README.md

Zero Context Protocol Docs

This directory is the source-of-truth markdown corpus for the ZCP docs site. It is organized to feel closer to the official MCP docs structure: start with an introduction, learn the core concepts, choose a transport and auth model, then move into server/client guides, examples, and reference material.

Every primary page now has a Chinese companion file named *.zh.md, and the docs site exposes an English / Chinese language switch on every page.

ZCP exposes two surfaces from one runtime:

• an MCP-compatible surface for interoperability
• a native ZCP surface for lower token overhead and tighter runtime control

The docs below are written to make that split explicit instead of hiding it.

How To Read These Docs

If you are new to the project, use this order:

1. introduction_getting_started.md
2. core_concepts_tools_resources_prompts.md
3. core_concepts_sampling_elicitation_roots_logging_tasks.md
4. transports_guide.md
5. authorization_guide.md
6. server_guide.md
7. client_guide.md
8. semantic_workflow_profile.md
9. examples_and_use_cases.md
10. faq.md

After that, use the reference documents as needed:

• mcp_protocol_reference.md
• sdk_api_reference.md
• mcp_capability_matrix.md
• mcp_migration.md
• benchmark_methodology.md
• mcp_gap_todo.md

Document Categories

Introduction

• introduction_getting_started.md
  • what ZCP is
  • how it relates to MCP
  • first local server and client paths

Core Concepts

• core_concepts_tools_resources_prompts.md
  • tools
  • resources
  • resource templates
  • prompts
• core_concepts_sampling_elicitation_roots_logging_tasks.md
  • sampling
  • elicitation
  • roots
  • logging
  • progress
  • tasks

Guides

• transports_guide.md
• authorization_guide.md
• server_guide.md
• client_guide.md
• semantic_workflow_profile.md

Learning By Example

• examples_and_use_cases.md
• faq.md

Reference And Compatibility

• mcp_protocol_reference.md
• sdk_api_reference.md
• mcp_capability_matrix.md
• mcp_migration.md
• benchmark_methodology.md
• mcp_gap_todo.md

Repository Ownership

This repository owns:

• protocol explanation and conceptual docs
• compatibility and migration framing
• benchmark methodology and documentation copy
• the markdown rendered by docs/web

This repository does not own:

• the Python runtime and SDK in zero-context-protocol-python/src/zcp
• the Python tests in zero-context-protocol-python/tests
• example benchmark scripts in zero-context-protocol-python/examples

If a behavior claim in these docs conflicts with runtime behavior, the Python SDK implementation and tests win. Update the markdown to match the code.