A developer’s mental model — RAG, Agents & MCP

📰 Medium · RAG

Learn to distinguish between RAG, Agents, and MCP to avoid confusion in AI system development and improve your mental model as a developer

intermediate Published 18 Jun 2026
Action Steps
  1. Define RAG and its role in AI systems using online resources
  2. Explore how Agents interact with their environment and make decisions
  3. Configure a simple AI system using MCP to understand tool connections
  4. Apply the mental model to a real-world problem to solidify understanding
  5. Test the system and refine the mental model based on results
Who Needs to Know This

Developers and AI engineers on a team benefit from understanding these concepts to design and implement AI systems effectively. This knowledge helps them to communicate and collaborate efficiently

Key Insight

💡 Distinguishing between how a system thinks (RAG, Agents) and how its tools connect (MCP) is crucial for effective AI system development

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💡 Clarify RAG, Agents & MCP to improve your AI dev mental model!

Key Takeaways

Learn to distinguish between RAG, Agents, and MCP to avoid confusion in AI system development and improve your mental model as a developer

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