Operational Use Cases

Representative use cases

Use case	Typical primitives	Example
Developer tooling	Tools + resources	IDE assistant queries a GitHub server for issues, opens PRs
Enterprise knowledge access	Resources + tools	Assistant searches internal wikis, drives, and ticket systems
Database interaction	Tools + resources	Natural-language queries against Postgres via a DB server; schema exposed as resources
Workflow automation	Tools	Agent files tickets, sends messages, updates CRM records
Desktop/file assistance	Tools + roots Roots deprecated	Local filesystem server; directory scope now passed via tool parameters or server config
Web interaction	Tools	Fetch/browser servers retrieve and act on web content
Multi-agent systems	Tools + sampling Sampling deprecated	Orchestrator exposes agents as tools; new designs call LLM provider APIs directly

Caution

In the current spec revision (2026-07-28), Roots and Sampling are deprecated. Migration guidance: pass directories/files via tool parameters, resource URIs, or server configuration instead of roots; integrate directly with LLM provider APIs instead of sampling. Exams targeting earlier revisions (2025-06-18 / 2025-11-25) may still treat both as active client features.

Matching primitives to needs

• Need the model to act? → Tool (model-controlled)
• Need to feed data as context? → Resource (application-driven)
• Need a user-triggered workflow? → Prompt (user-controlled)
• Server needs user input mid-task? → Elicitation
• Server needs LLM reasoning? → Sampling (deprecated in 2026-07-28; prefer direct LLM APIs)
• Need to communicate file scope? → Roots (deprecated in 2026-07-28; prefer tool params or config — and note roots were always informational, not access control)

Deployment patterns

flowchart LR
H[Host application] --> C1[Client] --> L[Local stdio server subprocess]
H --> C2[Client] --> R[Remote Streamable HTTP server, OAuth 2.1]
L --> FS[(Local files / dev tools)]
R --> API[(SaaS / enterprise APIs)]

Deployment patterns

• Local-first: stdio servers launched as subprocesses on the user’s machine (dev tools, filesystem)
• Remote/shared: Streamable HTTP servers, typically behind OAuth 2.1 (SaaS integrations, enterprise APIs)
• Hybrid: one host mixing local and remote servers, each with its own trust level

Tip

Local vs remote choice follows from data locality, the credential model (environment credentials for stdio vs OAuth for HTTP), and scale/sharing needs. The exam tests mapping a scenario to the correct primitive — know the table above.

Check your knowledge

📝 Check your knowledge

1. An assistant needs to search internal wikis and pull documents into context. Which primitives fit best?

APrompts + elicitationBResources + toolsCRoots + samplingDElicitation only

2. A user wants to trigger a standardized code-review workflow from a slash command. Which primitive?

AToolBResourceCPromptDElicitation

3. Under the 2026-07-28 revision, how should a new server design scope filesystem access instead of using roots?

AUse resources/subscribe on each directoryBPass directories via tool parameters, resource URIs, or server configurationCRequest roots/list on every callDUse sampling to ask the model which files are allowed

4. When is Streamable HTTP the better transport choice over stdio?

AWhen the server is a local subprocess accessing the user's filesBWhen the server is a shared remote service used by many clients, typically behind OAuthCWhenever tools return large resultsDOnly when the server needs to write logs to stderr

5. A server mid-task needs a piece of structured information from the user. Which primitive?

ASamplingBPromptCElicitationDResource template