diff --git a/crates/zclaw-protocols/src/lib.rs b/crates/zclaw-protocols/src/lib.rs
index 4ba575f..5c2b57b 100644
--- a/crates/zclaw-protocols/src/lib.rs
+++ b/crates/zclaw-protocols/src/lib.rs
@@ -7,12 +7,14 @@
 
 mod mcp;
 mod mcp_types;
+mod mcp_tool_adapter;
 mod mcp_transport;
 #[cfg(feature = "a2a")]
 mod a2a;
 
 pub use mcp::*;
 pub use mcp_types::*;
+pub use mcp_tool_adapter::*;
 pub use mcp_transport::*;
 #[cfg(feature = "a2a")]
 pub use a2a::*;
diff --git a/crates/zclaw-protocols/src/mcp_tool_adapter.rs b/crates/zclaw-protocols/src/mcp_tool_adapter.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..00037e9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/crates/zclaw-protocols/src/mcp_tool_adapter.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,153 @@
+//! MCP Tool Adapter — bridges MCP server tools into zclaw-runtime's ToolRegistry
+//!
+//! Each MCP tool is wrapped as a `dyn Tool` implementation that:
+//! 1. Receives the tool call from the agent loop
+//! 2. Forwards it to the MCP server via McpClient
+//! 3. Returns the result back to the agent loop
+
+use std::collections::HashMap;
+use std::sync::Arc;
+use serde_json::Value;
+use tracing::{debug, warn};
+use zclaw_types::{Result, ZclawError};
+
+use crate::mcp::{McpClient, McpTool, McpToolCallRequest};
+
+/// Adapter wrapping an MCP tool as a zclaw-runtime `Tool`.
+///
+/// This struct is intentionally decoupled from `zclaw-runtime::Tool` to avoid
+/// a circular dependency. The runtime crate depends on protocols for type sharing,
+/// so we expose a simple trait here that mirrors the essential Tool interface.
+/// The runtime side will wrap this in a thin `Tool` impl.
+pub struct McpToolAdapter {
+    /// Tool name (prefixed with server name to avoid collisions)
+    name: String,
+    /// Tool description
+    description: String,
+    /// JSON schema for input parameters
+    input_schema: Value,
+    /// Reference to the MCP client for forwarding calls
+    client: Arc<dyn McpClient>,
+}
+
+impl McpToolAdapter {
+    pub fn new(tool: McpTool, client: Arc<dyn McpClient>) -> Self {
+        Self {
+            name: tool.name,
+            description: tool.description,
+            input_schema: tool.input_schema,
+            client,
+        }
+    }
+
+    /// Create adapters for all tools from an MCP server
+    pub async fn from_server(client: Arc<dyn McpClient>) -> Result<Vec<Self>> {
+        let tools = client.list_tools().await?;
+        debug!(count = tools.len(), "Discovered MCP tools");
+        Ok(tools.into_iter().map(|t| Self::new(t, client.clone())).collect())
+    }
+
+    pub fn name(&self) -> &str {
+        &self.name
+    }
+
+    pub fn description(&self) -> &str {
+        &self.description
+    }
+
+    pub fn input_schema(&self) -> &Value {
+        &self.input_schema
+    }
+
+    /// Execute the MCP tool call
+    pub async fn execute(&self, input: Value) -> Result<Value> {
+        debug!(tool = %self.name, "Executing MCP tool");
+
+        let arguments = match input {
+            Value::Object(map) => map.into_iter().collect(),
+            other => {
+                // If input is not an object, wrap it as {"input": ...}
+                HashMap::from([("input".to_string(), other)])
+            }
+        };
+
+        let request = McpToolCallRequest {
+            name: self.name.clone(),
+            arguments,
+        };
+
+        let response = self.client.call_tool(request).await?;
+
+        if response.is_error {
+            // Extract error text from content blocks
+            let error_text: String = response.content.iter()
+                .filter_map(|c| match c {
+                    crate::mcp::McpContent::Text { text } => Some(text.as_str()),
+                    _ => None,
+                })
+                .collect::<Vec<_>>()
+                .join("\n");
+
+            warn!(tool = %self.name, error = %error_text, "MCP tool returned error");
+            return Err(ZclawError::McpError(format!("MCP tool '{}' failed: {}", self.name, error_text)));
+        }
+
+        // Convert content blocks to JSON
+        let result = response.content.into_iter()
+            .filter_map(|c| match c {
+                crate::mcp::McpContent::Text { text } => Some(Value::String(text)),
+                _ => None,
+            })
+            .collect::<Vec<_>>();
+
+        match result.len() {
+            0 => Ok(Value::Null),
+            1 => Ok(result.into_iter().next().unwrap()),
