mcp-developer

jeffallan/claude-skills · updated Apr 8, 2026

MDX-style export adds YAML metadata + attribution linking explainx.ai and this canonical listing URL.

$npx skills add https://github.com/jeffallan/claude-skills --skill mcp-developer
0 commentsdiscussion
summary

Build and debug MCP servers and clients connecting AI systems with external tools and data sources.

  • Supports TypeScript (Node.js SDK) and Python (FastMCP) for implementing tool handlers, resource providers, and prompt templates with Zod or Pydantic schema validation
  • Covers three transport layers: stdio (local), HTTP, and SSE (streaming), with JSON-RPC 2.0 protocol compliance and interactive debugging via the MCP inspector
  • Includes scaffolding workflows, schema design patterns, and er
skill.md

MCP Developer

Senior MCP (Model Context Protocol) developer with deep expertise in building servers and clients that connect AI systems with external tools and data sources.

Core Workflow

  1. Analyze requirements — Identify data sources, tools needed, and client apps
  2. Initialize projectnpx @modelcontextprotocol/create-server my-server (TypeScript) or pip install mcp + scaffold (Python)
  3. Design protocol — Define resource URIs, tool schemas (Zod/Pydantic), and prompt templates
  4. Implement — Register tools and resource handlers; configure transport (stdio/SSE/HTTP)
  5. Test — Run npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector to verify protocol compliance interactively; confirm tools appear, schemas accept valid inputs, and error responses are well-formed JSON-RPC 2.0. Feedback loop: if schema validation fails → inspect Zod/Pydantic error output → fix schema definition → re-run inspector. If a tool call returns a malformed response → check transport serialisation → fix handler → re-test.
  6. Deploy — Package, add auth/rate-limiting, configure env vars, monitor

Reference Guide

Load detailed guidance based on context:

Topic Reference Load When
Protocol references/protocol.md Message types, lifecycle, JSON-RPC 2.0
TypeScript SDK references/typescript-sdk.md Building servers/clients in Node.js
Python SDK references/python-sdk.md Building servers/clients in Python
Tools references/tools.md Tool definitions, schemas, execution
Resources references/resources.md Resource providers, URIs, templates

Minimal Working Example

TypeScript — Tool with Zod Validation

import { McpServer } from "@modelcontextprotocol/sdk/server/mcp.js";
import { StdioServerTransport } from "@modelcontextprotocol/sdk/server/stdio.js";
import { z } from "zod";

const server = new McpServer({ name: "my-server", version: "1.1.0" });

// Register a tool with validated input schema
server.tool(
  "get_weather",
  "Fetch current weather for a location",
  {
    location: z.string().min(1).describe("City name or coordinates"),
    units: z.enum(["celsius", "fahrenheit"]).default("celsius"),
  },
  async ({ location, units }) => {
    // Implementation: call external API, transform response
    const data = await fetchWeather(location, units); // your fetch logic
    return {
      content: [{ type: "text", text: JSON.stringify(data) }],
    };
  }
);

// Register a resource provider
server.resource(
  "config://app",
  "Application configuration",
  async (uri) => ({
    contents: [{ uri: uri.href, text: JSON.stringify(getConfig()), mimeType: "application/json" }],
  })
);

const transport = new StdioServerTransport();
await server.connect(transport);

Python — Tool with Pydantic Validation

from mcp.server.fastmcp import FastMCP
from pydantic import BaseModel, Field

mcp = FastMCP("my-server")

class WeatherInput(BaseModel):
    location: str = Field(..., min_length=1, description="City name or coordinates")
    units: str = Field("celsius", pattern="^(celsius|fahrenheit)$")

@mcp.tool()
async def get_weather(location: str, units: str = "celsius") -> str:
    """Fetch current weather for a location."""
    data = await fetch_weather(location, units)  # your fetch logic
    return str(data)

@mcp.resource("config://app")
async def app_config() -> str:
    """Expose application configuration as a resource."""
    return json.dumps(get_config())

if __name__ == "__main__":
    mcp.run()  # defaults to stdio transport

Expected tool call flow:

Client → { "method": "tools/call", "params": { "name": "get_weather", "arguments": { "location": "Berlin" } } }
Server → { "result": { "content": [{ "type": "text", "text": "{\"temp\": 18, \"units\": \"celsius\"}" }] } }

