# [Sponsor] MCP vs. REST: The Right Way to Connect Agents to Your API

> Source: <https://workos.com/blog/mcp-vs-rest?utm_source=daringfireball&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=q32026>
> Published: 2026-08-03 22:26:01+00:00

REST serves the developers building against your API. [MCP serves the agents](https://workos.com/guide/model-context-protocol?utm_source=daringfireball&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=q32026&utm_content=body_guide) now trying to use it. Most teams treat these as competing standards and have to pick one.

They’re not rivals, they’re layers: most MCP servers just call REST internally to do the real work. The best ones don’t convert every endpoint into a tool, they design around what the agent’s trying to accomplish.

Shipping that server also means shipping OAuth 2.1 with scoped tokens. [WorkOS AuthKit already speaks that spec](https://workos.com/docs/authkit/mcp?utm_source=daringfireball&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=q32026&utm_content=body_authkit), so you skip building an auth provider on top.