Golang MCP Server SDK

Table of Contents

• Overview
• Installation
• Quickstart
• What is MCP?
• Core Concepts
  • Server
  • Tools
  • Resources
  • Prompts
• Running Your Server
  • stdio
  • HTTP with SSE
  • Multi-Protocol
  • Testing and Debugging
• Examples
  • Echo Server
  • Calculator Server
• Package Structure
• Contributing
• License

Overview

The Model Context Protocol allows applications to provide context for LLMs in a standardized way, separating the concerns of providing context from the actual LLM interaction. This Golang SDK implements the full MCP specification, making it easy to:

• Build MCP servers that expose resources and tools
• Use standard transports like stdio and Server-Sent Events (SSE)
• Handle all MCP protocol messages and lifecycle events
• Follow Go best practices and clean architecture principles

Note: This SDK is always updated to align with the latest MCP specification from spec.modelcontextprotocol.io/latest

Installation

go get github.com/FreePeak/golang-mcp-server-sdk

Quickstart

Let's create a simple MCP server that exposes an echo tool:

package main

import (
	"context"
	"fmt"
	"log"
	"os"

	"github.com/FreePeak/golang-mcp-server-sdk/pkg/server"
	"github.com/FreePeak/golang-mcp-server-sdk/pkg/tools"
)

func main() {
	// Create the server
	mcpServer := server.NewMCPServer("Echo Server Example", "1.0.0")

	// Create an echo tool
	echoTool := tools.NewTool("echo",
		tools.WithDescription("Echoes back the input message"),
		tools.WithString("message",
			tools.Description("The message to echo back"),
			tools.Required(),
		),
	)

	// Add the tool to the server with a handler
	ctx := context.Background()
	err := mcpServer.AddTool(ctx, echoTool, handleEcho)
	if err != nil {
		log.Fatalf("Error adding tool: %v", err)
	}

	// Start the server
	fmt.Println("Starting Echo Server...")
	fmt.Println("Send JSON-RPC messages via stdin to interact with the server.")
	
	// Serve over stdio
	if err := mcpServer.ServeStdio(); err != nil {
		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "Error: %v\n", err)
		os.Exit(1)
	}
}

// Echo tool handler
func handleEcho(ctx context.Context, request server.ToolCallRequest) (interface{}, error) {
	// Extract the message parameter
	message, ok := request.Parameters["message"].(string)
	if !ok {
		return nil, fmt.Errorf("missing or invalid 'message' parameter")
	}

	// Return the echo response in the format expected by the MCP protocol
	return map[string]interface{}{
		"content": []map[string]interface{}{
			{
				"type": "text",
				"text": message,
			},
		},
	}, nil
}

What is MCP?

The Model Context Protocol (MCP) is a standardized protocol that allows applications to provide context for LLMs in a secure and efficient manner. It separates the concerns of providing context and tools from the actual LLM interaction. MCP servers can:

• Expose data through Resources (read-only data endpoints)
• Provide functionality through Tools (executable functions)
• Define interaction patterns through Prompts (reusable templates)
• Support various transport methods (stdio, HTTP/SSE)

Core Concepts

Server

The MCP Server is your core interface to the MCP protocol. It handles connection management, protocol compliance, and message routing:

// Create a new MCP server
mcpServer := server.NewMCPServer("My App", "1.0.0")

Tools

Tools let LLMs take actions through your server. Unlike resources, tools are expected to perform computation and have side effects:

// Define a calculator tool
calculatorTool := tools.NewTool("calculator",
    tools.WithDescription("Performs basic arithmetic"),
    tools.WithString("operation",
        tools.Description("The operation to perform (add, subtract, multiply, divide)"),
        tools.Required(),
    ),
    tools.WithNumber("a", 
        tools.Description("First number"),
        tools.Required(),
    ),
    tools.WithNumber("b",
        tools.Description("Second number"),
        tools.Required(),
    ),
)

