MCP spec 2026-07-28 (stateless core)
MCP's fifth spec release moves the protocol to a stateless request/response core, hardens authorization and graduates MCP Apps and Tasks as official extensions.
Servers can now run on serverless and edge infrastructure instead of holding bidirectional state. Extensions have a versioned framework. Anthropic says MCP SDKs passed 400M monthly downloads, 4x growth in a year, up from 100M in January 2026.
- Date
- Tuesday, 28 July 2026
- Lab
- Anthropic
- Kind
- infra
- Access
- open standard
Figures
| Measure | Value | Measured by |
|---|---|---|
| MCP SDK monthly downloads | 400M 4x increase this year; 100M cited in Jan 2026 | company |
MCP is governed by the Agentic AI Foundation since 2025-12-09; this post is Anthropic's account of the spec and its Claude rollout. Download counts are Anthropic's.
Sources
This record was checked against its sources on 6 October 2026. How we check