Build Your First MCP Server in 5 Minutes (Without the Boilerplate)

MCP (Model Context Protocol) is how AI models like Claude connect to external tools and data. It's the reason Claude can read your files, query your database, or run a shell command — when you tell it to. Building an MCP server is powerful. Setting one up from scratch is tedious. Let me show you the fast path. What Is an MCP Server, Actually? An MCP server exposes capabilities to an AI client (like Claude Desktop) over a standardized protocol. There are three kinds: Tool servers — give AI the ability to do things (run code, make HTTP requests, write files) Resource servers — give AI access to data (files, databases, config) Prompt servers — give AI structured prompts (reusable templates with parameters) Most people start with tools. You define a function, give it a name and schema, and the AI can call it. The Boring Part (That We're Skipping) If you set this up from scratch, here's what you'd do: npm init Install @modelcontextprotocol/sdk and zod Configure TypeScript with the right mod