns and when the host calls it.FlashcardEasy·Qual 4.0
- 19You want to build an MCP server in TypeScript. What package do you use and how does it handle schemas?FlashcardEasy·Qual 4.0
- 20Why does MCP have a 'prompt' primitive separate from tools and resources?FlashcardEasy·Qual 4.0
- 21Which MCP transports are in active use in 2026, and when do you pick each?Multiple ChoiceEasy·Qual 4.0
- 22Is MCP an Anthropic-only technology?FlashcardEasy·Qual 4.0
- 23Your colleague says MCP and function calling do the same thing. Where are they wrong?Multiple ChoiceEasy·Qual 4.0
- 24What integration problem does MCP solve?FlashcardEasy·Qual 4.0
- 25How is an MCP host different from an MCP client?FlashcardEasy·Qual 4.0
- 26In MCP, what exactly is a 'tool' and who decides when to call it?FlashcardEasy·Qual 4.0
- 27What is the primary distinction between MCP and Google's A2A protocol?Multiple ChoiceEasy·Qual 4.0
- 28You need to find an MCP server for Slack. Where do you look in 2026?Multiple ChoiceEasy·Qual 4.0
- 29MCP has tools, resources, and prompts. What makes a resource different from a tool?FlashcardEasy·Qual 4.0
- 30Why did MCP pick JSON-RPC 2.0 as its wire format instead of REST or gRPC?FlashcardEasy·Qual 4.0
- 31How does Cursor discover and load MCP servers?FlashcardEasy·Qual 4.0Cursor
- 32What is the MCP host approval model and at what granularity should consent be obtained?Short AnswerMedium·Qual 4.0Cursor
- 33What is the correct client behavior when a server's capabilities object omits a feature the client needs?Multiple ChoiceMedium·Qual 4.0
- 34What is the key difference between `resources/read` and `resources/subscribe` in MCP?Multiple ChoiceMedium·Qual 4.0
- 35Which of the following are categories in the community-maintained OWASP MCP / Agentic AI risk taxonomy (2025)?Multi-selectMedium·Qual 4.0
- 36What UX patterns help users make informed MCP approval decisions without approval fatigue?Short AnswerMedium·Qual 4.0Cursor
- 37Who is responsible for resolving tool name collisions in a multi-server MCP setup?Multiple ChoiceMedium·Qual 4.0Cursor
- 38Which of the following are established MCP client implementations?Multi-selectMedium·Qual 4.0Cursor
- 39Explain the M×N integration problem that MCP solves and why the framing mattersShort AnswerMedium·Qual 4.0
- 40In an MCP tool poisoning attack, which field of the tool definition is the primary attack vector and why?Multiple ChoiceMedium·Qual 4.0
- 41Spot the error in this Claude Desktop MCP server configurationSpot the ErrorMedium·Qual 4.0Cursor
- 42What does MCP add beyond JSON-RPC 2.0 that makes it more than 'just RPC'?Multiple ChoiceMedium·Qual 4.0
- 43What does the Model Context Protocol (MCP) uniquely enable that provider-native function calling does not?Multiple ChoiceMedium·Qual 4.0Anthropic
- 44Complete the key fields in a tools/list tool object and a tools/call requestFill in BlankMedium·Qual 4.0
- 45When should a production MCP client NOT retry a failed tools/call?Multiple ChoiceMedium·Qual 4.0
- 46Explain how MCP differs from RAG and when to choose each approachShort AnswerMedium·Qual 4.0
- 47When should you choose stdio transport for an MCP server, and when is it the wrong choice?Short AnswerMedium·Qual 4.0
- 48Put the MCP tool discovery and invocation steps in the correct orderOrder StepsMedium·Qual 4.0
- 49How do URI templates work in MCP Resources, and how do subscriptions differ from a one-shot read?Short AnswerMedium·Qual 4.0
- 50Which statement correctly describes the relationship between MCP and vendor function calling?Multiple ChoiceMedium·Qual 4.0
- 51What problem does A2A solve that MCP does not, and how do they work together?Short AnswerMedium·Qual 4.0
- 52Why did the MCP spec mark OAuth 2.1 authorization as optional, and what risk does this create?Multiple ChoiceMedium·Qual 4.0
- 53How does a host handle tool name collisions when connected to multiple MCP servers?Short AnswerMedium·Qual 4.0Cursor
- 54How does MCP differ from RAG, and when would you choose one over the other?Multiple ChoiceMedium·Qual 4.0
- 55What does the MCP OAuth 2.1 authorization layer protect and why is it marked optional?Short AnswerMedium·Qual 4.0
- 56Why does MCP separate Tools and Resources rather than using one unified read/write primitive?Multiple ChoiceMedium·Qual 4.0
- 57Which organization governs MCP, A2A, and ACP as of 2026?Multiple ChoiceMedium·Qual 4.0
- 58What should an MCP client do when no mutually supported protocol version can be found?Multiple ChoiceMedium·Qual 4.0
