What is MCP? The Model Context Protocol explained simply

The problem that MCP solves

What is MCP? The abbreviation stands for Model Context Protocol, an open standard introduced by Anthropic that many programs now support. It governs how an AI assistant communicates with other services.

Without such a standard, an assistant only knows what is in its training data and what you type into the chat. It can explain how to change a QR code, but it cannot change it itself. MCP replaces many individual connections with a common interface, similar to USB for devices.

How MCP works

There are two sides. The MCP server belongs to a service and describes which tools it offers, such as "Create code", "Publish page", or "Read statistics". The MCP client is the assistant, for example ChatGPT or Claude. It reads the list of tools and decides during the conversation when to call one.

• You formulate a task in natural language.
• The assistant selects the server's appropriate tool.
• The server performs the action in your account and reports the result.
• The assistant summarizes the result for you.

For the server to know that the assistant is allowed to act on your behalf, authentication is required. Chat assistants like ChatGPT and Claude.ai usually use OAuth for this: you log in to the service in the browser and grant access. Coding agents often work with an API key that you store as an environment variable.

Which programs understand MCP

MCP is used by chat assistants such as ChatGPT and Claude.ai, and by coding agents such as Claude Code, Cursor, and Codex. Each manufacturer determines which features are enabled in which plan.

The Same-QR MCP server is located at https://sameqr.com/api/mcp and works with all five mentioned programs.

An example from everyday life

A restaurant owner wants to change the daily special on her menu but is not sitting at her laptop. Using Same-QR as a connector, she writes to her assistant: "Set the daily special to pumpkin soup and schnitzel with potato salad, and show me the menu before you publish it."

The assistant reads the page, changes the daily special, and shows the result. After her confirmation, the menu is online. The QR code on the tables remains the same because it only points to the address of the menu.

What you should keep in mind

• Only connect services you trust, and only for as long as you need them.
• Before changes that guests or customers will see, have the result shown and confirmed.
• Delete only on explicit instruction.
• Do not write passwords or keys into the chat. Login belongs in the service's window or in an environment variable.
• Review content with responsibility, such as prices and allergens, yourself.

Conclusion: why Same-QR

Same-QR is among the services that offer MCP fully: codes, statistics, menus, hosted pages, labels, and projects, in every plan and with the same checks as in the dashboard. This way, you can practically use the idea behind MCP from the first day, rather than just reading about it.

Get started right away: sign up for free at sameqr.com, two dynamic QR codes are free forever. API, CLI and MCP server are included in every plan, and the documentation is at sameqr.com/entwickler.

Frequently asked questions