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tiny-go-mcp-server

Tiny Go MCP Server

CI Go Reference Go Report Card tiny-go-mcp-server MCP server

A lightweight Model Context Protocol (MCP) toolkit for Go. Build spec-compliant MCP servers (stdio, streamable HTTP, legacy SSE) with tools, resources, and prompts — minimal boilerplate and automatic JSON Schema from Go structs.

Built on the official modelcontextprotocol/go-sdk.

Requirements: Go 1.26+ (download).


Why Tiny?

Tiny Go MCP Server

Full frameworks

Goal

Thin helper on official go-sdk + tiny static binary

Full MCP feature surface

Deps

Official go-sdk only

Varies

Binary

~5MB stripped, no runtime on host

Often larger stacks

Schemas

Inferred from struct tags

Manual or builder APIs

Use this project as a library (tinymcp package) or as a starting template (cmd/tiny-go-mcp).

When to use what

tinymcp (this repo)

mcp-go

go-sdk alone

Best for

Thin helper on go-sdk, tiny binary

Rich helpers, large ecosystem

Full control, no extra layer

Schema

Struct tags → auto JSON Schema

Builder APIs / helpers

AddTool + generics yourself

Transport

stdio (Start()), streamable HTTP (StartHTTP), legacy SSE (StartSSE)

stdio, SSE, HTTP, …

All transports

Deps

go-sdk only

Standalone module

go-sdk only

Choose tinymcp when you want the official protocol implementation with minimal boilerplate and a small static server binary.

Philosophy

tinymcp is a thin helper on the official go-sdk — not a replacement for it.

We reduce setup and transport boilerplate (server creation, registration error handling, stdio/HTTP/SSE, TextResult, deploy examples). The protocol implementation, generics, and schema inference still come from modelcontextprotocol/go-sdk.

That means handler code uses both imports — and that is intentional:

import (
    "github.com/kioie/tiny-go-mcp-server/tinymcp"
    "github.com/modelcontextprotocol/go-sdk/mcp" // handler types, prompts, resources, advanced APIs
)

Use tinymcp for

Use go-sdk (mcp) for

NewServer, RegisterTool, transports

Handler signatures (CallToolRequest, GetPromptRequest, …)

Safe registration (errors, not panics)

Tool annotations, elicitation, custom protocol features

TextResult, HTTP middleware helpers

Anything via server.RawServer()

We are not aiming for a non-leaky facade that hides the SDK. If you need full control, call RawServer() or use go-sdk directly — same underlying server, no lock-in.

tinymcp vs raw go-sdk

Same protocol implementation — tinymcp removes repetitive setup. Handler code still imports mcp for request types in both cases.

go-sdk alone (minimal stdio server):

server := mcp.NewServer(&mcp.Implementation{Name: "my-mcp", Version: "1.0.0"}, nil)
mcp.AddTool(server, &mcp.Tool{
    Name:        "greet",
    Description: "Greet someone by name",
}, greet)
if err := server.Run(context.Background(), &mcp.StdioTransport{}); err != nil {
    log.Fatal(err)
}

tinymcp (same tool, less boilerplate):

s := tinymcp.NewServer("my-mcp", "1.0.0")
if err := tinymcp.RegisterTool(s, "greet", "Greet someone by name", greet); err != nil {
    log.Fatal(err)
}
log.Fatal(s.Start())

tinymcp adds

Still on go-sdk (mcp)

NewServer(name, ver)

Handler signatures (CallToolRequest, prompts, resources)

RegisterTool + struct-tag JSON Schema

Tool annotations via RegisterToolDef + mcp.Tool

Safe registration errors (no panics)

Advanced session / event-store APIs

Start() / StartHTTP() / HTTP middleware

Full control via RawServer()

Use go-sdk alone when you want zero wrapper. Use tinymcp when you want less setup while staying on the official implementation.

Transport

Method

API

Typical clients

stdio (default)

Start()

Cursor, Claude Desktop, Windsurf (local subprocess)

Streamable HTTP

StartHTTP(addr, opts) or StreamableHTTPHandler

Remote MCP clients, gateways, browser tools

Legacy SSE

StartSSE(addr, opts) or SSEHandler

Older clients on MCP 2024-11-05 SSE transport

Start() runs stdio (stdin/stdout) — what most local AI clients expect.

For HTTP/SSE, tinymcp wraps the official go-sdk handlers with minimal options:

// Streamable HTTP on loopback (stateless demo — no GET/SSE or server→client RPC)
log.Fatal(server.StartHTTP("127.0.0.1:8080", &tinymcp.HTTPOptions{Stateless: true}))

// Or mount on your own mux (auth, TLS, path prefix)
handler, _ := tinymcp.StreamableHTTPHandler(server, nil)
http.Handle("/mcp", handler)

Stateless mode (Stateless: true) is the default in examples: one POST JSON-RPC per request, no long-lived SSE GET stream, and no server-initiated messages. Omit it or use session options when you need full streamable HTTP sessions — see docs/HTTP.md.

