MCP Documentation Server

# Contributor Communication > Communication strategy and framework for the Model Context Protocol community This document explains how to communicate and collaborate within the Model Context Protocol (MCP) project. <h2>Communication Channels</h2> In short: * **[Discord][discord-join]**: For real-time or ad-hoc discussions. * **[GitHub Discussions](https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/modelcontextprotocol/discussions)**: For structured, longer-form discussions. * **[GitHub Issues](https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/modelcontextprotocol/issues)**: For actionable tasks, bug reports, and feature requests. * **For security-sensitive issues**: Follow the process in [SECURITY.md](https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/modelcontextprotocol/blob/main/SECURITY.md). All communication is governed by our [Code of Conduct](https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/modelcontextprotocol/blob/main/CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md). We expect all participants to maintain respectful, professional, and inclusive interactions across all channels. <h3>Discord</h3> For real-time contributor discussion and collaboration. The server is designed around **MCP contributors** and is not intended to be a place for general MCP support. The Discord server will have both public and private channels. [Join the Discord server here][discord-join]. <h4>Public Channels (Default)</h4> * **Purpose**: Open community engagement, collaborative development, and transparent project coordination. * Primary use cases: * **Public SDK and tooling development**: All development, from ideation to release planning, happens in public channels (e.g., `#typescript-sdk-dev`, `#inspector-dev`). * **Working and interest group discussions** (`#client-implementors`, `#agents-wg`, etc.) * **Working Group**: Some specific goal or project in mind (such as an SDK, inspector, registry, server-identity, load-balancing, etc). * **Interest Group**: An abstract gathering of folks that might raise a range of various topics. Some might get actioned on as one-offs, others might spin into Working Groups. * **Community onboarding** and contribution guidance. * **Community feedback** and collaborative brainstorming. * Public **office hours** and **maintainer availability**. * Avoid: * MCP user support: participants are expected to read official documentation and start new GitHub Discussions for questions or support. * Service or product marketing: interactions on this Discord are expected to be vendor-neutral and not used for brand-building or sales. Mentions of brands or products are discouraged outside of being used as examples or responses to conversations that start off focused on the specification. <h4>Private channels (Exceptions)</h4> * **Purpose**: Confidential coordination and sensitive matters that cannot be discussed publicly. Access will be restricted to designated maintainers. * **Strict criteria for private use**: * **Security incidents** (CVEs, protocol vulnerabilities). * **People matters** (maintainer-related discussions, code of conduct policies). * Select channels will be configured to be **read-only**. This can be good for example for maintainer decision making. * Coordination requiring **immediate** or otherwise **focused response** with a limited audience. * **Transparency**: * **All technical and governance decisions** affecting the community **must be documented** in GitHub Discussions and/or Issues, and will be labeled with `notes`. * **Some matters related to individual contributors** may remain private when appropriate (e.g., personal circumstances, disciplinary actions, or other sensitive individual matters). * Private channels are to be used as **temporary "incident rooms,"** not for routine development. Any significant discussion on Discord that leads to a potential decision or proposal must be moved to a GitHub Discussion or GitHub Issue to create a persistent, searchable record. Proposals will then be promoted to full-fledged PRs with associated work items (GitHub Issues) as needed. <h3>GitHub Discussions</h3> For structured, long-form discussion and debate on project direction, features, improvements, and community topics. When to use: * Project roadmap planning and milestone discussions * Announcements and release communications * Community polls and consensus-building processes * Feature requests with context and rationale * If a particular repository does not have GitHub Discussions enabled, feel free to open a GitHub Issue instead. <h3>GitHub Issues</h3> For bug reports, feature tracking, and actionable development tasks. When to use: * Submit SEP proposals (following the [SEP guidelines](./sep-guidelines)) * Bug reports with reproducible steps * Documentation improvements with specific scope * CI/CD problems and infrastructure issues * Release tasks and milestone tracking <h3>Security Issues</h3> **Do not post security issues publicly.** Instead: 1. Use the private security reporting process. For protocol-level security issues, follow the process in [SECURITY.md in the modelcontextprotocol GitHub repository](https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/modelcontextprotocol/blob/main/SECURITY.md). 2. Contact lead and/or [core maintainers](./governance#current-core-maintainers) directly. 3. Follow responsible disclosure guidelines. <h2>Decision Records</h2> All MCP decisions are documented and captured in public channels. * **Technical decisions**: [GitHub Issues](https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/modelcontextprotocol/issues) and SEPs. * **Specification changes**: [On the Model Context Protocol website](https://modelcontextprotocol.io/specification/draft/changelog). * **Process changes**: [Community documentation](https://modelcontextprotocol.io/community/governance). * **Governance decisions and updates**: [GitHub Issues](https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/modelcontextprotocol/issues) and SEPs. When documenting decisions, we will retain as much context as possible: * Decision makers * Background context and motivation * Options that were considered * Rationale for the chosen approach * Implementation steps [discord-join]: https://discord.gg/6CSzBmMkjX