mcp.md•10.5 kB
# MCP TypeScript SDK  
## Table of Contents
- [Overview](#overview)
- [Installation](#installation)
- [Quickstart](#quickstart)
- [What is MCP?](#what-is-mcp)
- [Core Concepts](#core-concepts)
- [Server](#server)
- [Resources](#resources)
- [Tools](#tools)
- [Prompts](#prompts)
- [Running Your Server](#running-your-server)
- [stdio](#stdio)
- [Testing and Debugging](#testing-and-debugging)
- [Examples](#examples)
- [Echo Server](#echo-server)
- [SQLite Explorer](#sqlite-explorer)
- [Advanced Usage](#advanced-usage)
- [Low-Level Server](#low-level-server)
- [Writing MCP Clients](#writing-mcp-clients)
- [Server Capabilities](#server-capabilities)
- [Proxy OAuth Server](#proxy-authorization-requests-upstream)
- [Backwards Compatibility](#backwards-compatibility)
## Overview
The Model Context Protocol allows applications to provide context for LLMs in a standardized way, separating the concerns of providing context from the actual LLM interaction. This TypeScript SDK implements the full MCP specification, making it easy to:
- Build MCP clients that can connect to any MCP server
- Create MCP servers that expose resources, prompts and tools
- Handle all MCP protocol messages and lifecycle events
## Installation
```bash
npm install @modelcontextprotocol/sdk
```
## Quick Start
Let's create a simple MCP server that exposes a calculator tool and some data:
```typescript
import { McpServer, ResourceTemplate } from "@modelcontextprotocol/sdk/server/mcp.js";
import { StdioServerTransport } from "@modelcontextprotocol/sdk/server/stdio.js";
import { z } from "zod";
// Create an MCP server
const server = new McpServer({
name: "Demo",
version: "1.0.0"
});
// Add an addition tool
server.tool("add",
{ a: z.number(), b: z.number() },
async ({ a, b }) => ({
content: [{ type: "text", text: String(a + b) }]
})
);
// Add a dynamic greeting resource
server.resource(
"greeting",
new ResourceTemplate("greeting://{name}", { list: undefined }),
async (uri, { name }) => ({
contents: [{
uri: uri.href,
text: `Hello, ${name}!`
}]
})
);
// Start receiving messages on stdin and sending messages on stdout
const transport = new StdioServerTransport();
await server.connect(transport);
```
## What is MCP?
The [Model Context Protocol (MCP)](https://modelcontextprotocol.io) lets you build servers that expose data and functionality to LLM applications in a secure, standardized way. Think of it like a web API, but specifically designed for LLM interactions. MCP servers can:
- Expose data through **Resources** (think of these sort of like GET endpoints; they are used to load information into the LLM's context)
- Provide functionality through **Tools** (sort of like POST endpoints; they are used to execute code or otherwise produce a side effect)
- Define interaction patterns through **Prompts** (reusable templates for LLM interactions)
- And more!
## Core Concepts
### Server
The McpServer is your core interface to the MCP protocol. It handles connection management, protocol compliance, and message routing:
```typescript
const server = new McpServer({
name: "My App",
version: "1.0.0"
});
```
### Resources
Resources are how you expose data to LLMs. They're similar to GET endpoints in a REST API - they provide data but shouldn't perform significant computation or have side effects:
```typescript
// Static resource
server.resource(
"config",
"config://app",
async (uri) => ({
contents: [{
uri: uri.href,
text: "App configuration here"
}]
})
);
// Dynamic resource with parameters
server.resource(
"user-profile",
new ResourceTemplate("users://{userId}/profile", { list: undefined }),
async (uri, { userId }) => ({
contents: [{
uri: uri.href,
text: `Profile data for user ${userId}`
}]
})
);
```
### Tools
Tools let LLMs take actions through your server. Unlike resources, tools are expected to perform computation and have side effects:
```typescript
// Simple tool with parameters
server.tool(
"calculate-bmi",
{
weightKg: z.number(),
heightM: z.number()
},
async ({ weightKg, heightM }) => ({
content: [{
type: "text",
text: String(weightKg / (heightM * heightM))
}]
})
);
// Async tool with external API call
server.tool(
"fetch-weather",
{ city: z.string() },
async ({ city }) => {
const response = await fetch(`https://api.weather.com/${city}`);
const data = await response.text();
return {
content: [{ type: "text", text: data }]
};
}
);
```
### Prompts
Prompts are reusable templates that help LLMs interact with your server effectively:
```typescript
server.prompt(
"review-code",
{ code: z.string() },
({ code }) => ({
messages: [{
role: "user",
content: {
type: "text",
text: `Please review this code:\n\n${code}`
}
}]
})
);
```
## Running Your Server
MCP servers in TypeScript need to be connected to a transport to communicate with clients. How you start the server depends on the choice of transport:
### stdio
For command-line tools and direct integrations:
```typescript
import { McpServer } from "@modelcontextprotocol/sdk/server/mcp.js";
import { StdioServerTransport } from "@modelcontextprotocol/sdk/server/stdio.js";
const server = new McpServer({
name: "example-server",
version: "1.0.0"
});
// ... set up server resources, tools, and prompts ...
const transport = new StdioServerTransport();
await server.connect(transport);
```
This stateless approach is useful for:
- Simple API wrappers
- RESTful scenarios where each request is independent
- Horizontally scaled deployments without shared session state
### Testing and Debugging
To test your server, you can use the [MCP Inspector](https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/inspector). See its README for more information.
