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Quick Start

Get up and running with MCP Tool Kit in minutes!

Starting the Server​

Using the Launcher (Easiest)​

  1. Windows: Double-click launch.bat
  2. Mac/Linux: Run ./launch.sh
  3. Select option 1 for Claude Desktop or option 2 for web access

Manual Start​

# For stdio mode (Claude Desktop)
docker-compose up -d
docker exec -it mcp-server python mcp_server_v2.py

# For SSE mode (web access)
docker-compose up -d
docker exec -it mcp-server python mcp_server_v2.py --transport sse

Connecting to Claude Desktop​

1. Locate Claude Desktop Config​

  • Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
  • Mac: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
  • Linux: ~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

2. Add MCP Server Configuration​

Edit the config file and add:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mcp-tool-kit": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": ["exec", "-i", "mcp-server", "python", "mcp_server_v2.py"]
    }
  }
}

3. Restart Claude Desktop​

Close and reopen Claude Desktop to load the new configuration.

4. Verify Connection​

In Claude Desktop, you should see the available tools. Try:

  • "What tools are available?"
  • "Check the health status"

Using SSE Mode​

1. Start the Server​

./launch.sh  # Choose option 2

2. Access the Server​

Open http://localhost:8080 in your browser.

3. Test the Connection​

Use curl to test:

# Get server info
curl http://localhost:8080/

# Connect to SSE stream
curl http://localhost:8080/sse

Testing Tools​

File System Tool​

"List files in the current directory"
"Read the README.md file"

Time Tools​

"What time is it in Tokyo?"
"Convert 3:00 PM EST to PST"

Web Search (requires API key)​

"Search for recent news about AI"

Common Issues​

Tools not showing in Claude Desktop​

  1. Check Docker is running: docker ps
  2. Verify server is running: docker logs mcp-server
  3. Restart Claude Desktop

SSE connection refused​

  1. Check port 8080 is not in use
  2. Verify firewall settings
  3. Try localhost instead of 127.0.0.1

Using the SDK​

For programmatic access to MCP tools in your Python applications:

from mcp_tool_kit import MCPToolKitSDK

# Initialize SDK
sdk = MCPToolKitSDK()

# Call a tool
result = sdk.call_tool("read_file", {"path": "example.txt"})
if result.success:
    print(result.data)

# Use convenience methods
file = sdk.file("output.txt")
file.write("Hello from SDK!")

See the SDK Quick Start for more details.

Next Steps​