From Zero to Running Server in 10 Minutes

Let's build a real MCP server from scratch. Forget abstractions - by the end of this module, you'll have a working server that any MCP client can connect to.

Step 1: Initialize the Project

mkdir my-mcp-server && cd my-mcp-server
npm init -y
npm install @modelcontextprotocol/sdk zod
npm install -D typescript @types/node tsx

Step 2: TypeScript Configuration

// tsconfig.json
{
  "compilerOptions": {
    "target": "ES2022",
    "module": "Node16",
    "moduleResolution": "Node16",
    "outDir": "./dist",
    "rootDir": "./src",
    "strict": true,
    "esModuleInterop": true,
    "skipLibCheck": true,
    "declaration": true
  },
  "include": ["src/**/*"]
}

Step 3: Package.json Scripts

{
  "type": "module",
  "bin": { "my-mcp-server": "./dist/index.js" },
  "scripts": {
    "build": "tsc",
    "dev": "tsx src/index.ts",
    "inspect": "npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector tsx src/index.ts"
  }
}

Project Structure