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In the 2026-07-28 Model Context Protocol (MCP) specification, each request must carry the information needed to process it; a server must not depend on a previous request or a reused connection for context. That makes MCP stateless at the protocol-request layer—not an agent application without memory. A workflow that spans tool calls can still keep durable state, but it must identify that state explicitly and send the identifier with each relevant request. The version matters: the 2025-11-25 Streamable HTTP specification supported optional protocol sessions, while the newer revision removes that session mechanism.
What does “stateless MCP” mean?
The Model Context Protocol specification, revision 2026-07-28, defines MCP as stateless: “all the information needed to process a request is contained in the request itself.” A server processes requests independently and must not infer capabilities, protocol version, or client identity from an earlier request on the same connection. The request supplies relevant metadata in _meta. The server should be prepared to handle requests from multiple tasks, threads, or conversations, and a client should not need to keep one connection or process alive for related operations. Read the 2026-07-28 specification.
In other words, a connection is not a conversation or agent-session boundary. Even a long-lived subscription stream is treated as a request/response operation; any state associated with it belongs to that request, not to the connection as a hidden source of context.
Why does an AI agent still need state?
Protocol state and application state solve different problems. The protocol describes how a request is interpreted. An agent application may still need to remember a user’s goal, workflow progress, permissions, results, or durable records so it can continue a multi-step task. MCP does not make those needs disappear; the newer design makes continuity explicit instead of tying it to a protocol session.
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When an operation must span calls, the server or application can create a handle for that work. The client then includes the handle in later tool calls. The model or host may also have conversational context, but MCP does not guarantee that a server can recover that context from a connection. The project announcement describes this approach as minting an application handle and returning it as a tool argument. See the MCP project’s 2026-07-28 announcement.
Three kinds of state to keep separate
- Request and transport state: Context needed to process a particular MCP request. In the 2026-07-28 model, it travels with the request rather than being inferred from a prior exchange.
- Application state: Durable workflow data or a long-running task maintained by the service or application and addressed through an explicit identifier.
- Conversational context: The host or agent’s understanding of the user’s conversation. A server cannot treat connection identity as proof of that context.
What changed between the 2025-11-25 and 2026-07-28 specifications?
The change is about the protocol’s continuity mechanism, not a claim that every deployed MCP client and server changed at once. The 2025-11-25 Streamable HTTP specification allowed a server to assign a session ID during initialization. If it did, clients had to include that ID in subsequent HTTP requests. That revision also described a standalone HTTP GET SSE stream, server-initiated messages, and event resumption. Consult the 2025-11-25 Streamable HTTP specification.
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The 2026-07-28 release announcement says the newer shape retires the initialize/initialized exchange and the Mcp-Session-Id header. Its transport summary says session IDs, standalone GET streams, server-originated JSON-RPC requests on SSE, and resumable streams from revisions 2025-03-26 through 2025-11-25 are not part of the newer revision. The announcement describes the policy as a twelve-month minimum deprecation window; that is a version-policy detail, not a guarantee that every implementation will retain identical behavior for that period. Review the release announcement for its migration guidance.
| Design question | 2025-11-25 Streamable HTTP | 2026-07-28 revision |
|---|---|---|
| Where does cross-request continuity live? | An optional protocol session ID assigned at initialization; clients repeat it when issued. | An explicit application identifier, included by the client on each relevant call. |
| How can the server request more input? | The revision described server-initiated messages on an SSE stream. | Multi Round-Trip Requests return an input-required result for the client to answer and retry. |
| Can requests depend on a particular server instance? | Session-associated exchanges could require preserving the session’s association. | The release announcement says requests can be handled independently by any server behind a round-robin load balancer. |
| What should an implementation check? | Whether its client and server rely on the session and stream features in this revision. | Whether both sides support the new request model and pass application handles explicitly. |
The table compares the specified designs, not every SDK release or deployment. Compatibility depends on the protocol revision and implementation a client and server actually speak.
How does a multi-step task work without a protocol session?
- Start the task. The client sends a self-contained request. If the work must continue later, the application creates or identifies a durable task record.
- Return an application handle. The tool response provides an identifier that the client can retain and supply as an argument in later calls.
- Continue explicitly. Each subsequent request includes the handle and any other context needed for that operation. The service looks up the application state instead of relying on a previous connection.
- Define the handle’s lifecycle. The application must decide how long the underlying task or record remains available and how authorization applies. Stateless request processing does not itself establish those policies.
This is the practical meaning of the announcement’s statement: “Dropping the protocol-level session doesn’t force your application to be stateless.” The handle is an application-level continuity mechanism, not a replacement protocol session.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How do additional input, routing, and caching work?
Multi Round-Trip Requests for missing input
In the 2026-07-28 design, a server that needs a user confirmation or missing value can return resultType: "input_required" with the requested input. The client gathers the answer and retries the original request with inputResponses. This replaces the earlier pattern of relying on a held-open bidirectional stream for server-initiated requests; the announcement identifies it as the new pattern for earlier sampling, elicitation, and roots requests. The announcement describes Multi Round-Trip Requests.
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Routing and metering at HTTP gateways
The announcement says Streamable HTTP requests must include Mcp-Method and Mcp-Name. Gateways, rate limiters, and web application firewalls can use these headers to route or meter requests without parsing their JSON bodies. Because requests can be handled independently, the release describes routing them to any server instance behind a round-robin load balancer. These are capabilities and design intentions, not measured guarantees of lower latency, cost, or higher throughput.
Cache hints
Selected list and read responses carry ttlMs and cacheScope hints, which let clients choose caching behavior. The hints support a client-side decision; they do not establish a particular cache policy or quantified savings.
Quick Recap
What should teams check before migrating?
- Confirm the protocol revision. Identify the exact revision used by each client and server. Do not assume that “MCP” alone specifies whether session IDs, SSE resumption, or the newer request model apply.
- Check SDK support by language and release. The 2026-07-28 announcement reported that the TypeScript, Python, Go, and C# Tier 1 SDKs spoke that revision at release. SDK support is time-sensitive; verify the specific package version and release notes used in your deployment.
- Find session assumptions. Look for reliance on
Mcp-Session-Id, initialization handshakes, session affinity, standalone GET streams, server-originated requests, or resumable streams. The announcement notes migration costs for implementations that depend on session identifiers. - Design application handles deliberately. Decide what a handle identifies, how it is passed on each call, how long its associated state persists, and how the service authorizes access. Do not assume the protocol supplies those lifecycle rules.
- Review deployment security for the target revision. The 2025-11-25 Streamable HTTP guidance says to validate incoming
Originheaders to prevent DNS rebinding, bind local servers to127.0.0.1rather than all interfaces, and implement authentication. Those are recommendations in the earlier dated guidance; check the normative security requirements for the revision you deploy. See the 2025-11-25 transport security guidance.
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