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MCP STATUS GUIDE

Which MCP specification should teams implement?

Use the stable specification as the production baseline, track roadmap work separately, and make version support explicit.

Reviewed July 29, 2026Confidence: HighPrimary sources

IN 30 SECONDS

The official MCP specification now identifies version 2026-07-28 as current. Production teams should make version support explicit, test SDK and transport compatibility, and migrate behind controlled release gates.

Current production baseline

The authoritative MCP specification is now version 2026-07-28. It succeeds 2025-11-25 and introduces major changes intended to make MCP more scalable and extensible.

What changed

  • A stateless core designed for ordinary HTTP infrastructure.
  • An extensions framework, including Tasks and MCP Apps.
  • Authorization changes aligned more closely with OAuth and OpenID Connect deployments.
  • Formal deprecation handling and clearer protocol evolution.
  • New migration and compatibility considerations across SDK generations.

Migration discipline

  • Record the protocol versions supported by every client and server.
  • Test capability negotiation, transport behavior, authorization, and error handling.
  • Separate SDK major-version upgrades from protocol-version changes.
  • Re-run security, interoperability, tracing, and rollback tests.
  • Roll out through controlled environments before broad production adoption.

What to watch next

Watch SDK maturity, implementation consistency, extension adoption, security guidance, and interoperability across major clients and servers.

Primary sources