Mini course
what MCP is, why it's built like this, and why it matters right now.
9 chapters~103 minlast updated 30 Apr 2026level: intermediate
what MCP is, why it's built like this, and why it matters right now.
This course is the layout shell. Real chapter prose lands in a follow-up task — five short essays, one per chapter, each paired with a small interactive widget. Until then, every chapter renders a single placeholder paragraph so the navigation, progress, and rhythm can be exercised end-to-end.
before MCP, every AI integration was a one-off — and your terminal already hides the receipt.
MCP isn't peer-to-peer. it's a host that spawns one client per server.
every MCP message is JSON-RPC 2.0. four fields are the whole story.
every session begins with a negotiation. get it wrong and nothing works.
three primitives, three controllers — model, application, user.
by the end of this chapter you've authored a working MCP server.
stdio for trust, HTTP for distance. and the smallest host that works.
sampling, elicitation, roots — and the human in the loop in each.
MCP is a protocol, not a perimeter. the spec says SHOULD; you ship the MUST.