MCP Academy · Lesson

MCP vs Function Calling

How MCP differs from raw model tool calls.

Two Ways to Give Models Tools

You already know models can call tools. So where does MCP fit? It is a standard way to ship those tools, not a replacement for the idea.

With function calling, you define each tool inline in your own API request to the model, and your code runs whatever the model picks.

tools = [{
  "name": "get_weather",
  "input_schema": {"type": "object"}
}]