Model Context Protocol Guides
Master MCP from the ground up: understand the protocol, connect your favorite AI client, build production-ready servers, or fix connection failures when something breaks.
Start here · Beginner · 5 min read
What is Model Context Protocol?
Learn what MCP is, why it replaces one-off integrations, how host-client-server roles interact, and how JSON-RPC primitives work.
Read the guideYou’ll learn
- Core architecture & USB-C analogy
- Tools vs Resources vs Prompts
- Local (stdio) vs Remote (HTTP)
- Security & Prompt Injection safety
All guides
- Setup6 min
LLM Agents Setup & Configuration Guide
Step-by-step walkthrough to connect Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, and Windsurf to MCP servers with real JSON config snippets.
Read guide - Protocol10 min
MCP Transports Explained
How MCP clients and servers actually exchange messages: the stdio transport, Streamable HTTP, and the deprecated HTTP+SSE model. Which to choose, what breaks on each, and how to run both during migration.
Read guide - Protocol13 min
MCP Protocol Versioning Explained
MCP dropped the initialize handshake for a stateless, per-request protocol. What changed, why, and how servers and clients support both eras, with an interactive walkthrough.
Read guide - Build & deploy9 min
How to Build an MCP Server
Build a custom MCP server from scratch: full TypeScript and Python code for tools, resources, and prompts, local testing, and deployment.
Read guide - Build & deploy14 min
Deploying & Hosting Remote MCP Servers
Deploy remote MCP servers to production: step-by-step blueprints for Cloudflare Workers, Docker, Fly.io, AWS, SSE transport setup, CORS, SSL, and monitoring.
Read guide - Security9 min
Securing & Authenticating Remote MCP Servers
Master remote MCP server security over HTTP/SSE: OAuth 2.0 PKCE auth flow, JWT validation, multi-tenant token propagation, and prompt injection defense.
Read guide - Security10 min
MCP Security Best Practices
Use MCP servers safely: the threat model, prompt injection & tool poisoning, vetting servers, least-privilege credentials, sandboxing, and a pre-install checklist.
Read guide - Troubleshooting8 min
MCP Troubleshooting
Server not connecting, zero tools, PATH errors, stdout corruption, missing env vars, and timeouts — map the symptom to the fix across every major client.
Read guide - Use cases11 min
MCP for SEO & AEO Automation
Automate Google Search Console, Bing Webmaster, IndexNow, technical site audits, and AEO/GEO llms.txt readiness using MCP servers and AI agents.
Read guide - Data4 min
State of MCP
Live numbers on the MCP server ecosystem: how many servers exist, local vs remote transports, npx vs uvx, authentication, licenses, health, and security advisories — computed from the full AllMCPs index.
Read guide
Troubleshooting deep dives
Start with the MCP troubleshooting hub for a symptom map, then dig into these focused write-ups when you need more detail.
Ready to test these guides with real servers?
Explore thousands of open-source and official MCP servers listed on AllMCPs, or use our free configuration generator tool.