// Add tool to server with a handler
mcpServer.AddTool(ctx, calculatorTool, handleCalculator)

Resources

Resources are how you expose data to LLMs. They're similar to GET endpoints in a REST API - they provide data but shouldn't perform significant computation or have side effects:

// Create a resource (Currently using the internal API)
resource := &domain.Resource{
    URI:         "sample://hello-world",
    Name:        "Hello World Resource",
    Description: "A sample resource for demonstration purposes",
    MIMEType:    "text/plain",
}

// Note: Resource support is being updated in the public API

Prompts

Prompts are reusable templates that help LLMs interact with your server effectively:

// Create a prompt (Currently using the internal API)
codeReviewPrompt := &domain.Prompt{
    Name:        "review-code",
    Description: "A prompt for code review",
    Template:    "Please review this code:\n\n{{.code}}",
    Parameters: []domain.PromptParameter{
        {
            Name:        "code",
            Description: "The code to review",
            Type:        "string",
            Required:    true,
        },
    },
}

// Note: Prompt support is being updated in the public API

Running Your Server

MCP servers in Go can be connected to different transports depending on your use case:

stdio

For command-line tools and direct integrations:

// Start a stdio server
if err := mcpServer.ServeStdio(); err != nil {
    fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "Error: %v\n", err)
    os.Exit(1)
}

HTTP with SSE

For web applications, you can use Server-Sent Events (SSE) for real-time communication:

// Configure the HTTP address
mcpServer.SetAddress(":8080")

// Start an HTTP server with SSE support
if err := mcpServer.ServeHTTP(); err != nil {
    log.Fatalf("HTTP server error: %v", err)
}

// For graceful shutdown
ctx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(context.Background(), 10*time.Second)
defer cancel()
if err := mcpServer.Shutdown(ctx); err != nil {
    log.Fatalf("Server shutdown error: %v", err)
}

Multi-Protocol

You can also run multiple protocol servers simultaneously:

// Configure server for both HTTP and stdio
mcpServer := server.NewMCPServer("Multi-Protocol Server", "1.0.0")
mcpServer.SetAddress(":8080")
mcpServer.AddTool(ctx, echoTool, handleEcho)

// Start HTTP server in a goroutine
go func() {
    if err := mcpServer.ServeHTTP(); err != nil {
        log.Fatalf("HTTP server error: %v", err)
    }
}()

// Start stdio server in the main thread
if err := mcpServer.ServeStdio(); err != nil {
    log.Fatalf("Stdio server error: %v", err)
}

Testing and Debugging

For testing your MCP server, you can use the MCP Inspector or send JSON-RPC messages directly:

# Test an echo tool with stdio
echo '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"method":"tools/call","params":{"name":"echo","parameters":{"message":"Hello, World!"}}}' | go run your_server.go

Examples

Check out the examples directory for complete example servers:

Echo Server

A simple echo server example is available in examples/echo_server.go:

# Run the example
go run examples/echo_server.go

Calculator Server

A more advanced calculator example with both HTTP and stdio modes is available in examples/calculator/:

# Run in HTTP mode
go run examples/calculator/main.go --mode http

# Run in stdio mode
go run examples/calculator/main.go --mode stdio

Package Structure

The SDK is organized following clean architecture principles:

golang-mcp-server-sdk/
├── pkg/                    # Public API (exposed to users)
│   ├── builder/            # Public builder pattern for server construction
│   ├── server/             # Public server implementation
│   ├── tools/              # Utilities for creating MCP tools
│   └── types/              # Shared types and interfaces
├── internal/               # Private implementation details
├── examples/               # Example code snippets and use cases
└── cmd/                    # Example MCP server applications

The pkg/ directory contains all publicly exposed APIs that users of the SDK should interact with.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

📧 Support & Contact

• For questions or issues, email mnhatlinh.doan@gmail.com
• Open an issue directly: Issue Tracker
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