Agent Client Protocol

Summary

• The Agent Client Protocol (ACP) is a standardized communication protocol designed to decouple code editors/IDEs from AI coding agents.
• It addresses issues like integration overhead, limited compatibility, and developer lock-in by providing a universal interface similar to the Language Server Protocol (LSP).
• ACP supports both local (JSON-RPC over stdio) and remote (HTTP/WebSocket) agent scenarios.
• The protocol re-uses JSON representations from MCP where possible and includes custom types for agentic UX elements like diffs.
• Default format for user-readable text is Markdown.

Key Entities

• MCP (Model Context Protocol) - Protocol whose JSON representations are re-used.
• Agentic AI Foundation - Involved in standardizing agent interfaces.

Key Concepts

• AI Agents - The primary beneficiaries of the protocol.
• MCP - The protocol providing foundational JSON structures.

Links

• Official Website