- 59What does the scale of the MCP server ecosystem in 2026 indicate about protocol adoption?Short AnswerMedium·Qual 4.0
- 60Compare the three MCP transports and identify the correct choice for each deployment scenarioShort AnswerMedium·Qual 4.0
- 61Complete the Claude Desktop MCP server configuration fieldsFill in BlankMedium·Qual 4.0Cursor
- 62Match each tool-invocation mechanism to its defining characteristicMatch PairsMedium·Qual 4.0OpenAI
- 63Put the key MCP milestones in chronological orderOrder StepsMedium·Qual 4.0
- 64What is tool poisoning in MCP?FlashcardMedium·Qual 4.0
- 65Describe how Streamable HTTP works as an MCP transport and when to choose itShort AnswerMedium·Qual 4.0
- 66What does a minimal MCP server require and how do official SDKs simplify it?Short AnswerMedium·Qual 4.0
- 67Which statements correctly describe the MCP primitive types?Multi-selectMedium·Qual 4.0
- 68Which approval UX pattern best reduces approval fatigue while preserving meaningful consent?Multiple ChoiceMedium·Qual 4.0Cursor
- 69At which architectural layer does MCP sit versus vendor function calling?FlashcardMedium·Qual 4.0
- 70Why does the MCP spec not protect against rug pull attacks?Multiple ChoiceMedium·Qual 4.0
- 71How should a production MCP host handle a tool call that exceeds the latency budget?Short AnswerMedium·Qual 4.0
- 72Spot the bug revealed by JSON-RPC tracing in this MCP exchangeSpot the ErrorMedium·Qual 4.0
- 73What does a rising approval-rejection ratio signal in a production MCP integration?Multiple ChoiceMedium·Qual 4.0
- 74How does Streamable HTTP work as an MCP transport and when should you choose it over stdio?Multiple ChoiceMedium·Qual 4.0
- 75How does the MCP Prompts primitive differ from the Tools primitive in terms of who controls invocation?Multiple ChoiceMedium·Qual 4.0
- 76What is a common bug that JSON-RPC tracing reveals in MCP server implementations?Multiple ChoiceMedium·Qual 4.0
- 77MCP uses JSON-RPC 2.0: what does it add beyond raw RPC?Short AnswerMedium·Qual 4.0
- 78How would you use mcp-inspector to debug a tools/call that returns unexpected output?Short AnswerMedium·Qual 4.0
- 79What is the main scaling tradeoff introduced by stateful MCP sessions?Multiple ChoiceMedium·Qual 4.0
- 80Put the MCP connection lifecycle steps in the correct orderOrder StepsMedium·Qual 4.0
- 81What failure mode occurs when two MCP servers expose the same tool name, and how should a host defend against it?Short AnswerMedium·Qual 4.0Cursor
- 82Which criteria indicate a high-quality MCP server tool definition?Multi-selectMedium·Qual 4.0
- 83Match each MCP transport to its defining characteristic and correct deployment scenarioMatch PairsMedium·Qual 4.0
- 84What problem does A2A solve that MCP does not?FlashcardMedium·Qual 4.0
- 85What problem does MCP solve that function-calling alone does not?Short AnswerMedium·Qual 4.0Anthropic
- 86Complete the JSON-RPC 2.0 request structure used by MCPFill in BlankMedium·Qual 4.0
- 87Why was the HTTP+SSE transport deprecated as an MCP transport in 2025?Multiple ChoiceMedium·Qual 4.0
- 88Does MCP sandbox its servers at the protocol level?FlashcardMedium·Qual 4.0
- 89Which MCP architectural role is responsible for enforcing user consent policies and orchestrating the AI workflow?Multiple ChoiceMedium·Qual 4.0
- 90Which practices represent good host-side approval UX for MCP tool calls?Multi-selectMedium·Qual 4.0Cursor
- 91Why are MCP Tools and Resources distinct primitives rather than one read or write abstraction?Short AnswerMedium·Qual 4.0
- 92What is the correct approach when an MCP tool call exceeds its per-tool timeout?Multiple ChoiceMedium·Qual 4.0
- 93What is ACP and how does it position relative to MCP and A2A in the 2026 agent protocol landscape?Short AnswerHard·Qual 4.0
- 94How can a malicious MCP server inject instructions into the LLM via tool output?Short AnswerHard·Qual 4.0
- 95What metrics would you instrument to evaluate the health of a production MCP integration?Short AnswerHard·Qual 4.0
- 96Spot the error in how this MCP server reports a tool failureSpot the ErrorHard·Qual 4.0
- 97Spot the OAuth misconfiguration in this MCP server implementationSpot the ErrorHard·Qual 4.0
- 98How can a malicious MCP server shadow a trusted server's tools in a multi-server setup?Short AnswerHard·Qual 4.0
- 99Which of the following are items on the MCP 2026 roadmap?Multi-selectHard·Qual 4.0
- 100What are the major production pain points the MCP 2026 roadmap addresses?Short AnswerHard·Qual 4.0
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