MCP Python SDK

Python implementation of the Model Context Protocol (MCP)

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 Python SDK implements the full MCP specification, making it easy to:

• Build MCP clients that can connect to any MCP server
• Create MCP servers that expose resources, prompts and tools
• Use standard transports like stdio, SSE, and Streamable HTTP
• Handle all MCP protocol messages and lifecycle events

Installation

Adding MCP to your python project

We recommend using uv to manage your Python projects.

If you haven't created a uv-managed project yet, create one:

uv init mcp-server-demo
cd mcp-server-demo

Then add MCP to your project dependencies:

uv add "mcp[cli]"

Alternatively, for projects using pip for dependencies:

pip install "mcp[cli]"

Running the standalone MCP development tools

To run the mcp command with uv:

uv run mcp

What is MCP?

The Model Context Protocol (MCP) lets you build servers that expose data and functionality to LLM applications in a secure, standardized way. Think of it like a web API, but specifically designed for LLM interactions. MCP servers can:

• Expose data through Resources (think of these sort of like GET endpoints; they are used to load information into the LLM's context)
• Provide functionality through Tools (sort of like POST endpoints; they are used to execute code or otherwise produce a side effect)
• Define interaction patterns through Prompts (reusable templates for LLM interactions)
• And more!