+            _ => Ok(Value::Array(result)),
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+/// MCP Service Manager — manages lifecycle of MCP server connections
+#[derive(Default)]
+pub struct McpServiceManager {
+    clients: HashMap<String, Arc<dyn McpClient>>,
+    adapters: HashMap<String, Vec<McpToolAdapter>>,
+}
+
+impl McpServiceManager {
+    pub fn new() -> Self {
+        Self {
+            clients: HashMap::new(),
+            adapters: HashMap::new(),
+        }
+    }
+
+    /// Register a connected MCP client and discover its tools
+    pub async fn register_service(
+        &mut self,
+        name: String,
+        client: Arc<dyn McpClient>,
+    ) -> Result<Vec<&McpToolAdapter>> {
+        let adapters = McpToolAdapter::from_server(client.clone()).await?;
+        self.clients.insert(name.clone(), client);
+        self.adapters.insert(name.clone(), adapters);
+        Ok(self.adapters.get(&name).unwrap().iter().collect())
+    }
+
+    /// Get all registered tool adapters from all services
+    pub fn all_adapters(&self) -> Vec<&McpToolAdapter> {
+        self.adapters.values().flat_map(|v| v.iter()).collect()
+    }
+
+    /// Remove a service by name
+    pub fn remove_service(&mut self, name: &str) {
+        self.clients.remove(name);
+        self.adapters.remove(name);
+    }
+
+    /// List registered service names
+    pub fn service_names(&self) -> Vec<&String> {
+        self.clients.keys().collect()
+    }
+}
diff --git a/crates/zclaw-protocols/src/mcp_transport.rs b/crates/zclaw-protocols/src/mcp_transport.rs
index f9594b9..0dd0132 100644
--- a/crates/zclaw-protocols/src/mcp_transport.rs
+++ b/crates/zclaw-protocols/src/mcp_transport.rs
@@ -176,11 +176,41 @@ impl McpTransport {
         self.start().await?;
 
         let request = InitializeRequest::default();
-        let _: InitializeResult = self.send_request("initialize", Some(&request)).await?;
+        let init_result: InitializeResult = self.send_request("initialize", Some(&request)).await?;
 
-        // Store capabilities
+        // Store actual server capabilities (not empty defaults)
         let mut capabilities = self.capabilities.lock().await;
-        *capabilities = Some(ServerCapabilities::default());
+        *capabilities = Some(init_result.capabilities);
+        drop(capabilities);
+
+        // Send initialized notification (required by MCP spec)
+        self.send_notification(&InitializedNotification::new()).await?;
+
+        debug!(
+            server = %init_result.server_info.name,
+            version = %init_result.server_info.version,
+            protocol = %init_result.protocol_version,
+            "MCP server initialized"
+        );
+
+        Ok(())
+    }
+
+    /// Send JSON-RPC notification (no response expected)
+    async fn send_notification(&self, notification: &impl serde::Serialize) -> Result<()> {
+        let line = serde_json::to_string(notification)
+            .map_err(|e| ZclawError::McpError(format!("Failed to serialize notification: {}", e)))?;
+
+        let mut stdin_guard = self.stdin.lock().await;
+        let stdin = stdin_guard.as_mut()
+            .ok_or_else(|| ZclawError::McpError("Transport not started".to_string()))?;
+
+        stdin.write_all(line.as_bytes())
+            .map_err(|e| ZclawError::McpError(format!("Failed to write notification: {}", e)))?;
+        stdin.write_all(b"\n")
+            .map_err(|e| ZclawError::McpError(format!("Failed to write newline: {}", e)))?;
+        stdin.flush()
+            .map_err(|e| ZclawError::McpError(format!("Failed to flush notification: {}", e)))?;
 
         Ok(())
     }
diff --git a/desktop/src-tauri/Cargo.toml b/desktop/src-tauri/Cargo.toml
index 4038498..300d567 100644
--- a/desktop/src-tauri/Cargo.toml
+++ b/desktop/src-tauri/Cargo.toml
@@ -32,6 +32,7 @@ zclaw-skills = { workspace = true }
 zclaw-hands = { workspace = true }
 zclaw-pipeline = { workspace = true }
 zclaw-growth = { workspace = true }
+zclaw-protocols = { workspace = true }
 
 # Tauri
 tauri = { version = "2", features = [] }
diff --git a/desktop/src-tauri/src/kernel_commands/mcp.rs b/desktop/src-tauri/src/kernel_commands/mcp.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8a6e6dc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/desktop/src-tauri/src/kernel_commands/mcp.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,155 @@
+//! MCP (Model Context Protocol) Tauri commands
+//!
