Test MCP Server

A dual-transport Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that exposes your API as tools to LLM clients.

Supports two transports:

• Stdio (local): For Claude Desktop, Cursor, Windsurf

• HTTP/SSE (remote): For OpenAI Responses API and web clients

What is MCP?

The Model Context Protocol (MCP) is a standard that connects AI systems with external tools and data sources. MCP servers expose tools (functions), resources (data), and prompts that LLMs can use via a JSON-RPC interface over stdio.

Related MCP server: mcp-connect

Architecture

This is a proper MCP server that:

• ✅ Supports dual transports: stdio (local) and HTTP/SSE (remote)

• ✅ Uses the official MCP Python SDK (mcp package) for stdio

• ✅ Uses FastAPI for HTTP/SSE transport

• ✅ Can be launched by MCP clients (Claude Desktop, Cursor, Windsurf)

• ✅ Can be called remotely by OpenAI Responses API

• ✅ Exposes tools with strict JSON schemas for deterministic behavior

• ✅ Includes authentication, rate limiting, and security best practices

• ✅ Follows SOLID principles with clean separation of concerns

Project Structure

windsurf-project/
├── main.py                    # Entry point for stdio transport (local)
├── main_http.py               # Entry point for HTTP/SSE transport (remote)
├── requirements.txt           # Python dependencies
├── mcp_config.json           # Configuration for local MCP clients
├── .env.example              # Environment variables template
├── README.md                 # This file
├── REMOTE_DEPLOYMENT.md      # Guide for deploying as remote server
├── ThingsIveLearned.md       # Project patterns and insights
└── test_mcp/                 # Main package
    ├── __init__.py           # Package initialization
    ├── server.py             # MCP server (stdio transport)
    ├── http_server.py        # MCP server (HTTP/SSE transport)
    ├── tools.py              # Tool implementations (shared)
    ├── config.py             # Configuration settings
    └── handlers.py           # Legacy handlers (can be removed)

Installation

1. Install dependencies:

pip install -r requirements.txt

2. Configure environment (optional):

cp .env.example .env
# Edit .env with your API credentials if needed

Available Tools

1. search_items

Search for items with pagination support.

Input Schema:

{
  "query": "search term",      // required
  "limit": 10,                  // optional, 1-50, default 10
  "cursor": "pagination_token"  // optional
}

Output:

{
  "items": [
    {
      "id": "item_001",
      "title": "Item Title",
      "summary": "Brief description",
      "score": 0.95
    }
  ],
  "nextCursor": "next_page_token",
  "total": 42
}

2. get_item

Retrieve detailed information about a single item.

Input Schema:

{
  "id": "item_001"  // required
}

Output:

{
  "id": "item_001",
  "title": "Item Title",
  "body": "Full content...",
  "createdAt": "2025-10-08T08:00:00Z",
  "url": "https://example.com/items/item_001",
  "metadata": {
    "author": "Author Name",
    "tags": ["tag1", "tag2"]
  }
}

3. health

Check server health status.

Input Schema: {} (no parameters)

Output:

{
  "status": "healthy",
  "server": "test-mcp-server",
  "version": "0.1.0",
  "timestamp": "2025-10-08T08:43:00Z"
}

Usage

Local Usage (Stdio Transport)

Testing Manually

Run the stdio server:

python main.py

Then send a JSON-RPC request via stdin:

{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"method":"tools/list","params":{}}

Connecting to Claude Desktop

1. Open your Claude Desktop config file:

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

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

2. Add this server configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "test-mcp-server": {
      "command": "python",
      "args": [
        "/Users/mokes/CascadeProjects/windsurf-project/main.py"
      ],
      "env": {
        "API_BASE_URL": "http://localhost:8000/api/v1",
        "API_KEY": ""
      }
    }
  }
}

3. Restart Claude Desktop

4. The tools will appear in Claude's tool palette

Connecting to Cursor/Windsurf

Add the server to your MCP configuration (similar process to Claude Desktop).

