Notes MCP Server - Learning Guide

Welcome! This project is designed to help you understand Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers - how they work, how to build them, and how to use them.

📚 What is MCP?

Model Context Protocol (MCP) is an open protocol that standardizes how applications provide context to Large Language Models (LLMs). Think of it as a way for AI assistants to access tools, data, and capabilities from your applications.

Key Benefits:

• Standardized Interface: One protocol for all integrations
• Extensible: Easy to add new capabilities
• Secure: Controlled access to your data and functions
• Modular: Mix and match different MCP servers

🏗️ Project Structure

mcp-server/
├── src/
│   └── index.ts          # Main MCP server implementation
├── docs/
│   ├── architecture.md   # Detailed architecture and diagrams
│   ├── concepts.md       # Core MCP concepts explained
│   └── usage.md          # How to use the server
├── examples/
│   └── client-example.ts # Example MCP client
├── package.json          # Node.js dependencies
└── tsconfig.json         # TypeScript configuration

🚀 Quick Start

Installation

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Build the project
npm run build

# Run the server (for testing)
npm run dev

Using the Server

MCP servers communicate via stdio (standard input/output). They're typically configured in an MCP client like Claude Desktop or an IDE.

Example Configuration (Claude Desktop):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "notes": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/path/to/mcp-server/build/index.js"]
    }
  }
}

🧩 What This Server Does

This is a Notes Management Server that provides:

Tools (Functions)

• create_note - Create a new note
• list_notes - List all notes (with optional tag filter)
• get_note - Get a specific note by ID
• update_note - Update an existing note
• delete_note - Delete a note
• search_notes - Search notes by keyword

Resources (Data)

• notes://all - Access all notes as JSON
• notes://summary - Get a summary with statistics

Prompts (Templates)

• summarize_notes - Generate a summary of notes
• organize_notes - Get organization suggestions

📖 Learning Path

1. Start Here: Read Core Concepts to understand MCP fundamentals
2. Dive Deeper: Review Architecture to see how everything connects
3. Get Practical: Check Usage Guide for hands-on examples
4. Explore Code: Read through src/index.ts - it's heavily commented!

🎯 Key Concepts Illustrated

This server demonstrates:

✅ Request/Response Pattern: How MCP uses JSON-RPC for communication ✅ Tool Implementation: Defining and executing functions ✅ Resource Management: Exposing data through URIs ✅ Prompt Templates: Creating reusable prompt patterns ✅ Error Handling: Proper error responses ✅ Type Safety: Using TypeScript for robust code

🔄 How It Works (Simple View)

┌─────────────┐                    ┌─────────────┐
│             │   JSON-RPC over    │             │
│  MCP Client │ ←─────────────────→│  MCP Server │
│  (Claude)   │      stdio         │   (Notes)   │
│             │                    │             │
└─────────────┘                    └─────────────┘
       │                                  │
       │  1. "List available tools"       │
       │ ─────────────────────────────────→
       │                                  │
       │  2. Returns: create_note,        │
       │     list_notes, etc.             │
       │ ←─────────────────────────────────
       │                                  │
       │  3. "Call create_note with..."   │
       │ ─────────────────────────────────→
       │                                  │
       │  4. Executes & returns result    │
       │ ←─────────────────────────────────

🛠️ Development

Watch Mode

npm run watch

Testing

The server communicates via stdio, so direct testing requires an MCP client. See examples/ for a sample client implementation.

Inspect Mode (Browser UI)

Use MCP Inspector to run the server in introspect/inspect mode with a web UI:

npm run inspect

What this does:

• Builds the server
• Starts MCP Inspector with your server command: node build/index.js
• Opens a local UI (usually http://127.0.0.1:6274)

When Inspector starts, it prints:

• Proxy address (for example 127.0.0.1:6277)
• A session auth token
• A URL with the token prefilled

Keep the terminal running while you use the Inspector UI in your browser.

📚 Additional Resources

• MCP Official Documentation
• MCP Specification
• MCP SDK Repository

🤝 Contributing

This is an educational project! Feel free to:

• Add more features to practice
• Improve documentation
• Create additional examples
• Ask questions via issues

📝 License

MIT - Feel free to use this for learning and experimentation!

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Next Steps: Head to docs/concepts.md to learn about MCP fundamentals!