MCPs: Build Your Own
Many teams are now building custom MCPs for their internal tools. Now it's your turn - understand them deeply, learn the anatomy, and build one from scratch. MCPs are the missing layer between AI and your internal tools.
- What Model Context Protocol is and why it changes AI integrations
- The 3 building blocks of any MCP server (Tools, Resources, Prompts)
- When MCP is the right call vs a simpler approach
- Design the tools your own MCP should expose
- Scaffold a working MCP server in TypeScript
- Explain MCP architecture to an engineering colleague clearly enough to get their buy-in
Step 1 of 5 · Read the lesson
MCPs: Build Your Own lesson
What MCP is
Model Context Protocol - an open standard for connecting AI assistants to your tools, data, and prompts. Think USB-C for AI.
Anatomy of an MCP server
- Tools - actions the model can invoke (query DB, call API)
- Resources - data the model can read (files, records)
- Prompts - reusable templated workflows
- Transport - stdio (local) or HTTP/SSE (remote)
MCP vs n8n
n8n is scheduled workflow. MCP is persistent capability. With MCP, your AI can always reach your systems on demand - no trigger needed.
~50 lines to a working MCP
The TypeScript SDK lets you spin a server with one tool in under 50 lines. Start there. Add tools as you discover what you keep copy-pasting into Claude.
The MCP ecosystem - what already exists
Before building a custom MCP, check what's already available. A growing ecosystem of pre-built MCP servers covers: Notion, Linear, GitHub, Slack, Google Drive, HubSpot, Contentful, and many more. If your tool is already covered, you can connect it to Claude in minutes - no building required.
The value of building your own MCP is for internal tools and proprietary data that don't have a pre-built integration: your experiment tracker, your internal analytics API, your custom data warehouse. That's where the leverage is.
Check the official MCP registry at modelcontextprotocol.io/registry before building from scratch.
Prompts for MCPs: Build Your Own
MCP tool designer
Design 5 tools for a company-internal MCP server. Company: [describe]. Team: [Growth PM]. For each tool return: - name (snake_case) - description (1 line, model-facing) - inputs (JSON schema sketch) - output format - example PM conversation that triggers it
MCP code scaffold
Generate a minimal TypeScript MCP server using @modelcontextprotocol/sdk. Single tool: [name, description, inputs]. Use stdio transport. Include package.json deps and a 1-line run instruction. Keep it under 60 lines.
MCP use case brainstorm
I'm a Growth PM at [company]. Brainstorm 5 MCP tools that would be highest-leverage for my daily work. For each: tool name | what it does | example prompt I'd type to use it | data source it touches.
Exercise for MCPs: Build Your Own
Design the Growth Workspace MCP - the 5 most valuable tools you'd give your AI.
Use the code scaffold prompt to generate a TypeScript starter for the simplest one. Share with the colleague who built the existing MCP.
Resources for MCPs: Build Your Own
Questions about this module
What is MCP?
The Model Context Protocol is an open standard that lets AI assistants connect to external tools and data through a consistent interface, instead of a custom integration per app.
Do I need to be a developer to build an MCP server?
Not really. A minimal server exposes a few named tools with descriptions and inputs, and AI coding tools can generate most of that scaffold for you.
Related modules
Terms used here
All prompts from this module are also on the prompt library.