What are MCP Apps?

MCP Apps let a connected server show you an interactive chart, form or dashboard inside the chat.

MCP Apps are an official extension to MCP that lets a server show an interactive screen, such as a chart, form or dashboard, right inside your AI chat instead of replying with text only.

Also called MCP App, MCP UI, MCP-UI, MCP interactive UI, mcp apps extension.

Normally an MCP tool answers with text, images or data. With MCP Apps, a tool can also point to a small web page that the chat app shows in place. You can click, filter and fill in forms in it, and the page can call the server's tools again.

The page runs in a sandboxed frame, so it cannot read the rest of the chat app. MCP Apps is an extension to the core MCP spec, so support depends on the app you use.

MCP-UI is a related toolkit with its own docs. The MCP Apps docs point app builders to its @mcp-ui/client package, which has React components for showing MCP Apps views.

MCP Apps let an MCP server return an interactive screen, such as a chart, a form or a dashboard, that appears inside the chat. You use it by connecting a server that ships an app, then asking for something visual. For example, the Excalidraw server draws a diagram in the chat that you can open fullscreen to edit. See our Excalidraw MCP page.

The one thing to know first: only some apps can show them. The MCP docs list Claude, Claude Desktop, VS Code GitHub Copilot, Microsoft 365 Copilot, Goose, Postman, MCPJam and Archestra.AI. In an app without support, the same server still connects, but you do not get the interactive view.

The screen runs in a sandboxed frame that is controlled by the chat app. It cannot reach the page around it or read your cookies. The app can ask the host to call tools you have already connected, and your app asks for your consent first.

Good for

Claude and Claude Desktop users who want charts or editors in the chat
Developers building an MCP server with a visual side
Teams that want approvals and forms next to the conversation
App builders adding MCP Apps support to their own client

Comparison

Our advice: use a plain tool result when text is enough. Use an MCP App when you need to click, filter or fill in a form next to the conversation.

Option	Where it shows	Interactive	Sandboxed	Needs host support
Plain tool result	In chat	No	Not applicable	No
MCP AppThis page	In chat	Yes	Yes	Yes
Link to a web app	Other tab	Yes	Not applicable	No

Questions

What are MCP Apps?

An extension to MCP that lets a server show an interactive HTML screen, like a chart, form or dashboard, inside the chat. The screen appears where the tool result would normally show text.

Which apps support MCP Apps?

The MCP docs list Claude, Claude Desktop, VS Code GitHub Copilot, Microsoft 365 Copilot, Goose, Postman, MCPJam and Archestra.AI. Check the extension support matrix on modelcontextprotocol.io for the current list.

What is MCP-UI?

A related toolkit with its own docs. The MCP Apps docs point app builders to its @mcp-ui/client package, which provides React components for showing MCP Apps views.

Are MCP Apps safe?

They are designed to be contained. Each app runs in a sandboxed frame that cannot access the chat page or steal cookies, and the host decides which tools and features the app may use. Our advice: still connect only servers you trust.

How does an MCP App differ from a normal MCP tool?

A normal tool returns text, images or data. An MCP App tool also points to a screen that the chat app fetches from the server and shows, and that screen can call the server's tools.

Do I have to build anything to use one?

No. You connect a server that already ships an app and ask for what it does. Building one is a developer task that uses the @modelcontextprotocol/ext-apps package.

Where can I find example MCP Apps?

The ext-apps repository has ready-to-run examples, including a 3D globe map, a PDF viewer, a system monitor and a QR code maker. For a hosted one to try, see our Excalidraw MCP page.

Are MCP Apps part of core MCP?

No. MCP Apps is an extension to the core MCP specification, so each app decides whether to support it.

Sources

Docs, issue trackers and discussions this page is built from.

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MCP Apps · modelcontextprotocol.io