Simple MCP Server Tutorial

# Simple MCP Server Tutorial A beginner-friendly Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that demonstrates core MCP concepts with practical tools. ## What This Server Does This MCP server provides two main functionalities: - **Calculator**: Basic arithmetic operations (add, subtract, multiply, divide) - **Note Management**: Create, read, list, and delete notes ## Setup Instructions ### 1. Install Dependencies ```bash npm install ``` ### 2. Test the Server ```bash npm start ``` ### 3. Connect to Claude Desktop Add this configuration to your Claude Desktop config file: **macOS**: `~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json` **Windows**: `%APPDATA%/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json` ```json { "mcpServers": { "simple-mcp-server": { "command": "node", "args": ["/path/to/your/server.js"] } } } ``` Replace `/path/to/your/server.js` with the actual path to your server.js file. ### 4. Restart Claude Desktop After saving the config, restart Claude Desktop to load your MCP server. ## Available Tools ### Calculator - `calculator`: Perform arithmetic operations - Parameters: `operation` (add/subtract/multiply/divide), `a` (number), `b` (number) ### Note Management - `add_note`: Create a new note with title and content - `get_note`: Retrieve a note by title - `list_notes`: Show all note titles - `delete_note`: Remove a note by title ## Example Usage Once connected to Claude, you can ask: - "Calculate 15 + 27" - "Add a note titled 'Meeting' with content 'Team standup at 2pm'" - "Show me my note called 'Meeting'" - "List all my notes" ## Understanding MCP This server demonstrates key MCP concepts: 1. **Tools**: Functions that LLMs can call to perform actions 2. **Schema**: JSON schema definitions for tool parameters 3. **Transport**: Communication layer (stdio in this case) 4. **Error Handling**: Proper error responses for invalid inputs ## File Structure ``` ├── package.json # Dependencies and scripts ├── server.js # Main MCP server implementation └── README.md # This file ```