Build Your First MCP Server: A Developer's Guide to Wrapping Existing APIs for AI Agents to Use

Transform any API into an AI-accessible powerhouse with Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers

This comprehensive developer's guide takes you from MCP fundamentals to building production-ready servers that AI agents can seamlessly interact with. While there are several types of MCP servers available, this eBook focuses specifically on Stateless Streamable HTTP Remote MCP Servers built with Bun—the lightning-fast JavaScript/TypeScript runtime—using just one dependency (zod) for maximum simplicity and performance.

What You'll Learn

MCP Server Types Overview: Understand the different approaches to building MCP servers and why stateless HTTP remote servers are ideal for wrapping around existing APIs

Authentication Patterns: Learn to handle both static API key authentication and the more complex Oauth 2.0 flow.

Production Deployment: Use included Dockerfiles to deploy your servers on Render.com or any cloud provider

Featured Projects

Weather API Integration: Build a clean, efficient weather data MCP server

Petfinder API Wrapper: Navigate OAuth2 client credentials flow and complex pet adoption data structures

Each example includes complete source code, detailed explanations, and ready-to-deploy Dockerfile configurations. All GitHub repositories are publicly available for you to experiment with and adapt to your own projects.

About the Author

Matthew Groff is a professional AI Engineer who shares insights about artificial intelligence and web development through his blog at https://groff.dev and on LinkedIn. With extensive experience in both AI systems and modern web technologies, Matthew brings practical, real-world expertise to help developers bridge the gap between traditional APIs and AI-powered applications.

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Ready to make your APIs AI-accessible? Let's build your first MCP server together.