How to build your first MCP server in 10 minutes

I built my first MCP server last week and it was way simpler than I expected. Here is exactly how, no fluff.

Prerequisites

• Node.js 20+


• 10 minutes

Step 1: Scaffold

npx create-mcp-server my-first-server

cd my-first-server

npm install

This generates a complete TypeScript project with one example tool.

Step 2: Add your tool

Open src/index.ts. Replace the hello tool with whatever you want:

server.setRequestHandler(CallToolRequestSchema, async (request) => {

  const { name, arguments: args } = request.params;



  if (name === 'current_time') {

    return {

      content: [{ type: 'text', text: new Date().toISOString() }]

    };

  }



  throw new Error(`Unknown tool: ${name}`);

});

Step 3: Build and connect

npm run build

npm start

Add to Claude Desktop config and you are done.

The whole thing took me 8 minutes. Most of that was reading the docs.

What I learned

• The MCP SDK handles all the transport layer — you just define tools


• 
  StdioServerTransport means your server runs as a subprocess. No HTTP, no port conflicts


• Error handling is important. If your tool crashes, the whole MCP connection breaks

Want to try it?

npm install -g mcp-hub

mcp-hub search mcp

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