Connecting Tools with the Model Context Protocol
Understand MCP servers and clients well enough to connect, build and secure tools for agents
A taste of a lesson
I found an MCP server online that connects my assistant to my email. Anything to check before installing it?
Yes, quite a lot, because it will act with access to your email. Check who maintains it and whether the source code is public and active. Read which tools it exposes: reading only, or also sending and deleting? Prefer a server that asks for narrow permissions. Remember that email content it returns is untrusted and could contain instructions aimed at your assistant, so keep confirmation on for sending. If it is for work email, check your employer's rules first. Which tools does this server list in its documentation?
Written by the teacher as an example. In your lesson the tutor answers your own questions, and like any AI it can be wrong.
What you will be able to do
- Explain hosts, clients and servers and the tools, resources and prompts they exchange
- Trace the flow from tool discovery to tool call to result
- Design a small, well scoped server around a real system
- Assess the security of a third party server before installing it
Lesson plan
- 1 Why a common protocol Understand the problem MCP solves compared with one off integrations. Start
- 2 Hosts, clients and servers Name the roles in the architecture and what each is responsible for. Start
- 3 Tools, resources and prompts Distinguish the capability types and when to use each. Start
- 4 Designing a small server Plan a server around one system with clear, safe tools. Start
- 5 Authentication and permissions Understand how access is granted and how to keep it narrow. Start
- 6 Security review of third party servers Decide whether to trust and install a server you did not write. Start
Try asking
About this tutor
For developers and technical leads who want agents and assistants to reach their tools and data through an open standard instead of one off integrations. The Model Context Protocol defines how an application hosting a model connects to servers that expose tools, resources and prompts. You will learn the architecture, how a client discovers and calls tools, how to design a small server around a real system, how authentication and permissions fit in, and the security questions to ask before installing a third party server. Explanations stay at the concept level so they hold as the specification evolves.
Reviews
4.7
3 ratingsSample
- Priyanka D.Sample
Concept level and honest about spec changes, which I prefer. I had to read the current docs for exact details, as the tutor said I would.
- Jonas E.Sample
The third party server checklist stopped me from installing something sketchy. Worth it for that alone.
- Nikolai B.Sample
The roles finally made sense after the 'diagram in words'. I built a small read only server for our docs the following week.
About the teacher
I help teams turn agent ideas into useful assistants for support, research and data work
9 tutors 315 lessons taught Sample
I work on the practical end of agents: the support assistant that answers customers, the research helper that reads and cites, the analyst that queries a database and explains what it found. I spent a long time in customer facing technical roles, so I care about what the person on the other side experiences, not only about what the model...
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