MCP (Model Context Protocol) for Go

MCP is a Go implementation of the Model Context Protocol — a standardized way for applications to communicate with AI models. It allows developers to seamlessly bridge applications and AI models using a lightweight, JSON-RPC–based protocol.

This repository provides the Go MCP client/server runtime, bridge, and auth helpers. Protocol definitions and schemas live in mcp-protocol.

Official Model Context Protocol Specification

Overview

MCP (Model Context Protocol) is designed to provide a standardized communication layer between applications and AI models. The protocol simplifies the integration of AI capabilities into applications by offering a consistent interface for resource access, prompt management, model interaction, and tool invocation.

Key features:

• JSON-RPC 2.0–based communication
• Support for multiple transport protocols (HTTP/SSE, stdio)
• Server-side features:
  • Resource management
  • Model prompting and completion
  • Tool invocation
  • Subscriptions for resource updates
  • Logging
  • Progress reporting
  • Request cancellation
• Client-side features:
  • Roots
  • Sampling
  • Elicitation

Architecture

For detailed guides on custom server implementations and authentication, see docs/implementer.md and docs/authentication.md.

MCP is built around the following components:

1. Transport: JSON-RPC over HTTP/SSE, streamable HTTP, or stdio
2. Server: Handles incoming requests and dispatches to the protocol implementation
3. Client: Makes requests to MCP-compatible servers
4. Protocol Implementation (server.Handler): Provides the actual functionality behind each protocol method

High-Level Architecture

graph LR
    Client[MCP Client] -->|JSON-RPC / HTTP/SSE| Server[MCP Server]
    Server -->|Dispatches to| Handler[MCP Server]
    subgraph Auth[Authentication / Authorization]
      OAuth2[OAuth2 / OIDC]
    end
    Client -.->|Bearer Token| OAuth2
    Server -.->|Token Validation| OAuth2

Getting Started

Installation

go get github.com/viant/mcp

If you just need to connect existing tools to a remote MCP server you might prefer to use the standalone Bridge binary instead of embedding the Go package. See Bridge Guide for details.

Creating a Server

Quick Start: Default Server

DefaultHandler can be used to quickly set up an MCP server. It provides no-op stubs for all methods, allowing you to focus on implementing only the methods you need. Register handlers inline without writing a custom server type:

package main

import (
  "context"
  "encoding/json"
  "fmt"
  "github.com/viant/jsonrpc"
  "github.com/viant/mcp-protocol/schema"
  serverproto "github.com/viant/mcp-protocol/server"
  "github.com/viant/mcp/server"
  "log"
)

func main() {

  type Addition struct {
    A int `json:"a"`
    B int `json:"b"`
  }

  type Output struct {
    Result int
  }

  newHandler := serverproto.WithDefaultHandler(context.Background(), func(server *serverproto.DefaultHandler) error {
    // Register a simple resource
    server.RegisterResource(schema.Resource{Name: "hello", Uri: "/hello"},
      func(ctx context.Context, request *schema.ReadResourceRequest) (*schema.ReadResourceResult, *jsonrpc.Error) {
        return &schema.ReadResourceResult{Contents: []schema.ReadResourceResultContentsElem{{Text: "Hello, world!"}}}, nil
      })

    type Addition struct {
      A int `json:"a"`
      B int `json:"b"`
    }

    type Result struct {
      Result int `json:"acc"`
    }
    // Register a simple calculator tool: adds two integers
    if err := serverproto.RegisterTool[*Addition, *Result](server.Registry, "add", "Add two integers", func(ctx context.Context, input *Addition) (*schema.CallToolResult, *jsonrpc.Error) {
      sum := input.A + input.B
      out := &Result{Result: sum}
      data, err := json.Marshal(out)
      if err != nil {
        return nil, jsonrpc.NewInternalError(fmt.Sprintf("failed to marshal result: %v", err), nil)
      }
      return &schema.CallToolResult{Content: []schema.CallToolResultContentElem{{Text: string(data)}}}, nil
    }); err != nil {
      return err
    }
    return nil
  })

  srv, err := server.New(
    server.WithNewHandler(newHandler),
    server.WithImplementation(schema.Implementation{Name: "default", Version: "1.0"}),
  )
  if err != nil {
    log.Fatalf("Failed to create server: %v", err)
  }

  // Choose one transport (see below). Example: HTTP (SSE by default)
  log.Fatal(srv.HTTP(context.Background(), ":4981").ListenAndServe())

