MCP: Model Context Protocol Server Development

Build, review, and debug MCP servers that expose tools, resources, and prompts to AI coding assistants. The goal is secure, well-structured servers that follow the protocol spec and don't become yet another server with preventable injection vulnerabilities.

Target versions (May 2026):

• MCP specification: 2025-11-25 (current stable; 2026-03-15 in draft)
• TypeScript SDK: @modelcontextprotocol/sdk 1.29.0 (1.x stable; 2.0.0-alpha in dev)
• Python SDK: mcp 1.27.0 (v1.26.0+)
• Protocol transports: stdio, Streamable HTTP (the standalone HTTP+SSE transport was deprecated in spec 2025-03-26; SSE still streams inside Streamable HTTP)

When to use

• Building a new MCP server (tools, resources, prompts)
• Adding tool handlers to an existing MCP server
• Configuring MCP transport (stdio for local, streamable HTTP for remote)
• Implementing MCP authentication (OAuth 2.1)
• Implementing MCP elicitation (interactive dialogs)
• Reviewing MCP server code for injection or tool poisoning vulnerabilities
• Debugging MCP connection issues between client and server
• Migrating from a custom tool integration to MCP

When NOT to use

• General REST API development that doesn't use MCP - just write the API
• Claude API / Anthropic SDK usage in an application - use ai-ml
• Security auditing existing servers across a codebase - use security-audit (it has an MCP section)
• Using MCP browsing tools to browse or scrape web pages - use browse
• Writing prompts for LLMs (not MCP prompt resources) - use prompt-generator

AI Self-Check

When generating or reviewing MCP server code, verify each item before presenting the result:

• All tool handler inputs validated server-side (no raw string interpolation into shell commands, SQL, file paths, or URLs)
• Tool descriptions accurate and concise (some clients truncate long descriptions)
• Resource URIs use a defined scheme and are validated before use
• Error responses use proper MCP error codes, not raw stack traces
• Authentication implemented for remote transports that handle user data (OAuth 2.1 with PKCE)
• No secrets hardcoded in tool handlers or server configuration
• inputSchema uses specific JSON Schema types with required, maxLength, constraints
• Server handles graceful shutdown (cleanup on SIGINT/SIGTERM)
• Streamable HTTP: binds to 127.0.0.1 (not 0.0.0.0) when local
• Streamable HTTP: validates Origin header (DNS rebinding prevention)
• Rate limiting on tool invocations
• Tool annotations treated as untrusted by client-side code
• Elicitation does not request passwords, tokens, or secrets
• Current source checked: dated versions, CLI flags, API names, and support windows are verified against primary docs before repeating them
• Hidden state identified: local config, credentials, caches, contexts, branches, cluster targets, or previous runs are made explicit before acting
• Verification is real: final checks exercise the actual runtime, parser, service, or integration point instead of only linting prose or happy paths
• Routing overlap checked: overlapping skills, trigger terms, and "When NOT to use" boundaries are checked before returning guidance
• Spec claims verified: claims about tool behavior, output contracts, or repo conventions are checked against current docs, scripts, or skill files
• Spec version checked: transports, auth, resources, tools, and prompts match current MCP docs and SDK behavior
• Tool poisoning considered: tool descriptions, dynamic metadata, and server updates cannot silently expand authority
• SDK methods verified: see Common Mistakes #8 - verify every API call against actual SDK docs rather than inventing method names

Performance

• Keep tool schemas tight and responses small; large unstructured tool outputs waste model context.
• Use resources for reusable context instead of returning the same large payload from every tool call.
• Batch read-only lookups where latency matters, but keep side-effecting tools separate and auditable.

Best Practices

• Treat MCP servers as security boundaries: authenticate, authorize, and log side effects explicitly.
• Make tool names and schemas stable; version breaking changes instead of changing semantics in place.
• Require user confirmation for tools that spend money, mutate infrastructure, delete data, or expose secrets.

Workflow

Build vs. Review: Steps 1-6 are for building new servers. When reviewing existing MCP server code: (1) scope using Step 1 questions - what tools, transport, and auth does the server use; (2) audit each tool handler against Step 3 injection vectors and the AI Self-Check; (3) cross-reference the Common Mistakes section for patterns AI models frequently introduce.

Step 1: Determine the server's purpose

Before writing code, clarify:

• What tools will it expose? Each tool = one operation the AI can invoke.
• What resources will it serve? Resources = read-only data the AI can access.
• What transport? stdio for local CLI integration, streamable HTTP for remote/production.
• What authentication? None for stdio. OAuth 2.1 recommended for remote servers handling user data.
• What language? TypeScript (most mature SDK) or Python (simpler, FastMCP).

Step 2: Scaffold the server

TypeScript (recommended for production):

import { McpServer } from "@modelcontextprotocol/sdk/server/mcp.js";
import { StdioServerTransport } from "@modelcontextprotocol/sdk/server/stdio.js";
import { z } from "zod";

const server = new McpServer({ name: "my-server", version: "1.0.0" });

// Current SDK API: `server.registerTool(name, { title, description, inputSchema }, handler)`.
// The older `server.tool(name, desc, schema, handler)` shorthand still works in v1.x.
server.registerTool(
  "search_docs",
  {
    title: "Search docs",
    description: "Search documentation by keyword",
    inputSchema: { query: z.string().max(200).describe("Search query"), limit: z.number().int().min(1).max(100).default(10) },
  },
  async ({ query, limit }) => {
    // If this tool reads files, apply path validation from Step 3 before any fs access.
    const sanitized = query.replace(/[^\w\s-]/g, "");
    const results = await searchIndex(sanitized, limit);
    return { content: [{ type: "text", text: JSON.stringify(results) }] };
  }
);

server.resource("config", "config://app/settings", async (uri) => ({
  contents: [{ uri: uri.href, mimeType: "application/json", text: JSON.stringify(config) }],
}));

const transport = new StdioServerTransport();
await server.connect(transport);

Python (FastMCP for quick prototyping):

import json, re
from mcp.server.fastmcp import FastMCP

mcp = FastMCP("my-server")

@mcp.tool()
def search_docs(query: str, limit: int = 10) -> str:
    """Search documentation by keyword."""
    sanitized = re.sub(r"[^\w\s-]", "", query[:200])
    return str(search_index(sanitized, min(limit, 100)))

@mcp.resource("config://app/settings")
def get_config() -> str:
    """Application configuration."""
    return json.dumps(config)

if __name__ == "__main__":
    mcp.run()

Step 3: Implement tools securely

Injection is the top MCP vulnerability class. Every tool handler is an attack surface.

The #1 rule: never interpolate user input into commands, queries, or paths.

Common injection vectors in MCP tools: