Before the model runs, a host automatically attaches a project README, exposed by an MCP server, to the context it sends. Which primitive and control model does this illustrate?
Select an answer to reveal the explanation.
Short Explanation
Resources are like reference books on your shelf: the app decides which ones to open before the model starts talking. Tools are what the model reaches for, and prompts are what you pick. Here, the app made the call.
Full Explanation
Resources let servers share data that provides context to language models, such as files, database schemas or application-specific information, each identified by a URI. The specification describes resources as application-driven: host applications determine how to incorporate context, for example by offering a picker, letting users search and filter, or automatically including context based on heuristics. A host attaching a README before the model runs is exactly that application-driven inclusion through resources/read. A tool is model-controlled, meaning the model would select and invoke it during its reasoning; in this scenario the model has not yet run, so no tool choice occurred. A prompt is user-controlled, meaning the user explicitly selects a template such as a slash command; nothing in the scenario involves the user choosing a command. Elicitation is a client feature through which a server asks the user for input inside an InputRequiredResult; it does not deliver documents, and servers do not push content to hosts unprompted. Exam caveat: the protocol does not mandate a user interaction model for resources, so automatic inclusion and manual selection are both valid application choices. Operational check: confirm the host issues resources/read for the README's URI before the model call and that no tools/call or prompts/get request appears for it.