---
title: "Foundational Protocols for Agentic and Multi-Modal AI Systems"
source: Panaversity Learn Agentic AI
source_url: https://github.com/panaversity/learn-agentic-ai
licence: Apache-2.0
domain: agentic-ai
subdomain: panaversity-agentic
date_added: 2026-04-25
---

# Foundational Protocols for Agentic and Multi-Modal AI Systems

This module provides a future-proofed, pedagogically ordered learning path through the foundational protocols that underpin modern, scalable, and multi-modal agentic AI systems. Each protocol is presented in a sequence that builds conceptual understanding from the network layer up to advanced real-time and multi-modal communication, serialization, and emerging research.

## Prerequisites

- 01 AI Agents First Module
- Modern Python ([including Asyncio](https://docs.python.org/3/library/asyncio.html))

## Why This Structure?

- **Agentic AI systems** require robust, interoperable, and efficient communication at every layer.
- **Multi-modal agents** (processing text, audio, video, sensor data, etc.) need protocols that support diverse, high-throughput, and low-latency data flows.
- **Future-proofing**: The field is evolving rapidly. This structure is designed to be extensible, with a dedicated section for emerging and experimental protocols.

## Learning Path Overview

| Order | Directory              | Description/Focus                           |
| ----- | ---------------------- | ------------------------------------------- |
| 01    | 01_HTTP_Theory         | HTTP/1.1 essentials                         |
| 02    | 02_REST                | Resource-oriented APIs                      |
| 03    | 03_Streamable_HTTP     | Streaming over HTTP                         |
| 04    | 04_JSON_RPC            | JSON-based RPC                              |
| 05    | 05_mcp_streamable_http_spec                | MCP Streamable HTTP Transport Spec     |

## How to Use This Directory

- **Start at the top** and work your way down for a solid foundation in network and application protocols.
- **extra** is a living area for tracking and contributing to the next generation of AI communication standards. i.e:

| Code | Folder                | Description                                           |
|------|-----------------------|-------------------------------------------------------|
| 00   | 00_IP                 | Network addressing/routing                           |
| 01   | 01_TCP                | Reliable transport                                   |
| 02   | 02_UDP                | Fast, connectionless transport                       |
| 03   | 03_HTTP2              | Multiplexing, server push                            |
| 04   | 04_QUIC               | Modern UDP-based transport (HTTP/3)                  |
| 05   | 05_HTTP3              | HTTP over QUIC                                       |
| 06   | 06_WebRTC             | Real-time, P2P, multi-modal                          |
| 07   | 07_WebTransport       | Modern real-time transport (HTTP/3, QUIC)            |
| 08   | 08_WebCodecs          | Low-level media encoding/decoding                    |
| 09   | 09_WebSockets         | Bidirectional, persistent connections                |
| 10   | 10_MQTT               | Lightweight pub/sub                                  |
| 11   | 11_SSE                | Server-sent events                                   |
| 12   | 12_GRPC               | Next Gen AI Communication Potential standard         |
| 13   | 13_Future_AI_Protocols| Research, proposals, and emerging standards          |


## Protocol Summaries

**Core:**
- **HTTP (1.1/2/3), REST**: The web's lingua franca, powering APIs and agent-to-agent/service communication.
- **Streamable_HTTP, SSE**: Techniques for real-time and event-driven data flows over HTTP.
- **JSON_RPC**: An important RPC paradigms for agent-to-agent and agent-to-service calls.

**Extra:**
- **IP, TCP, UDP, QUIC**: The backbone of all networked communication, from addressing to reliable and fast data transfer.
- **WebRTC, WebTransport, WebCodecs**: Advanced protocols for real-time, peer-to-peer, and multi-modal streaming, essential for next-gen agentic and immersive systems.
- **WebSockets, MQTT**: Event-driven, persistent, and lightweight communication for distributed and IoT-style agentic systems.
- **Future_AI_Protocols**: A space for research, proposals, and tracking the evolution of AI-native communication standards.

---

**This structure is designed to support both current best practices and the ongoing evolution of agentic, multi-modal, and AI-first systems.**

For each protocol, see its directory for a detailed README covering:

- Core concepts and protocol summary
- Key characteristics, strengths, and weaknesses
- Hands on in Python
- Typical and future-facing use cases (AI, multi-modal, agentic, MCP/A2A, etc.)
- How it fits into the overall stack and interacts with other protocols
- Open research questions and future directions
