A comprehensive path from beginner to expert in MCP development
Understanding the basics of MCP and setting up your development environment.
Core concepts and terminology, the MCP architecture, and how AI models interact with external tools.
Docker installation, API keys configuration, and understanding the necessary configuration files.
Running the basic MCP proxy server, testing with simple built-in tools, and troubleshooting.
Set up a basic MCP environment and run a simple conversation using the time tool.
Building simple tools and understanding protocol details.
Message formats, request and response structures, JSON Schema for tool definitions.
Building simple tools like weather, calculator, and basic web search functionality.
Connecting tools to Claude, prompting tool use, and handling outputs.
Build a custom tool that retrieves information from a public API and integrate it with Claude.
Creating more complex tools and improving user experience.
Connecting to SQL and NoSQL databases, creating data query and analysis tools.
Managing session state, implementing context awareness, and user session management.
Robust error handling strategies, graceful failure modes, and debugging techniques.
Vector databases integration, document embedding and retrieval for Q&A systems.
Securing MCP servers, API key management, and role-based access control.
Image and audio processing, document analysis, and visualization generation.
Build a RAG system that allows Claude to answer questions from your document collection.
Building complex systems and optimization techniques.
Autonomous agent architectures, tool-using agents, and multi-step reasoning.
Workflow integration, CRM/ERP connections, and business process automation.
Caching strategies, parallel tool execution, and resource management.
Complex reasoning systems, step-by-step problem solving, and self-correction.
Containerization, orchestration, and high-availability configurations.
Specialized API proxies, request routing, and rate limiting.
Build an autonomous agent system that can accomplish complex multi-step tasks using multiple tools.
Production-grade systems and advanced architectures.
Collaborative AI architectures, agent communication, and orchestration frameworks.
Compliance frameworks, data governance, audit logging, and privacy techniques.
Streaming data integration, real-time analytics, and event-driven architectures.
Industry-specialized systems, domain adaptation, and vertical-specific tools.
Custom protocol enhancements, extended functionality, and backward compatibility.
Multi-region architecture, global load balancing, and disaster recovery.
Design and implement a domain-specific assistant with specialized tools for a particular industry.
Contributing to the ecosystem and pushing boundaries.
Open source development, protocol improvements, and community participation.
Novel MCP applications, extending protocol capabilities, and academic collaboration.
Building reusable libraries, creating tool frameworks, and developing standards.
Contribute to the MCP open source ecosystem or develop a novel application that pushes boundaries.
Comprehensive references and guides for MCP development:
Hands-on learning opportunities:
Learn from the MCP developer community:
Your learning journey will vary based on prior experience and specific project requirements:
Remember that practical experience is key - aim to build real projects at each stage to solidify your learning.