Can someone explain the current state of the MCP specs? The short answer is version-dependent: the 2026-07-28 revision makes MCP stateless at the protocol-request layer, but it does not make an agent workflow or application stateless. A server can still preserve task data; the client must identify that data explicitly on each later request instead of relying on a protocol session or connection to remember it.
What “stateless” means in the 2026-07-28 MCP specification
The Model Context Protocol specification, revision 2026-07-28, says: “The Model Context Protocol (MCP) is a stateless protocol: all the information needed to process a request is contained in the request itself.” In practice, a server handles each request independently. It must not infer capabilities, protocol version, or client identity from an earlier request merely because it arrived on the same connection. Request-specific metadata belongs in the request, including its _meta fields. Read the 2026-07-28 specification.
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A connection is therefore not a conversation, an agent session, or a promise that related calls will reach the same process. Clients should be able to make related requests without reusing one connection or server process. Servers should be prepared to handle requests from multiple tasks, threads, or conversations. Even a long-lived subscription remains associated with the request that created it, not with an implicit stateful connection.
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The apparent contradiction often comes from comparing different revisions. Streamable HTTP in the 2025-11-25 specification supported optional protocol sessions. A server could assign a session ID during initialization, after which a client had to include that ID in subsequent HTTP requests. The 2026-07-28 revision removes that protocol-level initialization session from its new shape. The project announcement says the initialize/initialized exchange and Mcp-Session-Id header are retired. See the 2025-11-25 transport specification and the 2026-07-28 announcement.
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| Design question | Streamable HTTP, 2025-11-25 | Revision 2026-07-28 |
|---|---|---|
| Where continuity lives | Optional protocol session ID assigned at initialization; clients repeat it on later requests if issued. Source: 2025-11-25 specification | Explicit application identifiers are passed by the client with each call when continuity is needed. Source: 2026-07-28 specification |
| How server-to-client input is carried | Included an HTTP GET SSE stream, server-initiated messages, and event resumption. Source: 2025-11-25 specification | Multi Round-Trip Requests return an input-required result for the client to answer and retry. Source: 2026-07-28 announcement |
| How requests can be distributed | Session-associated requests could depend on the session arrangement of the implementation. | Requests can be routed independently; the announcement describes any request being handled by any server behind a round-robin load balancer. This is a deployment capability, not a quantified performance result. Source: 2026-07-28 announcement |
Do not assume every MCP client, server, or SDK changed behavior at the same instant. The 2026-07-28 announcement says the four Tier 1 SDKs—TypeScript, Python, Go, and C#—spoke the new revision as of that release. For an actual integration, verify the precise protocol revision and SDK versions in use. The announcement also describes a twelve-month minimum deprecation window; that is a migration-policy detail, not a guarantee that every older implementation behaves identically.
Why an agent still needs state
Statelessness applies to how the protocol interprets and routes requests. It does not erase a user’s goal, workflow progress, permissions, task output, or durable records. Those belong to the host/agent system or the application behind a tool. MCP connection identity never guaranteed conversational memory in the first place.
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For a workflow that spans calls, the application can store its durable state and expose a handle that points to the relevant task or record. The client or model then supplies that handle in every later tool call that needs the state. The server looks up the appropriate application data from the explicit identifier rather than guessing from a previous request. The specification requires long-running tasks and application handles that span requests to be referenced this way. See the statelessness requirements.
Example: continuing a multi-step task
- A tool starts a task and creates an application record, such as a report-generation job.
- The tool returns a handle identifying that job to the agent.
- When the agent checks progress or requests the result, it includes the handle in the new tool call.
- The server uses the handle to retrieve or update the relevant record, regardless of which server instance receives the request.
The handle is not the task itself; it is the explicit reference that lets a later request locate the application’s state. The application still needs to decide how long to retain that state, who may access it, and what happens when a handle expires. Those lifecycle and authorization choices are application responsibilities, not implied by the protocol’s statelessness.
How additional input and request routing work
When a tool needs an answer or confirmation
Multi Round-Trip Requests (MRTR) let a server ask for missing input without relying on the earlier server-initiated stream pattern. The server returns a result marked resultType: "input_required" with the requested input. The client supplies its answer and retries the original request with inputResponses. The project announcement describes this as the replacement pattern for earlier sampling, elicitation, and roots requests. See the announcement’s MRTR description.
When requests pass through gateways
The 2026-07-28 announcement says Streamable HTTP requests must include Mcp-Method and Mcp-Name. A gateway, rate limiter, or web application firewall can use those headers to route or meter requests without parsing the JSON body. The announcement also describes ttlMs and cacheScope hints on selected list and read responses so clients can choose caching behavior. These are protocol capabilities and design intentions; they do not establish a particular latency reduction, cost saving, or performance outcome.
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Migration checks for clients and servers
Before changing an MCP deployment, identify the exact protocol revisions each component supports. The 2026-07-28 draft transport page summarizes mechanisms in revisions 2025-03-26 through 2025-11-25 that are absent from the newer revision, including session identifiers, standalone GET streams, server-originated JSON-RPC requests on SSE, and resumable streams. Treat detailed compatibility decisions as revision-specific, not as properties shared by every system labeled MCP. Consult the 2026-07-28 transport page.
Do these 3 things before closing this tab:
1Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems2Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute3Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors- Confirm the protocol versions: check both client and server support for the revision you plan to use.
- Check SDK releases: verify the language, exact SDK version, and release notes rather than relying on a general statement about SDK availability.
- Find session assumptions: locate code that stores
Mcp-Session-Id, assumes connection affinity, or expects server-originated stream messages or resumption. - Define handle behavior: decide how application handles are created, passed on each relevant call, authorized, expired, and recovered if a task must resume.
- Review HTTP safeguards: the 2025-11-25 Streamable HTTP guidance required validation of incoming
Originheaders to prevent DNS rebinding, recommended binding local servers to127.0.0.1rather than all interfaces, and called for authentication. Statelessness is not a substitute for security controls; check the normative guidance for the target revision and deployment. See the dated 2025-11-25 security guidance.
The project announcement notes that implementations relying on protocol session IDs may face migration costs. Whether that applies depends on how the particular client and server use sessions, so inventory those dependencies before upgrading. Read the release announcement.
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