MCP Crash Course: Complete Model Context Protocol in a Day

This course contains the use of artificial intelligence :)

Please note that this is not a course for beginners. This course assumes that you have a background in software engineering and are proficient in Python. I will be using Cursor IDE but you can use any editor you'd like since we only use basic feature of the IDE like debugging and running scripts .
Ideal students are software developers / data scientists

What is the Model Context Protocol?
The Model Context Protocol (MCP) is an open-source standard, introduced by Anthropic in 2024, that allows AI models to seamlessly connect with external data sources, tools, and software systems
Architecture Components

• MCP Hosts: Programs like Claude Desktop, Cursor, Windsurf, or AI tools that want to access data through MCP

• MCP Clients: Protocol clients that maintain 1:1 connections with servers  (Content ETA April)

• MCP Servers: Lightweight programs that each expose specific capabilities through the standardized Model Context Protocol

• Local Data Sources: Your computer's files, databases, and services that MCP servers can securely access  (Content ETA End of March)

• Remote Services: External systems available over the internet (e.g., through APIs) that MCP servers can connect to
  (Content ETA End of March)

• Authenticaiton

Key Capabilities

• Resources: Components that expose data and content from your servers to LLMs

• Prompts: Functionality to create reusable prompt templates and workflows

• Tools: Features that enable LLMs to perform actions through your server

• Sampling: Capability that lets your servers request completions from LLMs

• Transports: MCP's communication mechanism between clients and servers

Topic Covered:

• MCP + Agent Security best practices

• Containerizing MCP Servers

• Protocol Flow

• MCP + Docker

• MCP + LangChain

• OAuth 2.0 with MCP featuring Auth0

• MCP Deployment (featuring Cloudflare)

• A2A - Agent 2 Agent Protocol (WIP)