# mcpserver
[](https://crates.io/crates/mcpserver)
[](https://docs.rs/mcpserver)
A Rust library for building [Model Context Protocol](https://modelcontextprotocol.io/) (MCP) servers, implementing the **2025-03-26** specification.
`mcpserver` is a **pure protocol handler** — it parses JSON-RPC, routes MCP methods, validates tool arguments, and dispatches to your handlers. It has zero HTTP or transport opinion: you bring your own framework (Axum, Lambda, Warp, etc.) and own the routing, middleware, and status codes.
## Installation
```toml
[dependencies]
mcpserver = "0.2"
serde_json = "1"
```
The library has no runtime or HTTP dependencies. Add `axum`, `tokio`, etc. only if your application needs them.
## Quick start
```rust
use mcpserver::{Server, FnToolHandler, text_result, JsonRpcRequest};
use serde_json::Value;
// Build the server and register handlers.
let mut server = Server::builder()
.tools_file("tools.json")
.resources_file("resources.json")
.server_info("my-server", "0.1.0")
.build();
server.handle_tool("echo", FnToolHandler::new(|args: Value| async move {
let msg = args.get("message").and_then(|v| v.as_str()).unwrap_or("");
Ok(text_result(msg))
}));
// Deserialize from any source, call handle(), serialize the response.
let req: JsonRpcRequest = serde_json::from_str(body).unwrap();
let resp = server.handle(req).await;
// resp.is_notification() → true for fire-and-forget methods (return 202, no body)
let json = serde_json::to_string(&resp).unwrap();
```
## Defining tools (`tools.json`)
Tools are defined as a JSON array. Each tool has a `name`, `description`, and an `inputSchema` (JSON Schema) that drives automatic argument validation.
```json
[
{
"name": "echo",
"description": "Echoes the input message",
"inputSchema": {
"type": "object",
"properties": {
"message": { "type": "string" }
},
"required": ["message"]
}
}
]
```
### Supported schema features
| `required` | Fields that must be present | `"required": ["name"]` |
| `oneOf` | At least one set of required fields must match | `"oneOf": [{"required": ["phone"]}, {"required": ["email"]}]` |
| `dependencies` | If field A is present, field B must also be present | `"dependencies": {"lat": ["lon"]}` |
See [`examples/tools.json`](examples/tools.json) for a full example with all three features.
## Defining resources (`resources.json`)
```json
[
{
"name": "config",
"description": "Application configuration",
"uri": "file:///etc/app/config.json",
"mimeType": "application/json"
}
]
```
## Handler patterns
### Struct-based handler
```rust
use async_trait::async_trait;
use mcpserver::{ToolHandler, ToolResult, McpError, text_result};
use serde_json::Value;
struct MyHandler;
#[async_trait]
impl ToolHandler for MyHandler {
async fn call(&self, args: Value) -> Result<ToolResult, McpError> {
Ok(text_result("done"))
}
}
```
### Closure-based handler
```rust
use mcpserver::{FnToolHandler, text_result};
use serde_json::Value;
});
```
### Resource handler
```rust
use async_trait::async_trait;
use mcpserver::{ResourceHandler, ResourceContent, McpError};
struct ConfigReader;
#[async_trait]
impl ResourceHandler for ConfigReader {
async fn call(&self, uri: &str) -> Result<ResourceContent, McpError> {
Ok(ResourceContent {
uri: uri.to_string(),
mime_type: Some("application/json".into()),
text: Some(r#"{"key": "value"}"#.into()),
blob: None,
})
}
}
```
## HTTP integration (Axum example)
Since the library is transport-agnostic, you wire up HTTP yourself. Here's the pattern with Axum:
```rust
use std::sync::Arc;
use axum::{extract::State, http::StatusCode, response::IntoResponse, Json, Router, routing::post, body::Body};
use mcpserver::{Server, JsonRpcRequest};
async fn handle_mcp(
State(server): State<Arc<Server>>,
Json(req): Json<JsonRpcRequest>,
) -> impl IntoResponse {
let resp = server.handle(req).await;
if resp.is_notification() {
return (StatusCode::ACCEPTED, Body::empty()).into_response();
}
Json(&resp).into_response()
}
let server = Arc::new(Server::builder().build());
let app = Router::new()
.route("/mcp", post(handle_mcp))
.with_state(server);
```
This makes it trivial to mount multiple MCP endpoints with different middleware:
```rust
let app = Router::new()
.route("/mcp_public", post(handle_mcp))
.route("/mcp_private", post(handle_mcp).layer(auth_middleware))
.with_state(server);
```
See [`examples/basic_server.rs`](examples/basic_server.rs) for a complete working example with session management, health checks, and tool handlers.
## Running the example
```bash
cargo run --example basic_server
```
Then in another terminal:
```bash
# Initialize
curl -X POST http://localhost:3000/mcp \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"method":"initialize","params":{}}'
# List tools
curl -X POST http://localhost:3000/mcp \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":2,"method":"tools/list"}'
# Call a tool
curl -X POST http://localhost:3000/mcp \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":3,"method":"tools/call","params":{"name":"echo","arguments":{"message":"hello"}}}'
```
## Nginx deployment
An example Nginx config for TLS termination is provided in [`nginx/mcp.conf`](nginx/mcp.conf). Key settings:
- `proxy_buffering off` — required for streaming
- `proxy_http_version 1.1` — keep-alive to upstream
- `proxy_read_timeout 300s` — long timeout for streaming
## MCP methods supported
| `initialize` | Handshake, returns server capabilities |
| `ping` | Keepalive |
| `tools/list` | List available tools |
| `tools/call` | Execute a tool |
| `resources/list` | List available resources |
| `resources/read` | Read a resource by name or URI |
| `notifications/initialized` | Client notification (no response body) |
| `notifications/cancelled` | Client notification (no response body) |
## License
MIT — see [LICENSE](LICENSE).