}

Starting the Server

• Stdio (typical for editor integrations):

  stdioSrv := srv.Stdio(context.Background())
  log.Fatal(stdioSrv.ListenAndServe())
  

• HTTP over SSE (default):

  httpSrv := srv.HTTP(context.Background(), ":4981")
  log.Fatal(httpSrv.ListenAndServe())
  

• HTTP Streamable (toggle):

  srv.UseStreamableHTTP(true)
  httpSrv := srv.HTTP(context.Background(), ":4981")
  log.Fatal(httpSrv.ListenAndServe())
  

If you prefer a single configuration object, see NewServer in server.go which accepts transport options and can enable Streamable HTTP based on Transport.Type.

Endpoints and Routing

• By default, both transports are mounted:
  • SSE: GET /sse and POST /message
  • Streamable HTTP: POST/GET /mcp
• You can enable root redirect so "/" forwards to the active transport base:
  • WithRootRedirect(true)
• You can also customize the endpoint paths:
  • WithStreamableURI("/api/mcp")
  • WithSSEURI("/api/sse")
  • WithSSEMessageURI("/api/rpc")

Example:

srv, _ := mcp.New(
  mcp.WithNewHandler(newHandler),
  mcp.WithStreamableURI("/api/mcp"),
  mcp.WithSSEURI("/api/sse"),
  mcp.WithSSEMessageURI("/api/rpc"),
  mcp.WithRootRedirect(true), // redirects "/" to /api/mcp if UseStreamableHTTP(true), else /api/sse
)
srv.UseStreamableHTTP(true)
httpSrv := srv.HTTP(context.Background(), ":4981")
log.Fatal(httpSrv.ListenAndServe())

Add a Resource

Register a readable resource URI and return its content from your handler.

h.RegisterResource(schema.Resource{Name: "hello", Uri: "/hello"},
  func(ctx context.Context, req *schema.ReadResourceRequest) (*schema.ReadResourceResult, *jsonrpc.Error) {
    return &schema.ReadResourceResult{Contents: []schema.ReadResourceResultContentsElem{{Text: "Hello, world!", Uri: req.Params.Uri}}}, nil
  })

To notify clients about updates, emit resources/updated via h.Notifier.

Git-backed Resources

Expose curated repository files by plugging in the resource/git helper:

import resgit "github.com/viant/mcp/resource/git"

cfg := &resgit.Config{
  Repos: []resgit.Repo{
    {
      ID:                "mcp",
      URL:               "https://github.com/viant/mcp.git",
      Roots:             []string{"docs"},
      Include:           []string{"**/*.md"},
      ReadMeOnly:        true,
      ExposeSnapshotZip: true,
    },
  },
}

proto.WithDefaultHandler(ctx, func(h *serverproto.DefaultHandler) error {
  if err := resgit.Register(ctx, h, cfg); err != nil {
    return err
  }
  return nil
})

Clients can now call resources/list to discover URIs like repo://mcp/docs/server_guide.md and resources/read or repo://mcp/snapshot.zip to fetch either trimmed files or the exact snapshot zip (MD5 included via _meta).

Add a Prompt

Expose reusable prompt templates that clients can list and resolve.

prompt := &schema.Prompt{Name: "welcome", Arguments: []schema.PromptArgument{{Name: "name", Required: ptr(true)}}}
h.RegisterPrompts(prompt, func(ctx context.Context, p *schema.GetPromptRequestParams) (*schema.GetPromptResult, *jsonrpc.Error) {
  return &schema.GetPromptResult{Messages: []schema.PromptMessage{{Role: schema.RoleAssistant, Content: schema.TextContent{Type: "text", Text: "Hello, " + p.Arguments["name"] + "!"}}}}, nil
})

See the Server Guide for deeper coverage of resources and prompts.

Further Reading

• Server Implementation Guide: docs/implementer.md
• Server Guide (Tools, Resources, Prompts): docs/server_guide.md
• Authentication Guide: docs/authentication.md
• Bridge (local proxy) Guide: docs/bridge.md
• Client Guide: docs/client.md

Creating a Client

You can connect to an MCP server over stdio, HTTP/SSE, or HTTP streamable.

