---
title: "10. Resources and Resource Templates"
description: "MCP Description specification v0.7.0 — 10. Resources and Resource Templates."
source: "https://mcpdesc.org/docs/specification/0.7.0/resources/"
---

Mirrored specification

This page mirrors **10\. Resources and Resource Templates** of the MCP Description specification **v0.7.0**. The canonical source of truth is [cisco-open/mcptoolkit-contract](https://github.com/cisco-open/mcptoolkit-contract/blob/main/spec/sections/10-resources.md). Where this page differs from upstream, upstream wins.

## 10\. Resources and Resource Templates

### 10.1 Resources

The `resources` array declares the static resources exposed by the MCP server. Each resource represents a data source identified by a URI.

#### 10.1.1 Resource Object

| Property    | Type          | Required | Description                                                                                                                                                                     |
| ----------- | ------------- | -------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| uri         | string        | **Yes**  | Resource URI.                                                                                                                                                                   |
| name        | string        | **Yes**  | Programmatic resource name (identifier).                                                                                                                                        |
| title       | string        | No       | Human-readable display name for UI contexts. Since MCP 2025-06-18.                                                                                                              |
| description | string        | No       | Human-readable resource description.                                                                                                                                            |
| mimeType    | string        | No       | MIME type of the resource content.                                                                                                                                              |
| size        | number        | No       | Size of the raw resource content in bytes.                                                                                                                                      |
| annotations | object        | No       | Resource annotations.                                                                                                                                                           |
| icons       | array<Icon>   | No       | Icons for UI display. Since MCP 2025-11-25.                                                                                                                                     |
| tags        | array<string> | No       | Categorization tags. When a root-level tags array is present, values MUST reference declared tag names (see [Section 12.3](/docs/specification/0.7.0/tags#123-tag-references)). |
| deprecated  | boolean       | No       | Whether the resource is deprecated.                                                                                                                                             |
| \_meta      | object        | No       | Protocol-reserved metadata. Since MCP 2025-06-18.                                                                                                                               |

#### 10.1.2 Resource URI

The `uri` property identifies the resource. It SHOULD be a valid URI. The URI scheme is not constrained — servers MAY use custom URI schemes appropriate to their domain.

### 10.2 Resource Templates

The `resourceTemplates` array declares parameterized resource definitions using URI templates ([RFC 6570](https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc6570)).

#### 10.2.1 Resource Template Object

| Property    | Type          | Required | Description                                                                                                                                                                     |
| ----------- | ------------- | -------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| uriTemplate | string        | **Yes**  | URI template (RFC 6570).                                                                                                                                                        |
| name        | string        | **Yes**  | Programmatic template name (identifier).                                                                                                                                        |
| title       | string        | No       | Human-readable display name for UI contexts. Since MCP 2025-06-18.                                                                                                              |
| description | string        | No       | Human-readable template description.                                                                                                                                            |
| mimeType    | string        | No       | MIME type of the resource content.                                                                                                                                              |
| annotations | object        | No       | Resource template annotations.                                                                                                                                                  |
| icons       | array<Icon>   | No       | Icons for UI display. Since MCP 2025-11-25.                                                                                                                                     |
| tags        | array<string> | No       | Categorization tags. When a root-level tags array is present, values MUST reference declared tag names (see [Section 12.3](/docs/specification/0.7.0/tags#123-tag-references)). |
| deprecated  | boolean       | No       | Whether the template is deprecated.                                                                                                                                             |
| \_meta      | object        | No       | Protocol-reserved metadata. Since MCP 2025-06-18.                                                                                                                               |

### 10.3 Examples

**Static resources for chess game history:**

```json
{
  "resources": [
    {
      "uri": "chess://leaderboard/classical",
      "name": "classical_leaderboard",
      "title": "Classical Leaderboard",
      "description": "Current top-100 classical chess ratings leaderboard",
      "mimeType": "application/json",
      "tags": ["leaderboard", "rating"]
    },
    {
      "uri": "chess://leaderboard/rapid",
      "name": "rapid_leaderboard",
      "title": "Rapid Leaderboard",
      "description": "Current top-100 rapid chess ratings leaderboard",
      "mimeType": "application/json",
      "tags": ["leaderboard", "rating"]
    },
    {
      "uri": "chess://rules/fide-2024",
      "name": "fide_rules",
      "title": "FIDE Rules 2024",
      "description": "Official FIDE Laws of Chess (2024 edition)",
      "mimeType": "text/markdown",
      "tags": ["rules", "reference"]
    }
  ]
}
```

**Resource templates for parameterized access:**

```json
{
  "resourceTemplates": [
    {
      "uriTemplate": "chess://games/{game_id}",
      "name": "game_detail",
      "title": "Game Detail",
      "description": "Full details of a specific chess game including PGN, moves, and analysis",
      "mimeType": "application/json",
      "tags": ["game", "history"]
    },
    {
      "uriTemplate": "chess://players/{player_id}/games?from={start_date}&to={end_date}",
      "name": "player_game_history",
      "title": "Player Game History",
      "description": "Game history for a specific player within an optional date range",
      "mimeType": "application/json",
      "tags": ["game", "history", "player"]
    },
    {
      "uriTemplate": "chess://players/{player_id}/rating-history",
      "name": "player_rating_history",
      "title": "Player Rating History",
      "description": "Historical rating progression for a player",
      "mimeType": "application/json",
      "tags": ["rating", "history", "player"]
    }
  ]
}
```