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MCP Server Boilerplate

by luquitared
OverviewSchemaRelated ServersScoreDiscussions
JavaScript

MCP Server Boilerplate

A starter template for building MCP (Model Context Protocol) servers. This boilerplate provides a clean foundation for creating your own MCP server that can integrate with Claude, Cursor, or other MCP-compatible AI assistants.

Purpose

This boilerplate helps you quickly start building:

  • Custom tools for AI assistants

  • Resource providers for dynamic content

  • Prompt templates for common operations

  • Integration points for external APIs and services

Related MCP server: MCP Template

Features

  • Simple "hello-world" tool example

  • TypeScript support with proper type definitions

  • Easy installation scripts for different MCP clients

  • Clean project structure ready for customization

How It Works

This MCP server template provides:

  1. A basic server setup using the MCP SDK

  2. Example tool implementation

  3. Build and installation scripts

  4. TypeScript configuration for development

The included example demonstrates how to create a simple tool that takes a name parameter and returns a greeting.

Getting Started

# Clone the boilerplate
git clone <your-repo-url>
cd mcp-server-boilerplate

# Install dependencies
pnpm install

# Build the project
pnpm run build

# Start the server
pnpm start

Installation Scripts

This boilerplate includes convenient installation scripts for different MCP clients:

# For Claude Desktop
pnpm run install-desktop

# For Cursor
pnpm run install-cursor

# For Claude Code
pnpm run install-code

# Generic installation
pnpm run install-server

These scripts will build the project and automatically update the appropriate configuration files.

Usage with Claude Desktop

The installation script will automatically add the configuration, but you can also manually add it to your claude_desktop_config.json file:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "your-server-name": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/path/to/your/dist/index.js"]
    }
  }
}

Then restart Claude Desktop to connect to the server.

Customizing Your Server

Adding Tools

Tools are functions that the AI assistant can call. Here's the basic structure:

server.tool(
  "tool-name",
  "Description of what the tool does",
  {
    // Zod schema for parameters
    param1: z.string().describe("Description of parameter"),
    param2: z.number().optional().describe("Optional parameter"),
  },
  async ({ param1, param2 }) => {
    // Your tool logic here
    return {
      content: [
        {
          type: "text",
          text: "Your response",
        },
      ],
    };
  }
);

Adding Resources

Resources provide dynamic content that the AI can access:

server.resource(
  "resource://example/{id}",
  "Description of the resource",
  async (uri) => {
    // Extract parameters from URI
    const id = uri.path.split("/").pop();

    return {
      contents: [
        {
          uri,
          mimeType: "text/plain",
          text: `Content for ${id}`,
        },
      ],
    };
  }
);

Adding Prompts

Prompts are reusable templates:

server.prompt(
  "prompt-name",
  "Description of the prompt",
  {
    // Parameters for the prompt
    topic: z.string().describe("The topic to discuss"),
  },
  async ({ topic }) => {
    return {
      description: `A prompt about ${topic}`,
      messages: [
        {
          role: "user",
          content: {
            type: "text",
            text: `Please help me with ${topic}`,
          },
        },
      ],
    };
  }
);

Project Structure

├── src/
│   └── index.ts          # Main server implementation
├── scripts/              # Installation and utility scripts
├── dist/                 # Compiled JavaScript (generated)
├── package.json          # Project configuration
├── tsconfig.json         # TypeScript configuration
└── README.md            # This file

Development

  1. Make changes to src/index.ts

  2. Run pnpm run build to compile

  3. Test your server with pnpm start

  4. Use the installation scripts to update your MCP client configuration

Next Steps

  1. Update package.json with your project details

  2. Customize the server name and tools in src/index.ts

  3. Add your own tools, resources, and prompts

  4. Integrate with external APIs or databases as needed

License

MIT

Available Tools

2 tools
get-mcp-docsD

Make an MCP server

ParametersJSON Schema
NameRequiredDescriptionDefault
nameYesThe name of the MCP server

TDQS

D1.7/5.0
Behavior1/5

Does the description disclose side effects, auth requirements, rate limits, or destructive behavior?

With no annotations provided, the description carries the full burden of behavioral disclosure but offers minimal information. 'Make an MCP server' suggests a creation/write operation but doesn't specify what gets created (files, configuration, documentation), whether it requires specific permissions, what the output format is, or any side effects. The description doesn't address error conditions, rate limits, or authentication requirements.

Agents need to know what a tool does to the world before calling it. Descriptions should go beyond structured annotations to explain consequences.

Conciseness2/5

Is the description appropriately sized, front-loaded, and free of redundancy?

While the description is technically concise (three words), it's under-specified rather than efficiently informative. The single phrase 'Make an MCP server' doesn't provide enough context to be genuinely helpful. A truly concise description would front-load essential information about the tool's purpose and output.

Shorter descriptions cost fewer tokens and are easier for agents to parse. Every sentence should earn its place.

Completeness1/5

Given the tool's complexity, does the description cover enough for an agent to succeed on first attempt?

For a tool with no annotations, no output schema, and a description that provides minimal context, this is severely incomplete. The agent cannot determine what the tool actually does, what it returns, when to use it, or how it behaves. The description fails to compensate for the lack of structured metadata, leaving critical gaps in understanding.

Complex tools with many parameters or behaviors need more documentation. Simple tools need less. This dimension scales expectations accordingly.

Parameters3/5

Does the description clarify parameter syntax, constraints, interactions, or defaults beyond what the schema provides?