• SSE client (simple):

  ctx := context.Background()
  sseTransport, _ := sse.New(ctx, "http://localhost:4981/sse")
  cli := client.New("Demo", "1.0", sseTransport)
  if _, err := cli.Initialize(ctx); err != nil { log.Fatal(err) }
  tools, _ := cli.ListTools(ctx, nil)
  fmt.Println("tools:", len(tools.Tools))
  

• Streamable client:

  ctx := context.Background()
  streamTransport, _ := streamable.New(ctx, "http://localhost:4981/")
  cli := client.New("Demo", "1.0", streamTransport)
  _, _ = cli.Initialize(ctx)
  

• Stdio client (spawn a child process):

  stdioTransport, _ := stdio.New("./your-mcp-server-binary",
    stdio.WithArguments("--flag1", "value"))
  cli := client.New("Demo", "1.0", stdioTransport)
  _, _ = cli.Initialize(context.Background())
  

• OAuth2/OIDC (optional):

  See the Authentication section below for creating an http.Client with token handling and passing it to the SSE/streamable transports.

Advanced: If you need automatic reconnect and integrated auth, use the helper mcp.NewClient(handler, *ClientOptions) from the root package, which builds the transport and wires an auth interceptor. Supply a pclient.Handler implementation if your client needs to support server-initiated calls (roots, sampling, elicitation).

Authentication & Authorization Summary

MCP supports transport-agnostic authentication and authorization (HTTP or HTTP-SSE) via OAuth2/OIDC in two modes:

• Global Resource Protection (spec-based):

  • github.com/viant/mcp/server/auth.AuthServer enforces a Bearer token across all endpoints, except those excluded via ExcludeURI (e.g. /sse).
  • Configure by creating an auth.Service from authorization.Policy and wiring it with: server.WithProtectedResourcesHandler(service.ProtectedResourcesHandler), server.WithAuthorizer(service.Middleware), and server.WithJRPCAuthorizer(service.EnsureAuthorized).
  • Exposes /.well-known/oauth-protected-resource for metadata discovery (RFC 9728).

• Fine-Grained Tool/Resource Control (experimental):

  • Implements auth.Authorizer in AuthServer.EnsureAuthorized, returning 401 Unauthorized per JSON-RPC request.
  • Configure per-tool/resource metadata via Config.Tools or Config.Tenants in authorization.Policy.

• Fallback Token Fetching:

  • github.com/viant/mcp/server/auth.FallbackAuth wraps a strict AuthServer.
  • On 401 challenge, fetches tokens via ProtectedResourceTokenSource and optional ID tokens via IdTokenSource, then retries.
  • Create with auth.NewFallbackAuth(strictAuthServer, tokenSource, idTokenSource).

• Client-Side Support:

  • Use github.com/viant/mcp/client/auth/transport.New with:
    • WithStore(store.Store): handles client config, metadata & token caching.
    • WithAuthFlow(flow.AuthFlow): selects interactive auth flow (e.g., browser PKCE).
  • The RoundTripper automatically:
    1. Handles the initial 401 challenge (WWW-Authenticate header).
    2. Discovers protected resource and auth server metadata.
    3. Acquires tokens and retries the original request with Authorization: Bearer <token>.

• Example SSE integration:

  rt, _ := transport.New(
      transport.WithStore(myStore),
      transport.WithAuthFlow(flow.NewBrowserFlow()),
  )
  httpClient := &http.Client{Transport: rt}
  sseTransport, _ := sse.New(ctx, "https://myapp.example.com/sse", sse.WithHttpClient(httpClient))
  mcpClient := client.New("MyClient", "1.0", sseTransport, client.WithCapabilities(schema.ClientCapabilities{}))
  

These features are transport-agnostic and apply equally over HTTP, SSE, or other supported transports.

Protocol Methods

MCP supports the following Server Side methods:

• initialize - Initialize the connection
• ping - Check server status
• resources/list - List available resources
• resources/read - Read resource contents
• resources/templates/list - List resource templates
• resources/subscribe - Subscribe to resource updates
• resources/unsubscribe - Unsubscribe from resource updates
• prompts/list - List available prompts
• prompts/get - Get prompt details
• tools/list - List available tools
• tools/call - Call a specific tool
• complete - Get completions from the model
• logging/setLevel - Set logging level

MCP supports the following Client Side methods:

• roots/list - List available roots
  • sampling/createMessage - A standardized way for servers to request LLM sampling (“completions” or “generations”) from language models via clients.
  • elicitation/create - Ask the client to collect additional user input (forms or external links) and return structured content.
  • interaction/create - Initiate a user-interaction request, allowing the server to prompt the user via the client UI.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

License

This project is licensed under the Apache License 2.0.

Credits

Author: Adrian Witas

This project is maintained by Viant.