MCP Server Starter

A minimal MCP (Model Context Protocol) server with 2 working tools, ready to use with Claude Desktop and Claude Code.

Built and maintained by Quartalis.

What's Included (Free Edition)

Related MCP server: MCP Calculator Demo

Upgrade to Premium

The premium MCP kit includes 6 production-ready tools, Docker deployment, and full Claude Desktop/Code integration guides.

Get the Premium MCP Kit at quartalis.co.uk/store

Quick Start

1. Clone the repo

git clone https://github.com/Quartalis/mcp-server-starter.git
cd mcp-server-starter

2. Run the tests

python tests/test_tools.py

3. Configure Claude Desktop

Copy the snippet from claude_desktop_config.json into your Claude Desktop config file:

• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

• Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

Update the cwd path to point to your cloned directory.

4. Configure Claude Code

Add to your .claude/settings.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mcp-server-starter": {
      "command": "python",
      "args": ["src/server.py"],
      "cwd": "/path/to/mcp-server-starter"
    }
  }
}

5. Restart Claude and use the tools

Ask Claude to:

• "Calculate 2 ** 10 + 15 * 3"

• "Store my project name as 'My App' in memory"

• "List everything in memory"

Tools

Calculator

Evaluates mathematical expressions safely. Supports +, -, *, /, **, and parentheses.

Input:  {"expression": "(2 + 3) * 4"}
Output: "(2 + 3) * 4 = 20"

Memory Store

A session-scoped key-value store. Data persists for the duration of the server process.

Input:  {"action": "set", "key": "project", "value": "My SaaS"}
Output: "Stored: project = My SaaS"

Project Structure

mcp-server-starter/
├── src/
│   ├── __init__.py
│   └── server.py          # MCP server with tool handlers
├── tests/
│   └── test_tools.py      # Unit tests for both tools
├── claude_desktop_config.json
├── pyproject.toml
└── LICENSE

Requirements

• Python 3.10+

• No external dependencies (stdlib only)

How MCP Works

The Model Context Protocol allows AI assistants like Claude to call tools hosted on your machine. The server communicates over stdin/stdout using JSON-RPC, following the MCP specification.

This starter implements the core protocol:

• initialize / notifications/initialized handshake

• tools/list to advertise available tools

• tools/call to execute a tool and return results

License

MIT License. See LICENSE for details.

Links

• Quartalis — Software & game development

• Premium MCP Kit — 6 tools, Docker, full integration

• All Products — Browse the full Quartalis store

• MCP Specification — Official protocol docs