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Build a small MCP server in TypeScript with the official TypeScript SDK v2, register one validated tool, and run it over stdio for a host to launch. The SDK guide requires Node.js 20 or later, so Node.js 22 meets its stated runtime minimum; the guide does not report a separate Node.js 22 compatibility test.
What you’ll build and which SDK this uses
This walkthrough follows the official TypeScript SDK v2 first-server guide. The server exposes one tool that takes a name and returns a greeting. An MCP host or client can discover and call that tool; the SDK checks its input against the declared schema before invoking the handler.
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Use the v2 documentation for the v2 package and API shown here. The official repository describes v2 as the stable SDK release line implementing the 2026-07-28 specification; it also says v1.x will continue to receive bug fixes and security updates for at least six months after v2’s release. The v1 and v2 documentation use different package names and API examples, so do not mix snippets across generations. If you install v1, follow the matching v1 server documentation instead.
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Set up an ES-module TypeScript project
The v2 guide specifies Node.js 20 or later. Check your installed runtime before starting:
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node --versionIf it reports Node.js 22, it is above the guide’s stated minimum. The guide uses TypeScript with tsx, so you can run the source directly without adding a separate compile step.
-
Create a project directory and initialize its package metadata:
mkdir first-mcp-server cd first-mcp-server npm init -y -
Set the package to ES modules and add a start script in
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{ "type": "module", "scripts": { "start": "tsx server.ts" } } -
Install the packages used by the v2 tutorial:
npm install @modelcontextprotocol/server zod npm install --save-dev tsx
Create a server and register a tool
Create server.ts in the project directory. The example below registers a greet tool. Its schema requires a string named name; the handler receives validated input and returns text content.
import { McpServer } from "@modelcontextprotocol/server/mcp.js";
import { serveStdio } from "@modelcontextprotocol/server/stdio.js";
import { z } from "zod";
const server = new McpServer({
name: "first-mcp-server",
version: "1.0.0",
});
server.registerTool(
"greet",
{
description: "Greet a person by name",
inputSchema: {
name: z.string().min(1),
},
},
async ({ name }) => ({
content: [{ type: "text", text: `Hello, ${name}!` }],
}),
);
await serveStdio(server);The registration binds together a tool name, a description, an input schema, and an asynchronous handler. Here z.string().min(1) rejects an empty name before the handler runs. Keep tool descriptions specific: a host can use them to understand what a capability does.
Run over stdio without corrupting the protocol
Start the server with:
npm startFor stdio, standard output is reserved for MCP protocol messages. Do not use console.log for diagnostics: even one stray line can corrupt the JSON-RPC stream. Send debugging output to standard error with console.error. The official tutorial states: “stdout is the protocol channel. Log with console.error — one console.log corrupts the JSON-RPC stream.”
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A stdio server is generally launched by the local host as a child process rather than opened as an ordinary web page or left running as a public service. That process relationship is why stdio is the straightforward choice for a local integration.
Connect with MCP Inspector and call the tool
The official tutorial exercises the server with MCP Inspector over stdio. In a separate terminal, launch the Inspector through npx:
npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspectorIn Inspector, choose the stdio transport and configure it to launch the project’s command, npm start, from the project directory. Connect, open the tools view, select greet, enter a non-empty value for name, and invoke it. The result should contain text such as Hello, Ada! when the supplied name is Ada. If the tool rejects an empty name, schema validation is doing its job.
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Choose a transport that matches deployment
The server factory can be served over different transports; the right choice depends on who launches the process and where clients connect.
| Transport | Best fit | Connection model |
|---|---|---|
| stdio | Local use with a host that launches the server process | The host communicates with the local process through standard input and output. |
| Streamable HTTP | A remotely reachable server used by multiple clients | Clients connect to an HTTP endpoint instead of relying on a host-spawned local process. |
| HTTP+SSE | Compatibility with older integrations | The v1 server guide describes it as backwards compatibility, not the modern remote transport. |
The v2 first-server tutorial uses stdio for a local process and notes that the same server factory can be served over HTTP for one endpoint shared by multiple clients. The v1 guide describes stdio as the simplest local transport and Streamable HTTP as the modern remote transport. For remote exposure, follow the transport instructions for the SDK generation and package you actually use; do not assume a stdio launch configuration is itself a remote deployment.
Common issues to check
-
Module syntax or imports fail: confirm
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The host receives malformed protocol data: remove all
console.logcalls and other writes to stdout; useconsole.errorfor diagnostics. -
The tool call fails validation: supply a non-empty string for
name, matching the schema. -
A copied example cannot find its package or API: check whether it comes from v1 or v2 documentation and use the package name and API for that same release line.
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