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

WorkOS, a developer platform, argues that MCP (Model Context Protocol) and REST are complementary layers rather than competing standards, with most MCP servers internally calling REST APIs. The company highlights that effective MCP servers are designed around agent goals rather than converting every endpoint into a tool, and that shipping such servers requires OAuth 2.1 with scoped tokens, which WorkOS AuthKit already supports.

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.