MCP Resources
Resources are pieces of context an MCP server shares, such as files or database schemas, each named by a URI. The client lists them and reads the ones the application or user decides to use.
Client support
| Client | List and read a resource | Tested |
|---|---|---|
| Claude Code v2.1.296 | Supported |
Required or optional?
Optional for servers: the spec only requires a server that offers this feature to declare the capability. Neither revision says whether a client must support it.
What the 2026-07-28 spec says
Resources allow servers to share data that provides context to language models, such as files, database schemas, or application-specific information. Each resource is uniquely identified by a URI. [source]
Resources in MCP are designed to be application-driven
[source]
Servers that support resources MUST declare the resources capability
[source]
Clients subscribe to change notifications for specific resources by sending a subscriptions/listen request with the resource URIs listed in notifications.resourceSubscriptions.
[source]
A missing resource now returns error -32602 (Invalid Params); clients should still accept the older -32002. [source]
What the 2025-11-25 spec says
Resources allow servers to share data that provides context to language models, such as files, database schemas, or application-specific information. Each resource is uniquely identified by a URI. [source]
Resources in MCP are designed to be application-driven
[source]
Servers that support resources MUST declare the resources capability
[source]
Clients can subscribe to specific resources and receive notifications when they change
[source]
Protocol methods
resources/listresources/readresources/templates/list