UTCP
The scalable, secure alternative to MCP for tool calling
UTCP (Universal Tool Calling Protocol) is an open standard for AI agents to call tools directly, positioned as a lightweight alternative to MCP. It eliminates the "wrapper tax" for lower latency by using a simple JSON manifest to connect to native APIs.
Reviews for UTCP
Hear what real users highlight about this tool.
I never understood why MCP needs to rely so heavily on heavy client/server architecture. This direct way of having LLMs call endpoints makes it much more easy and efficient to implement tool calling :)
UTCP is an elegant solution to agent tool calling. Unlike MCP, no wrappers or clunky servers need to be maintained and no extra auth, billing etc. logic needs to be built again.
MCP has paved the way for the ease of use of LLMs with our day-to-day tools. UTCP takes it further with better specification and security from the get-go. I would love to see UTCP standard being implemented alongside MCP.