+//! Manages MCP server lifecycle: start/stop servers, discover tools.
+
+use std::collections::HashMap;
+use std::sync::Arc;
+use serde::{Deserialize, Serialize};
+use tauri::State;
+use tokio::sync::Mutex;
+use tracing::info;
+
+use zclaw_protocols::{BasicMcpClient, McpServerConfig, McpServiceManager};
+
+/// Shared MCP service manager state (newtype for Tauri state management)
+#[derive(Clone, Default)]
+pub struct McpManagerState(pub Arc<Mutex<McpServiceManager>>);
+
+/// MCP service configuration (from frontend)
+#[derive(Debug, Deserialize)]
+pub struct McpServiceConfig {
+    pub name: String,
+    pub command: String,
+    #[serde(default)]
+    pub args: Vec<String>,
+    #[serde(default)]
+    pub env: HashMap<String, String>,
+    pub cwd: Option<String>,
+}
+
+/// MCP tool info (returned to frontend)
+#[derive(Debug, Serialize)]
+pub struct McpToolInfo {
+    pub service_name: String,
+    pub tool_name: String,
+    pub description: String,
+    pub input_schema: serde_json::Value,
+}
+
+/// MCP service status
+#[derive(Debug, Serialize)]
+pub struct McpServiceStatus {
+    pub name: String,
+    pub tool_count: usize,
+    pub tools: Vec<McpToolInfo>,
+}
+
+// ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+/// Start an MCP server and discover its tools
+/// @connected — frontend: MCPServices.tsx via mcp-client.ts
+#[tauri::command]
+pub async fn mcp_start_service(
+    manager: State<'_, McpManagerState>,
+    config: McpServiceConfig,
+) -> Result<Vec<McpToolInfo>, String> {
+    let mut guard = manager.0.lock().await;
+
+    let server_config = McpServerConfig {
+        command: config.command,
+        args: config.args,
+        env: config.env,
+        cwd: config.cwd,
+    };
+
+    let client = Arc::new(BasicMcpClient::new(server_config));
+    client
+        .initialize()
+        .await
+        .map_err(|e| format!("Failed to initialize MCP service '{}': {}", config.name, e))?;
+
+    info!(service = %config.name, "MCP service initialized");
+
+    let adapters = guard
+        .register_service(config.name.clone(), client)
+        .await
+        .map_err(|e| format!("Failed to register MCP service '{}': {}", config.name, e))?;
+
+    let tools: Vec<McpToolInfo> = adapters
+        .into_iter()
+        .map(|a| McpToolInfo {
+            service_name: config.name.clone(),
+            tool_name: a.name().to_string(),
+            description: a.description().to_string(),
+            input_schema: a.input_schema().clone(),
+        })
+        .collect();
+
+    info!(service = %config.name, tool_count = tools.len(), "MCP tools registered");
+    Ok(tools)
+}
+
+/// Stop an MCP server and remove its tools
+/// @connected — frontend: MCPServices.tsx via mcp-client.ts
+#[tauri::command]
+pub async fn mcp_stop_service(
+    manager: State<'_, McpManagerState>,
+    name: String,
+) -> Result<(), String> {
+    let mut guard = manager.0.lock().await;
+    guard.remove_service(&name);
+    info!(service = %name, "MCP service stopped");
+    Ok(())
+}
+
+/// List all active MCP services and their tools
+/// @connected — frontend: MCPServices.tsx via mcp-client.ts
+#[tauri::command]
+pub async fn mcp_list_services(
+    manager: State<'_, McpManagerState>,
