MCP Joke Server with Authentication

This is a sample implementation of a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that serves programming jokes with token-based authentication using FastAPI.

Setup

1. Open this folder in VS Code
2. When prompted, click "Reopen in Container" to use the devcontainer configuration
3. The container will automatically install all dependencies from requirements.txt

Running the Server

python server.py

The server will start on http://localhost:8000

Server Functionality

This MCP server provides a simple joke-telling capability. It cycles through a collection of programming-related jokes each time it's called. The server:

1. Implements a single MCP tool called tell_joke
2. Returns a different programming joke on each invocation
3. Requires authentication for accessing the SSE endpoint

Authentication

The server implements a simple token-based authentication for the SSE endpoint (/sse). To make requests, you need to include a Bearer token in your HTTP headers.

For this demo, use the token: valid_token

Example curl request:

curl http://localhost:8000/sse \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer valid_token"

Any requests to the SSE endpoint without a valid token will receive a 401 Unauthorized response.

VS Code Copilot Integration

This server can be used as a custom joke-telling agent for GitHub Copilot in VS Code. To use it:

1. Start the MCP server using python server.py
2. The VS Code settings are already configured in .vscode/settings.json to use this server
3. The server will respond to requests for jokes through the MCP protocol

Supported Capabilities

• Joke telling via MCP tool
• Token-based authentication for SSE endpoint
• FastAPI-based HTTP server

Security Note

This is a demonstration implementation. In a production environment, you should:

1. Use proper token validation
2. Store secrets securely
3. Implement proper token issuance and management
4. Use HTTPS
5. Add rate limiting and other security measures