See docs/HTTP.md and examples/http. To host for Smithery URL listing (no Docker for end users), use examples/http-deploy. For advanced session routing or event stores, use server.RawServer() with the go-sdk directly.


Related MCP server: MCP Playground Server

Quick start (library)

Step-by-step guide: docs/QUICKSTART.md. AI codegen: SYSTEM_PROMPT.md.

go get github.com/kioie/tiny-go-mcp-server/tinymcp@latest
package main

import (
	"context"
	"fmt"
	"log"

	"github.com/kioie/tiny-go-mcp-server/tinymcp"
	"github.com/modelcontextprotocol/go-sdk/mcp"
)

type greetArgs struct {
	Name string `json:"name" jsonschema:"Person to greet"`
}

func main() {
	s := tinymcp.NewServer("my-mcp", "1.0.0")
	if err := tinymcp.RegisterTool(s, "greet", "Greet someone by name", greet); err != nil {
		log.Fatal(err)
	}
	log.Fatal(s.Start())
}

func greet(_ context.Context, _ *mcp.CallToolRequest, args greetArgs) (*mcp.CallToolResult, any, error) {
	return tinymcp.TextResult(fmt.Sprintf("Hello, %s!", args.Name)), nil, nil
}

See examples/minimal for a runnable copy-paste example.

Scaffold a new server

Requires tagged module template/ (v1.1.1+) for stdio, or template-http/ for streamable HTTP:

go install golang.org/x/tools/cmd/gonew@latest
gonew github.com/kioie/tiny-go-mcp-server/template@latest example.com/my-mcp my-mcp
cd my-mcp && go run .

# HTTP deploy (Smithery / Fly / Render):
gonew github.com/kioie/tiny-go-mcp-server/template-http@latest example.com/my-mcp-http my-mcp-http
cd my-mcp-http && go run .

Or copy examples/minimal, template/, or template-http/ directly.


Install the example server

Both install paths produce a binary named tiny-go-mcp:

# Installs to $(go env GOPATH)/bin/tiny-go-mcp
go install github.com/kioie/tiny-go-mcp-server/cmd/tiny-go-mcp@latest

Or build from source (binary in the repo root):

git clone https://github.com/kioie/tiny-go-mcp-server.git
cd tiny-go-mcp-server
make release   # → ./tiny-go-mcp

Method

Binary name

Typical path

go install …/cmd/tiny-go-mcp

tiny-go-mcp

$(go env GOPATH)/bin/tiny-go-mcp

make build / make release

tiny-go-mcp

./tiny-go-mcp in the repo

make install

tiny-go-mcp

$(go env GOPATH)/bin/tiny-go-mcp

Example tools (reference server)

These tools exist for MCP integration demos, not production logic. Agents should compute math and write greetings in-chat unless they are explicitly testing tool calls.

Tool

When to use

When not to / alternative

Arguments

add

Test that the client can call an addition tool

Real arithmetic → compute locally or use a calculator MCP

a, b

subtract

Test subtraction wiring (use instead of add for subtraction tests)

Real arithmetic → compute locally

a, b

greet

Test a text-returning tool (use instead of add/subtract for messaging demos)

User-facing hello → reply in the conversation

name (required), greeting (optional)


Connect AI clients

MCP servers communicate over stdio. Point your client at the compiled binary path.

Template config: examples/mcp-client-config.json (copy and set the absolute path to tiny-go-mcp).

Logging: The protocol uses stdin/stdout. Server logs (if any) go to stderr only. Set TINY_GO_MCP_VERBOSE=1 on the server process to enable startup log lines.

Cursor

Settings → Features → MCP → Add server:

  • Name: tiny-go-mcp

  • Type: stdio

  • Command: /absolute/path/to/tiny-go-mcp

Or add to .cursor/mcp.json in your project:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "tiny-go-mcp": {
      "command": "/absolute/path/to/tiny-go-mcp"
    }
  }
}

Claude Desktop

~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json (macOS) or %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json (Windows):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "tiny-go-mcp": {
      "command": "/absolute/path/to/tiny-go-mcp"
    }
  }
}

Windsurf / Zed / other stdio clients

Use the same shape: command = absolute path to tiny-go-mcp, transport = stdio. Refer to your client’s MCP docs for the config file location.

Tips for LLM-friendly tools

  • Use clear tool names (snake_case) and descriptions that say when to use, when not to, and which sibling tool applies — models pick tools from these and often have overlapping options.

  • Add jsonschema tags on struct fields so argument docs appear in the schema.

  • Return human-readable text via tinymcp.TextResult for predictable client display.

  • See AGENTS.md for conventions when extending this repo with AI assistants.


Resources and prompts

Register read-only context and reusable prompt templates alongside tools:

if err := tinymcp.RegisterTextResource(server, "file:///info", "info", "Server metadata", "text/plain", "…"); err != nil {
	log.Fatal(err)
}
if err := tinymcp.RegisterPrompt(server, "code_review", "Review code", []*mcp.PromptArgument{
	{Name: "code", Required: true},
}, func(_ context.Context, req *mcp.GetPromptRequest) (*mcp.GetPromptResult, error) {
	code := req.Params.Arguments["code"]
	if code == "" {
		return nil, tinymcp.RequiredPromptArgument("code")
	}
	return tinymcp.PromptResult("Review", tinymcp.UserPromptMessage("Review:\n"+code)), nil
}); err != nil {
	log.Fatal(err)
}

Runnable example: examples/resources. For dynamic URI templates use RegisterResourceTemplate.


Package API

server := tinymcp.NewServer("name", "version")
tinymcp.NewServer("name", "version", tinymcp.WithInstructions("…")) // optional SDK config
tinymcp.NewServerWithOptions("name", "version", &mcp.ServerOptions{…})
tinymcp.RegisterTool(server, name, description, handler)     // typed handler, auto schema
tinymcp.RegisterTextResource(server, uri, name, desc, mime, text)
tinymcp.RegisterPrompt(server, name, desc, args, handler)
server.Start()                                              // stdio transport
server.StartHTTP(":8080", &tinymcp.HTTPOptions{})         // streamable HTTP
server.StartSSE(":8080", nil)                             // legacy SSE
tinymcp.StreamableHTTPHandler(server, nil)                // mount on custom http.Server
tinymcp.TextResult("message")                               // tool text helper
tinymcp.TextResource(uri, mime, text)                       // resource read helper
tinymcp.PromptResult(desc, tinymcp.UserPromptMessage("…")) // prompt helper
server.RawServer()                                          // escape hatch to go-sdk

// v1.2+: panic-at-startup registration or errors.Is sentinels
tinymcp.MustRegisterTool(server, name, description, handler)
errors.Is(err, tinymcp.ErrNilServer)                        // ErrNilTool, ErrNilHandler, ErrRegistrationFailed
opts := (&tinymcp.HTTPOptions{Stateless: true}).WithMiddleware(requestLogger)
tinymcp.ListenAndServeHTTPContext(ctx, addr, handler)       // graceful shutdown; also StartHTTPContext / StartSSEContext

Documentation: pkg.go.dev/github.com/kioie/tiny-go-mcp-server/tinymcp. Upgrading from v1.1.x: docs/MIGRATION-v1.2.md.


Development

Command

Description

make test

Run tests with race detector

make lint

golangci-lint

make lint-tools

Validate MCP tool descriptions in reference servers

make coverage

Coverage report

make build

Dev binary ./tiny-go-mcp

make release

Stripped static binary

make install

go install$(go env GOPATH)/bin/tiny-go-mcp

Smaller binaries (~1.8MB)

After make release, optionally pack with UPX:

upx --best --lzma tiny-go-mcp

Project structure

tinymcp/              # Library package
cmd/tiny-go-mcp/      # Reference MCP server
template/             # gonew stdio scaffold
template-http/        # gonew streamable HTTP deploy scaffold
examples/minimal/     # Minimal stdio example
examples/http/        # Streamable HTTP example
examples/http-deploy/ # Deployable HTTP + Smithery URL listing (server card, Render/Fly)
examples/resources/   # Resources + prompts example
examples/mcp-client-config.json  # Cursor/Claude-style template
scripts/lint-tools/   # MCP tool description linter (make lint-tools)
docs/                 # Guides — see below
server.json           # MCP Registry metadata (publish with mcp-publisher)
CHANGELOG.md          # Release history
SYSTEM_PROMPT.md      # Agent-facing API summary for codegen
.github/workflows/    # CI, lint, CodeQL, releases

Key docs in docs/:

Doc

Purpose

QUICKSTART.md

Step-by-step library setup

HTTP.md

stdio vs streamable HTTP vs legacy SSE

STABILITY.md

Public API stability policy

MIGRATION-v1.2.md

Upgrade guide from v1.1.x

TLS.md

HTTPS via reverse proxy or Go

LOCALHOST-PROTECTION.md

DNS rebinding security advisory

DISCOVERY.md

Registries and visibility

GLAMA.md

Glama hosting

SMITHERY.md

Smithery URL and MCPB listings


Releases

Tag a semver version (e.g. v1.2.0) to publish stable go get versions and trigger GitHub Releases with cross-platform binaries and multi-arch GHCR images. Release history: CHANGELOG.md. Public API stability: docs/STABILITY.md. Agent-facing API summary: SYSTEM_PROMPT.md. Upgrading from v1.1.x: docs/MIGRATION-v1.2.md.

git tag v1.2.0
git push origin v1.2.0

Discovery and registries

See docs/DISCOVERY.md for MCP Registry (server.json), awesome lists, and community directories. Listing copy and launch posts: docs/SUBMISSIONS.md. For Glama hosting with Docker, see docs/GLAMA.md.

Contributing

See CONTRIBUTING.md. For AI codegen outside this repo, see SYSTEM_PROMPT.md. CI runs tests, lint, and CodeQL; Dependabot keeps Go and Actions dependencies updated.

License

MIT — see LICENSE.

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