Skip to main content

Documentation Index

Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.getmcp.com/llms.txt

Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

The initialize method is the first request an AI client must send after connecting. It negotiates the protocol version and returns the server’s capabilities, name, and version.

MCP Endpoint

POST https://yoursite.com/mcp/{slug}
Content-Type: application/json

Request

jsonrpc
string
required
Must be "2.0".
id
integer | string
required
Arbitrary request identifier echoed back unchanged in the response.
method
string
required
Must be "initialize".
params.protocolVersion
string
required
The MCP protocol version the client supports (e.g. "2024-11-05").
params.capabilities
object
Client-declared capabilities object (e.g. roots, sampling). Can be empty {}.
params.clientInfo.name
string
Human-readable name of the connecting client (e.g. "claude-desktop").
params.clientInfo.version
string
Version string of the connecting client (e.g. "1.0.0").
curl --request POST \
     --url https://yoursite.com/mcp/my-weather-tools \
     --header 'content-type: application/json' \
     --data '
{
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "id": 1,
  "method": "initialize",
  "params": {
    "protocolVersion": "2024-11-05",
    "capabilities": {
      "roots": {"listChanged": true},
      "sampling": {}
    },
    "clientInfo": {
      "name": "claude-desktop",
      "version": "1.0.0"
    }
}
}
'

Response

result.protocolVersion
string
The protocol version the server selected (matches or falls back from the client’s requested version).
result.capabilities
object
Server-declared capabilities. GetMCP reports tools.listChanged: true.
result.serverInfo.name
string
The server’s display name as configured in GetMCP admin.
result.serverInfo.version
string
The GetMCP plugin version string.
{
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "id": 1,
  "result": {
    "protocolVersion": "2024-11-05",
    "capabilities": {
      "tools": {
        "listChanged": true
      }
    },
    "serverInfo": {
      "name": "My Weather Tools",
      "version": "1.0.0"
    }
  }
}

Response Headers

HeaderDescription
Mcp-Session-IdSession ID to use in subsequent requests
Content-Typeapplication/json

Follow-up Notification

After receiving the initialize response, the client should send the notifications/initialized notification to signal it’s ready:
{
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "method": "notifications/initialized",
  "params": {}
}
This is a notification (no id field), so no response is expected.

Capabilities

GetMCP currently reports:
CapabilityValue
tools.listChangedtrue — server can notify when tool list changes