Overview

The Mcp Go Starter is a lightweight, ready‑to‑run example of an MCP (Model Context Protocol) server written in Go. It demonstrates how to expose a minimal set of tools, prompts, and resources that an AI assistant can consume, all while leveraging the standard Go toolchain. The primary goal of this starter is to give developers a quick, working foundation that they can extend for their own tooling needs without wrestling with configuration or boilerplate code.

What Problem Does It Solve?

Modern AI assistants, such as Claude or Copilot, need a reliable way to interact with external services. MCP servers act as the bridge between the assistant and domain‑specific functionality, but setting up such a server from scratch can be tedious. The Mcp Go Starter eliminates that friction by providing:

• A fully configured that wires the server into a development environment.
• Example tools and prompts that illustrate how to structure requests and responses in the MCP protocol.
• Embedded resources (Markdown files) that can be served directly to the assistant.

This ready‑to‑run repository lets developers focus on implementing custom logic rather than plumbing.

Core Features and Capabilities

• Hello World Tool – A simple function that accepts a argument and returns a greeting. It showcases how to define tool signatures, handle arguments, and produce structured text responses.
• Enum Tool () – Demonstrates tool arguments that are restricted to a set of values, enabling typed interactions with the assistant.
• Markdown Resource – Uses Go’s embed package to ship a Markdown file inside the binary, which can be fetched via . This pattern is common for documentation or configuration files that assistants might need to read.
• Prompt Templates – Provides a minimal prompt () that pre‑populates the assistant with context and instructions, illustrating how to pass dynamic arguments into prompt generation.
• Environment‑Variable Driven Configuration – The server reads and , allowing developers to tweak behavior without changing code.

Real‑World Use Cases

• Rapid Prototyping – A team can spin up the server, add a new tool (e.g., querying a database or calling an external API), and immediately test it in VS Code with the MCP extension.
• Documentation Delivery – The embedded Markdown resource can serve internal wikis or onboarding docs to assistants, enabling them to answer knowledge‑base queries on the fly.
• Custom Assistant Workflows – By defining prompts that instruct the assistant to call specific tools, developers can build multi‑step interactions (e.g., greet a user, fetch their profile, and recommend actions) without writing complex orchestration logic.
• Educational Demonstrations – The starter is ideal for teaching students or new contributors how MCP servers are structured and how tools, prompts, and resources interoperate.

Integration into AI Workflows

The server exposes a standard JSON‑RPC interface over , making it compatible with any MCP‑aware client. In practice, a developer can:

1. Run the server (via or the provided scripts).
2. Configure a VS Code workspace to point the MCP extension at this server.
3. Invoke tools or prompts directly from the editor, observing responses in real time.
4. Iterate on tool logic and re‑run the server without redeploying or changing client code.

Because the server is written in Go, it can be compiled to a single binary and deployed anywhere—from local machines to cloud functions—ensuring that the same toolset is available across environments.

Unique Advantages

• Zero‑boilerplate Setup – The repository includes all necessary configuration files and scripts, eliminating common setup pitfalls.
• Embedded Resource Support – Leveraging Go’s embed package removes external file dependencies, simplifying distribution.
• Extensible Architecture – The codebase follows the patterns established by , allowing developers to add new tools, prompts, or resources with minimal friction.
• Developer‑Friendly – The README provides clear examples of RPC calls, making it straightforward to test tools manually or programmatically.

In summary, the Mcp Go Starter offers a concise, well‑structured foundation for building robust MCP servers in Go. It equips developers with immediate tooling examples, clear integration paths, and a pattern that scales from simple demos to production‑grade assistants.