stdio Transport

MCP

Definition

An MCP transport mechanism where the client launches the server as a subprocess and communicates via stdin/stdout pipes. Ideal for local development and trusted single-user environments. Simple to set up but limited to same-machine deployment.

Example Usage

Configure a local database MCP server using stdio transport in .mcp.json for development environments.

Related Concepts

MCP Server Configuration & Scoping

Tool Design & MCP

Use project-scoped .mcp.json for team tools, user-scoped ~/.claude.json for personal tools

Related Terms

StreamableHTTP Transport MCP Server

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