MCP (Model Context Protocol) Support for Laravel

[charescape]

Model Context Protocol (MCP) is an open protocol that enables seamless integration between LLM applications and external data sources and tools. Whether you’re building an AI-powered IDE, enhancing a chat interface, or creating custom AI workflows, MCP provides a standardized way to connect LLMs with the context they need.

https://modelcontextprotocol.io/introduction

[macropay-solutions]

@charescape is this protocol supposed to work with non bottle-necking data sources like elastic search (search engines) or with slow data sources like mysql, pgress, sql server etc?

[charescape]

MCP is an open protocol that standardizes how applications provide context to LLMs.

[charescape]

@macropay-solutions Think of MCP like a USB-C port for AI applications. Just as USB-C provides a standardized way to connect your devices to various peripherals and accessories, MCP provides a standardized way to connect AI models to different data sources and tools.

[macropay-solutions]

@charescape if that protocol involves complex queries in db it will be slow.
That is why we asked.
For search engines that would not be an issue but for traditional db's that laravel uses, do you know if it will be a problem?

[macropay-solutions]

@charescape
If this is an example of MCP for postgres https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/servers/tree/main/src/postgres
this implies sending raw sql as string to be executed in a readonly db.

This introduces some problems even if the db is readonly.

• It exposes the db structure.
• It can bottleneck the DB.

We exposed the db just like this but not via raw sql but with url query language that uses decorated column names and table (under resource name).

Can you give a real life example of a situation when you would want your laravel db exposed like this?

[shaedrich]

You are free to make a package. Laravel is not an AI framework so it doesn't make sense in the core imo.

[charescape]

@shaedrich I still think that the implementation of this protocol makes sense in the Laravel framework. Just like Streamed Responses, Laravel itself doesn't need to integrate any AI models or capabilities, it only needs to implement the MCP server protocol, and how to use the MCP protocol depends on the users/developers of the Laravel framework.

[frknasir]

Saying LLM is part of the web is not the same as saying "everything is about AI". Laravel is a batteries included kind of framework. All I am saying is, "there is a new tech in town that might need a new battery" 🤷🏾

[charescape]

@shaedrich True, not everything is AI. However, AI is becoming an important part of web development, and this is the general trend. On the other hand, the idea we are talking about is not to make Laravel an AI framework, but to make Laravel better prepared for developers and projects that need AI.

[shaedrich]

But embracing AI also means "preemptive compliance" also contributes to how big the topic is perceived to be. So if everyone believes, it is big and acts on that, and this is not the case, this fuels said believe and creates a chain reaction, so to speak.

"Batteries included", doesn't mean "Swiss jack of all trades army knife", it means, the batteries to start right away and work with it, not "everything, you can ever think of".

Laravel can be extended via packages—most of the time, this is all one needs.

[macropay-solutions]

We see no-one is putting the finger on the need here.
Just because there is a new fashion we should not jump on it.

Think of MCP like a USB-C port for AI applications

So again. What are you people trying to achieve here via this "USB-C" ?

Expose data from db to AI?

If yes, then it can be done via an adapter from REST to this MCP WITHOUT exposing the db structure.

If you need db structure exposed then why put laravel as middleware? Just use a db and write some code that allows AI to f**k that db up.

[Suven]

Another way to think about why this is a mismatch:

MCP tries to expose very conrete, app-specific, capabilities to LLMs. Something like a play/pause-function that is exposed by Spotify. Laravel itself doesn't have any specific capabilities it could expose. The features of an app is what is build upon it by the developer.

And if the developer then decides to expose some of his/her features, there are already MCP PHP SDKs to do so.

Also: Isn't MCP mainly used on the machine of the user also running the LLM client (such as Claude)? That isn't where laravel is running and laravel will not be able to push stuff to random users. That means that any user who tries to use MCP for any app that happens to be built on laravel and is deployed on some domain, needs a deamon/app/client on his/her computer anyway and that is the thing that has to conform to MCP. Not the website offering some APIs.