Anthropic says it is rolling out support for the MCP 2026-07-28 specification across Claude products, introducing a stateless request-response core, versioned extensions and updated authorization support.
Anthropic says it is rolling out support for the Model Context Protocol’s 2026-07-28 specification across Claude products. The company describes the release as the fifth MCP specification update and says it changes the protocol’s core communication model, formalizes extensions and strengthens enterprise-oriented authorization.
MCP is an open protocol intended to connect AI applications with external tools, data sources and services. Anthropic said MCP SDKs had surpassed 400 million monthly downloads, representing a fourfold increase during the year. That figure was reported by Anthropic and was not independently verified in the provided materials.
The central change is a move from a bidirectional, stateful protocol design to a stateless request-response model. According to Anthropic, this allows MCP servers to run more readily on serverless and edge infrastructure, which can reduce the operational complexity of deploying and scaling servers.
The Model Context Protocol’s official release announcement similarly says the specification replaces the stateful model with stateless request-response communication. It also removes the handshake and session header previously used to establish state.
SEP-2575, the accepted Model Context Protocol standards proposal titled “Make MCP Stateless,” documents the shift toward a stateless-first design. The proposal describes removing the initialization handshake that had established connection state, aligning the protocol more closely with infrastructure that handles independent requests rather than persistent sessions.
The practical implication is that MCP server operators may be able to use infrastructure patterns common to web APIs and edge services. However, the sources do not quantify performance gains, cost reductions or compatibility outcomes for specific deployments.
The 2026-07-28 release also introduces a versioned extensions framework. Anthropic said MCP Apps and Tasks are being shipped under that framework, giving developers a defined mechanism for adding capabilities without changing MCP’s core protocol.
Anthropic characterizes MCP Apps as a route for interactive user interfaces and Tasks as support for longer-running work. Moving these capabilities into a versioned extension system is intended to separate optional functionality from the base protocol while establishing a formal way to evolve it.
Anthropic also highlighted changes to authorization. The company said the specification aligns authorization with production OAuth 2.0 and OpenID Connect deployments, including enterprise identity systems such as Microsoft Entra and Okta.
OAuth 2.0 and OpenID Connect are widely used standards for delegated access and identity. For MCP server developers, closer alignment could reduce the need for custom identity integrations when connecting tools to organizations’ existing access-management systems. The supplied sources do not provide implementation details or a migration timetable for existing MCP servers.
For developers building integrations around Claude, the update signals that Anthropic is adopting the stateless MCP model while supporting the newly standardized extensions and authorization approach. The company said support is being rolled out across its Claude products, but the provided announcement does not specify which products receive support first or whether all prior server implementations require changes.
The release places MCP’s transport, extension and identity mechanisms on a more explicitly modular footing. Developers should consult the 2026-07-28 specification and SEP-2575 before updating deployments, particularly where servers rely on session behavior or initialization flows from earlier versions.
Anthropic updates Claude for the latest MCP release Anthropic says it is rolling out support for the Model Context Protocol’s 2026 07 28 specification across Claude products.
The company describes the release as the fifth MCP specification update and says it changes the protocol’s core communication model, formalizes extensions and strengthens enterprise oriented authorization.
MCP is an open protocol intended to connect AI applications with external tools, data sources and services.
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