> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://aci.dev/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Introduction

> Introduction to ACI.dev MCP Servers

## Overview

Apart from using ACI.dev's Apps/Functions (tools) directly via LLM function (tool) calls, we also provide two types of Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers that allow your MCP clients to access all Apps/Functions (tools) available on ACI.dev platform.
The codebase is open source and can be found here: [aci-mcp <Icon icon="up-right-from-square" />](https://github.com/aipotheosis-labs/aci-mcp).

## Two Types of MCP Servers

* **Apps MCP Server**: This server is similar to most of the existing MCP servers out there, where it exposes a set of functions from a specific app (e.g., Gmail, Github, etc.). However, our `Apps MCP Server` allows you to include multiple apps in a single server.

  <Frame>
    <img src="https://mintcdn.com/aipotheosislabs-60d5bdcb/d29fRbieQpqSnjGv/images/apps-mcp-server-diagram.svg?fit=max&auto=format&n=d29fRbieQpqSnjGv&q=85&s=efb4eeb04a5f2d439ad0c89e4b320f35" alt="Apps MCP Server" width="2176" height="638" data-path="images/apps-mcp-server-diagram.svg" />
  </Frame>
* **Unified MCP Server**: This server is a dynamic server that provides two **meta** functions (tools) - `ACI_SEARCH_FUNCTIONS` and `ACI_EXECUTE_FUNCTION` to dynamically discover and execute **ANY** functions (tools) available on ACI.dev platform.

  <Frame>
    <img src="https://mintcdn.com/aipotheosislabs-60d5bdcb/d29fRbieQpqSnjGv/images/unified-mcp-server-diagram.svg?fit=max&auto=format&n=d29fRbieQpqSnjGv&q=85&s=de2987387984125d6696b59110cbabcd" alt="Unified MCP Server" width="2175" height="637" data-path="images/unified-mcp-server-diagram.svg" />
  </Frame>

## Comparison

* **When to use the Apps MCP Server?**
  * When you know exactly what apps the LLM/Agent needs in advance.
  * When the number of apps, and therefore the associated functions, needed is relatively small.
    <Note>
      There is no definitive answer to `what number of functions (tools) is too many?`, but the more functions (tools) you add to the model's context window, the lower the performance of the LLM function calling.
    </Note>

* **When to use the Unified MCP Server?**
  * When you don't know exactly what apps the LLM/Agent needs in advance.
  * When the number of apps and therefore the associated functions needed is large.
  * When you want all future apps added to ACI.dev to be discoverable by your LLM/Agent without having to update the MCP command.

## Next Steps

Choose the MCP server that best fits your needs and follow the instructions in the respective sections to set it up.

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Unified MCP Server" icon="circle-nodes" href="/mcp-servers/unified-server">
    A unified, dynamic MCP server that provides two meta functions (tools) to discover and execute ANY functions (tools) available on ACI.dev platform.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Apps MCP Server" icon="puzzle-piece" href="/mcp-servers/apps-server">
    A traditional MCP server that directly exposes functions from specific apps that you pre-select, allowing multiple apps to be included in a single server.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>