## Examples
### Echo Server
A simple server demonstrating resources, tools, and prompts:
```typescript
import { McpServer, ResourceTemplate } from "@modelcontextprotocol/sdk/server/mcp.js";
import { z } from "zod";
const server = new McpServer({
name: "Echo",
version: "1.0.0"
});
server.resource(
"echo",
new ResourceTemplate("echo://{message}", { list: undefined }),
async (uri, { message }) => ({
contents: [{
uri: uri.href,
text: `Resource echo: ${message}`
}]
})
);
server.tool(
"echo",
{ message: z.string() },
async ({ message }) => ({
content: [{ type: "text", text: `Tool echo: ${message}` }]
})
);
server.prompt(
"echo",
{ message: z.string() },
({ message }) => ({
messages: [{
role: "user",
content: {
type: "text",
text: `Please process this message: ${message}`
}
}]
})
);
```
### SQLite Explorer
A more complex example showing database integration:
```typescript
import { McpServer } from "@modelcontextprotocol/sdk/server/mcp.js";
import sqlite3 from "sqlite3";
import { promisify } from "util";
import { z } from "zod";
const server = new McpServer({
name: "SQLite Explorer",
version: "1.0.0"
});
// Helper to create DB connection
const getDb = () => {
const db = new sqlite3.Database("database.db");
return {
all: promisify<string, any[]>(db.all.bind(db)),
close: promisify(db.close.bind(db))
};
};
server.resource(
"schema",
"schema://main",
async (uri) => {
const db = getDb();
try {
const tables = await db.all(
"SELECT sql FROM sqlite_master WHERE type='table'"
);
return {
contents: [{
uri: uri.href,
text: tables.map((t: {sql: string}) => t.sql).join("\n")
}]
};
} finally {
await db.close();
}
}
);
server.tool(
"query",
{ sql: z.string() },
async ({ sql }) => {
const db = getDb();
try {
const results = await db.all(sql);
return {
content: [{
type: "text",
text: JSON.stringify(results, null, 2)
}]
};
} catch (err: unknown) {
const error = err as Error;
return {
content: [{
type: "text",
text: `Error: ${error.message}`
}],
isError: true
};
} finally {
await db.close();
}
}
);
```
## Advanced Usage
### Dynamic Servers
If you want to offer an initial set of tools/prompts/resources, but later add additional ones based on user action or external state change, you can add/update/remove them _after_ the Server is connected. This will automatically emit the corresponding `listChanged` notificaions:
```ts
import { McpServer } from "@modelcontextprotocol/sdk/server/mcp.js";
import { z } from "zod";
const server = new McpServer({
name: "Dynamic Example",
version: "1.0.0"
});
const listMessageTool = server.tool(
"listMessages",
{ channel: z.string() },
async ({ channel }) => ({
content: [{ type: "text", text: await listMessages(channel) }]
})
);
const putMessageTool = server.tool(
"putMessage",
{ channel: z.string(), message: z.string() },
async ({ channel, message }) => ({
content: [{ type: "text", text: await putMessage(channel, string) }]
})
);
// Until we upgrade auth, `putMessage` is disabled (won't show up in listTools)
putMessageTool.disable()
const upgradeAuthTool = server.tool(
"upgradeAuth",
{ permission: z.enum(["write', vadmin"])},
// Any mutations here will automatically emit `listChanged` notifications
async ({ permission }) => {
const { ok, err, previous } = await upgradeAuthAndStoreToken(permission)
if (!ok) return {content: [{ type: "text", text: `Error: ${err}` }]}
// If we previously had read-only access, 'putMessage' is now available
if (previous === "read") {
putMessageTool.enable()
}
if (permission === 'write') {
// If we've just upgraded to 'write' permissions, we can still call 'upgradeAuth'
// but can only upgrade to 'admin'.
upgradeAuthTool.update({
paramSchema: { permission: z.enum(["admin"]) }, // change validation rules
})
} else {
// If we're now an admin, we no longer have anywhere to upgrade to, so fully remove that tool
upgradeAuthTool.remove()
}
}
)
// Connect as normal
const transport = new StdioServerTransport();
await server.connect(transport);
```