Remote Usage (HTTP/SSE Transport)

Quick Start

1. Start the HTTP server:

python main_http.py

Server runs at http://localhost:8000

2. Test with curl:

# List tools
curl -X POST http://localhost:8000/mcp \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"action": "list_tools"}'

# Call a tool
curl -X POST http://localhost:8000/mcp \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "action": "call_tool",
    "name": "search_items",
    "arguments": {"query": "test", "limit": 5}
  }'

Using with OpenAI Responses API

Once deployed to a public URL:

from openai import OpenAI

client = OpenAI()

resp = client.responses.create(
    model="gpt-5",
    tools=[{
        "type": "mcp",
        "server_label": "my-api",
        "server_url": "https://api.yourdomain.com/mcp",
        "authorization": "Bearer your_token",
        "require_approval": "never"
    }],
    input="Search for items about AI"
)

print(resp.output_text)

See REMOTE_DEPLOYMENT.md for complete deployment guide.

Customizing for Your API

Option 1: Replace Mock Data with Real API Calls

Edit test_mcp/tools.py and uncomment the real API call examples:

async def search_items_tool(arguments: Dict[str, Any]) -> Dict[str, Any]:
    query = arguments.get("query", "")
    limit = arguments.get("limit", 10)
    cursor = arguments.get("cursor")
    
    # Call your actual API
    params = {"q": query, "limit": limit}
    if cursor:
        params["cursor"] = cursor
    
    data = await call_api("GET", "/search", params=params)
    
    return {
        "items": data.get("items", []),
        "nextCursor": data.get("nextCursor"),
        "total": data.get("total", 0)
    }

Option 2: Add New Tools

1. Define the tool schema in test_mcp/server.py:

Tool(
    name="create_item",
    description="Create a new item",
    inputSchema={
        "type": "object",
        "properties": {
            "title": {"type": "string", "minLength": 1},
            "body": {"type": "string"}
        },
        "required": ["title"]
    }
)

2. Implement the tool in test_mcp/tools.py:

async def create_item_tool(arguments: Dict[str, Any]) -> Dict[str, Any]:
    title = arguments.get("title")
    body = arguments.get("body", "")
    
    # Your implementation
    data = await call_api("POST", "/items", json={"title": title, "body": body})
    return data

3. Wire it up in the call_tool handler:

elif name == "create_item":
    result = await create_item_tool(arguments)
    return [TextContent(type="text", text=json.dumps(result, indent=2))]

Best Practices

✅ DO:

• Keep tool outputs compact and stable - LLMs rely on predictable shapes

• Use opaque cursors for pagination (not page numbers)

• Validate inputs strictly with JSON schemas (min/max, enums, defaults)

• Return clear error messages - avoid HTML or stack traces

• Add timeouts and retries for external API calls

• Never expose secrets in tool outputs

❌ DON'T:

• Don't return huge blobs of data - summarize or paginate

• Don't use page numbers - use cursors for deterministic pagination

• Don't hardcode API keys - use environment variables

• Don't expose internal IDs or PII unless required

• Don't make tools that have side effects without idempotency keys

Key Patterns

1. Separation of Concerns:

   • server.py: MCP protocol handling (stdio, JSON-RPC)

   • tools.py: Business logic and API calls

   • config.py: Configuration management

2. Type Safety:

   • Pydantic models for validation

   • Python type hints throughout

   • Strict JSON schemas for tool inputs

3. Error Handling:

   • Graceful degradation

   • Clear error messages

   • Timeout handling

4. Determinism:

   • Stable output formats

   • Predictable pagination

   • Consistent error codes

Troubleshooting

Server won't start

• Check Python version (3.10+)

• Verify all dependencies installed: pip install -r requirements.txt

• Check for syntax errors: python -m py_compile main.py

Tools not appearing in Claude Desktop

• Verify the path in claude_desktop_config.json is absolute

• Check Claude Desktop logs for errors

• Restart Claude Desktop after config changes

API calls failing

• Verify API_BASE_URL and API_KEY in environment

• Check network connectivity

• Add logging to tools.py to debug

Environment Variables

• API_BASE_URL: Base URL for your API (default: http://localhost:8000/api/v1)

• API_KEY: API authentication key (optional)

• ENVIRONMENT: Environment name (default: development)

• DEBUG: Enable debug logging (default: true)

License

MIT

Contributing

1. Follow SOLID principles

2. Add type hints to all functions

3. Update ThingsIveLearned.md with new patterns

4. Test with Claude Desktop before committing