Step-by-step articles on Model Context Protocol, part of our AI Agents collection.
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Before MCP, every AI application needed custom glue code for every integration: one plugin for GitHub in app A, a different one in app B. The Model Context Protocol (MCP) is an open standard, introduced by Anthropic, that defines one way for AI applications to...
In this tutorial you'll build an MCP server that exposes a get_github_repo tool, and run it over stdio so desktop AI apps can launch it. 1. Set up the project mkdir github-mcp && cd github-mcp npm init -y npm install @modelcontextprotocol/sdk zod npm install -...
The official Python SDK includes FastMCP , a high-level API where type hints and docstrings become the tool schema. A working server takes only a few lines. 1. Create the project uv init notes-mcp && cd notes-mcp uv add "mcp[cli]" 2. Write the server # server....
Most MCP tutorials stop at tools, but the protocol has three server primitives, each controlled by a different party: Tools - the model decides when to call them. Resources - the application (or user) decides what data to attach. Prompts - the user explicitly...
Once you have an MCP server, connect it to a host app so the model can use it. Here's how to do that in two popular hosts. Claude Desktop Open Settings, then Developer, then Edit Config. This opens claude_desktop_config.json . Add your server under mcpServers...
Stdio servers run on the user's machine. A remote MCP server runs on your infrastructure and is reached over HTTP, which is how SaaS products expose their tools to AI apps. The current HTTP transport is Streamable HTTP : one endpoint that accepts JSON-RPC over...
Host apps like Claude Desktop include an MCP client, but you can embed one in your own app too. That lets your product use any MCP server as a tool provider. Connect and list tools import { Client } from '@modelcontextprotocol/sdk/client/index.js'; import { St...
Debugging through a chat app is slow: you can't see the raw messages, and the model decides when to call your tool. The MCP Inspector is an official browser-based tool that connects to your server directly. Run it # TypeScript / Node server npx @modelcontextpr...
MCP connects models to real systems, so it inherits real security risks. Some apply to server authors, some to anyone installing servers. Risks for users and host apps Malicious servers. A local stdio server runs with your user's permissions. Only install serv...
If an MCP server is reachable over HTTP, the Claude API can connect to it for you. You list the server in the request and the API handles tool discovery and tool calls, so there's no MCP client or agent loop in your code. The request The MCP connector is a bet...
