---
term: "MCP resource"
category: "Agent protocols"
url: https://agenticopenfinance.com/glossary/mcp-resource
source: AgenticOpenFinance glossary
---

# MCP resource

> Context or data that an MCP server exposes, identified by a URI, for the user or the model to read.

In the Model Context Protocol, a resource is a piece of context or data that a server exposes to clients, such as a file, a database record or an account statement, each identified by a URI. Resources are for reading, while actions belong to tools, which keeps the distinction between looking and doing visible in the protocol. The host application decides which resources are passed to the model, which is where data minimisation is applied.

Related terms: [MCP server](https://agenticopenfinance.com/glossary/mcp-server.md), [Model Context Protocol (MCP)](https://agenticopenfinance.com/glossary/model-context-protocol.md), [Data minimisation](https://agenticopenfinance.com/glossary/data-minimisation.md), [Tool use](https://agenticopenfinance.com/glossary/tool-use.md)