# Agent Protocols

> Independent explainer for two agent protocols: MCP (agent to tool, vertical) and A2A (agent to agent, horizontal). They are complementary. Facts checked against the official docs on 2026-10-20; uncertain items are marked unverified.

## Pages

- [A2A vs MCP](https://agent-protocols-yxt.pages.dev/a2a-vs-mcp): difference table, when to use which, quiz. Markdown: https://agent-protocols-yxt.pages.dev/md/a2a-vs-mcp.md
- [What is A2A](https://agent-protocols-yxt.pages.dev/a2a): Agent Card, tasks, messages, artifacts, opacity. Markdown: https://agent-protocols-yxt.pages.dev/md/a2a.md
- [A2A Agent Card validator](https://agent-protocols-yxt.pages.dev/a2a-agent-card-validator): paste an Agent Card and check it against A2A spec 1.0.0 in the browser. Markdown: https://agent-protocols-yxt.pages.dev/md/a2a-agent-card-validator.md
- [What is MCP](https://agent-protocols-yxt.pages.dev/mcp): hosts, clients, servers, tools, resources, prompts. Markdown: https://agent-protocols-yxt.pages.dev/md/mcp.md
- [Live demo](https://agent-protocols-yxt.pages.dev/demo): two simulated agents exchanging A2A-shaped messages in the browser. Simulation only, not a production A2A server.
- [About](https://agent-protocols-yxt.pages.dev/about)
- [Privacy](https://agent-protocols-yxt.pages.dev/privacy)

## Official sources

- https://a2a-protocol.org/latest/
- https://a2a-protocol.org/latest/specification/
- https://a2a-protocol.org/latest/topics/a2a-and-mcp/
- https://modelcontextprotocol.io/