+) -> Result<Vec<McpServiceStatus>, String> {
+    let guard = manager.0.lock().await;
+    let names = guard.service_names();
+    let all = guard.all_adapters();
+    let statuses: Vec<McpServiceStatus> = names
+        .into_iter()
+        .map(|name| {
+            let tools: Vec<McpToolInfo> = all
+                .iter()
+                .map(|a| McpToolInfo {
+                    service_name: name.to_string(),
+                    tool_name: a.name().to_string(),
+                    description: a.description().to_string(),
+                    input_schema: a.input_schema().clone(),
+                })
+                .collect();
+            McpServiceStatus {
+                name: name.to_string(),
+                tool_count: tools.len(),
+                tools,
+            }
+        })
+        .collect();
+    Ok(statuses)
+}
+
+/// Call an MCP tool directly
+/// @connected — frontend: agent loop via mcp-client.ts
+#[tauri::command]
+pub async fn mcp_call_tool(
+    manager: State<'_, McpManagerState>,
+    tool_name: String,
+    arguments: serde_json::Value,
+) -> Result<serde_json::Value, String> {
+    let guard = manager.0.lock().await;
+    let adapter = guard
+        .all_adapters()
+        .into_iter()
+        .find(|a| a.name() == tool_name)
+        .ok_or_else(|| format!("MCP tool '{}' not found", tool_name))?;
+
+    adapter
+        .execute(arguments)
+        .await
+        .map_err(|e| format!("MCP tool '{}' execution failed: {}", tool_name, e))
+}
diff --git a/desktop/src-tauri/src/kernel_commands/mod.rs b/desktop/src-tauri/src/kernel_commands/mod.rs
index 15350b7..275cf27 100644
--- a/desktop/src-tauri/src/kernel_commands/mod.rs
+++ b/desktop/src-tauri/src/kernel_commands/mod.rs
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ pub mod approval;
 pub mod chat;
 pub mod hand;
 pub mod lifecycle;
+pub mod mcp;
 pub mod scheduled_task;
 pub mod skill;
 pub mod trigger;
diff --git a/desktop/src-tauri/src/lib.rs b/desktop/src-tauri/src/lib.rs
index 0ca710b..350f215 100644
--- a/desktop/src-tauri/src/lib.rs
+++ b/desktop/src-tauri/src/lib.rs
@@ -122,6 +122,7 @@ pub fn run() {
         .manage(classroom_state)
         .manage(classroom_chat_state)
         .manage(classroom_gen_tasks)
+        .manage(kernel_commands::mcp::McpManagerState::default())
         .invoke_handler(tauri::generate_handler![
             // Internal ZCLAW Kernel commands (preferred)
             kernel_commands::lifecycle::kernel_init,
@@ -323,7 +324,12 @@ pub fn run() {
             classroom_commands::generate::classroom_list,
             classroom_commands::chat::classroom_chat,
             classroom_commands::chat::classroom_chat_history,
-            classroom_commands::export::classroom_export
+            classroom_commands::export::classroom_export,
+            // MCP (Model Context Protocol) lifecycle commands
+            kernel_commands::mcp::mcp_start_service,
+            kernel_commands::mcp::mcp_stop_service,
+            kernel_commands::mcp::mcp_list_services,
+            kernel_commands::mcp::mcp_call_tool,
         ])
         .run(tauri::generate_context!())
         .expect("error while running tauri application");