Bringing MCP 2026-07-28 to Claude
02:00 · July 28, 2026 · Claude Blog

Summary
Anthropic has issued the fifth release of the Model Context Protocol, designated MCP 2026-07-28, with support now appearing across its Claude products. The specification shifts the protocol from a bidirectional, stateful design to a request/response model. Servers can therefore run on serverless platforms and edge environments, removing the need to maintain persistent connections and simplifying both initial deployment and later scaling as usage grows.
A versioned extensions framework now incorporates MCP Apps and Tasks as official capabilities. Developers can add interactive user interfaces or support for long-running operations while keeping changes outside the core protocol. At the same time, authorization has been aligned with established OAuth 2.0 and OpenID Connect practices, allowing MCP servers to integrate directly with enterprise identity providers such as Microsoft Entra ID and Okta.
The update arrives as MCP exceeds 400 million monthly SDK downloads, a fourfold rise over the past year, and positions the protocol as the prevailing standard for linking AI agents to external applications. Ecosystem partners have tested the changes in beta and are preparing compatible implementations alongside the broader MCP community.
Why it matters
This update is highly relevant for product teams and builders as it fundamentally changes how MCP servers are deployed and secured. The shift to a stateless architecture and enterprise-grade authorization directly supports scalable, compliant AI agent integrations crucial for Dutch enterprises.