The schema has 100% description coverage with a single parameter 'name' documented as 'The name of the MCP server'. The description doesn't add any additional semantic context about this parameter beyond what the schema already provides. Since schema coverage is high, the baseline score of 3 is appropriate - the description neither enhances nor detracts from parameter understanding.

Input schemas describe structure but not intent. Descriptions should explain non-obvious parameter relationships and valid value ranges.

Purpose2/5

Does the description clearly state what the tool does and how it differs from similar tools?

The description 'Make an MCP server' is a tautology that essentially restates the tool name 'get-mcp-docs' in different words. It doesn't specify what action is actually performed (e.g., retrieve documentation, create server files, generate configuration) or what resource is being manipulated. The description fails to distinguish this tool from its sibling 'hello-world' or explain what 'making' an MCP server entails.

Agents choose between tools based on descriptions. A clear purpose with a specific verb and resource helps agents select the right tool.

Usage Guidelines1/5

Does the description explain when to use this tool, when not to, or what alternatives exist?

The description provides no guidance on when to use this tool versus alternatives. There's no mention of prerequisites, appropriate contexts, or comparison with the sibling 'hello-world' tool. The agent receives no information about whether this is for development setup, documentation retrieval, or configuration generation.

Agents often have multiple tools that could apply. Explicit usage guidance like "use X instead of Y when Z" prevents misuse.

hello-worldB

Say hello to the user

ParametersJSON Schema
NameRequiredDescriptionDefault
nameYesThe name of the user

TDQS

B3/5.0
Behavior2/5

Does the description disclose side effects, auth requirements, rate limits, or destructive behavior?

With no annotations provided, the description carries the full burden of behavioral disclosure. 'Say hello to the user' implies a read-only output operation, but doesn't specify whether this creates any side effects, requires authentication, has rate limits, or what the actual output format is. It's minimal behavioral information for a tool that presumably just returns a greeting.

Agents need to know what a tool does to the world before calling it. Descriptions should go beyond structured annotations to explain consequences.

Conciseness5/5

Is the description appropriately sized, front-loaded, and free of redundancy?

The description is extremely concise at just four words, front-loaded with the core action. There's zero wasted language or redundancy. For a simple greeting tool, this brevity is appropriate and efficient.

Shorter descriptions cost fewer tokens and are easier for agents to parse. Every sentence should earn its place.

Completeness3/5

Given the tool's complexity, does the description cover enough for an agent to succeed on first attempt?

For a simple tool with one parameter and no output schema, the description is minimally complete. It tells what the tool does at a high level but lacks details about the return value format or any behavioral constraints. Without annotations and with no output schema, the agent would need to infer the response structure from the tool name and description alone.

Complex tools with many parameters or behaviors need more documentation. Simple tools need less. This dimension scales expectations accordingly.

Parameters4/5

Does the description clarify parameter syntax, constraints, interactions, or defaults beyond what the schema provides?

The schema has 100% description coverage, with the single parameter 'name' clearly documented as 'The name of the user'. The description doesn't add any additional parameter information beyond what the schema provides, but with only one well-documented parameter and no complex semantics needed, this is adequate. The baseline would be 3 for high schema coverage, but the simplicity of the single parameter justifies a 4.

Input schemas describe structure but not intent. Descriptions should explain non-obvious parameter relationships and valid value ranges.

Purpose3/5

Does the description clearly state what the tool does and how it differs from similar tools?

The description 'Say hello to the user' states a clear action (say hello) and target (user), but it's vague about what this actually does - is it a greeting message, a notification, or something else? It doesn't distinguish from the sibling tool 'get-mcp-docs' which is completely different in function. The purpose is understandable but lacks specificity about the output format or mechanism.

Agents choose between tools based on descriptions. A clear purpose with a specific verb and resource helps agents select the right tool.

Usage Guidelines2/5

Does the description explain when to use this tool, when not to, or what alternatives exist?

No guidance is provided about when to use this tool versus alternatives. The description doesn't mention any context for usage, prerequisites, or exclusions. With only one sibling tool that serves a completely different purpose (document retrieval), there's no explicit comparison or guidance about choosing between them.

Agents often have multiple tools that could apply. Explicit usage guidance like "use X instead of Y when Z" prevents misuse.

Tool Schema Changelog

Recent tool additions, removals, and schema changes observed during successful MCP inspections. Dates show when Glama detected each change.

  1. 2 tool updatesv1.0.0
    • First observedget-mcp-docs
    • First observedhello-world
Install Server
RayrunBuild, deploy, and operate MCP servers without becoming an infrastructure team.ray.runAd

TDQS

C2.3/5.0
Disambiguation5/5

The two tools have completely distinct purposes: one is for creating MCP servers (get-mcp-docs) and the other is for greeting users (hello-world). There is no overlap or ambiguity between them, making it easy for an agent to select the correct tool.

Naming Consistency2/5

The naming is inconsistent: get-mcp-docs uses a verb-object format with hyphens, while hello-world is a phrase without a clear verb. This mixed convention lacks a predictable pattern, which could confuse agents trying to infer tool functions from names.

Tool Count2/5

With only 2 tools, this server feels under-scoped for a 'boilerplate' purpose, which typically implies a foundational set of utilities. Such a low count limits functionality and suggests the server might not cover basic operations expected in a boilerplate context.

Completeness2/5

For a boilerplate server, there are significant gaps: it lacks core operations like setup, configuration, testing, or deployment tools. The two tools provided (documentation and greeting) do not form a complete surface for building or managing MCP servers, leaving agents unable to perform essential tasks.

Resources

Unclaimed servers have limited discoverability.

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