Constraints

MUST DO

  • Implement JSON-RPC 2.0 protocol correctly
  • Validate all inputs with schemas (Zod/Pydantic)
  • Use proper transport mechanisms (stdio/HTTP/SSE)
  • Implement comprehensive error handling
  • Add authentication and authorization
  • Log protocol messages for debugging
  • Test protocol compliance thoroughly
  • Document server capabilities

MUST NOT DO

  • Skip input validation on tool inputs
  • Expose sensitive data in resource content
  • Ignore protocol version compatibility
  • Mix synchronous code with async transports
  • Hardcode credentials or secrets
  • Return unstructured errors to clients
  • Deploy without rate limiting
  • Skip security controls

Output Templates

When implementing MCP features, provide:

  1. Server/client implementation file
  2. Schema definitions (tools, resources, prompts)
  3. Configuration file (transport, auth, etc.)
  4. Brief explanation of design decisions
how to use mcp-developer

How to use mcp-developer on Cursor

AI-first code editor with Composer

1

Prerequisites

Before installing skills in Cursor, ensure your development environment meets these requirements:

  • Cursor installed and configured on your development machine
  • Node.js version 16.0+ with npm package manager (verify with node --version)
  • Active project directory or workspace where you want to add mcp-developer
2

Execute installation command

Execute the skills CLI command in your project's root directory to begin installation:

$npx skills add https://github.com/jeffallan/claude-skills --skill mcp-developer

The skills CLI fetches mcp-developer from GitHub repository jeffallan/claude-skills and configures it for Cursor.

3

Select Cursor when prompted

The CLI will show a list of available agents. Use arrow keys to navigate and space to select Cursor:

◆ Which agents do you want to install to?
│ ── Universal (.agents/skills) ── always included ────
│ • Amp
│ • Antigravity
│ • Cline
│ • Codex
│ ●Cursor(selected)
│ • Cursor
│ • Windsurf
4

Verify installation

Confirm successful installation by checking the skill directory location:

.cursor/skills/mcp-developer

Reload or restart Cursor to activate mcp-developer. Access the skill through slash commands (e.g., /mcp-developer) or your agent's skill management interface.

Security & Verification Notice

We perform automated surface-level scans (Gen AI Scanner, Socket, Snyk) during installation. These checks detect common vulnerabilities but do not guarantee complete security. Always review skill source code and verify the publisher's reputation before production use.

Skills execute code in your development environment. Always verify the publisher's identity, review recent commits, and test in isolated environments before production deployment.

List & Monetize Your Skill

Submit your Claude Code skill and start earning

GET_STARTED →

Use Cases

User Story & Requirements Generation

Create detailed user stories, acceptance criteria, and feature specs

Example

Generate user stories for 'password reset feature' with acceptance criteria, edge cases, and test scenarios

Reduce spec writing time by 50%, ensure comprehensive coverage

Competitive Analysis

Research competitors, compare features, identify gaps

Example

Analyze 5 competitor products, create feature comparison matrix, suggest differentiation opportunities

Complete competitive research in 2 hours instead of 2 days

Roadmap Prioritization

Evaluate features using frameworks (RICE, ICE, Kano) and create prioritized backlogs

Example

Score 20 feature ideas using RICE framework, generate prioritized roadmap with rationale

Make data-driven prioritization decisions faster

Stakeholder Communication

Draft PRDs, status updates, and stakeholder presentations

Example

Create executive summary of Q3 roadmap, monthly progress report, feature launch announcement

Save 3-5 hours/week on communication overhead

Implementation Guide

Prerequisites

  • Claude Desktop or compatible AI client
  • Access to product documentation and roadmap tools (Jira, Notion, etc.)
  • Understanding of product management frameworks (RICE, Jobs-to-be-Done, etc.)
  • Stakeholder contact information and communication channels

Time Estimate

30-60 minutes to see productivity improvements

Installation Steps

  1. 1.Install product management skill
  2. 2.Start with user story generation for known feature
  3. 3.Progress to competitive analysis: research 2-3 competitors
  4. 4.Use for roadmap prioritization: apply RICE/ICE scoring
  5. 5.Draft stakeholder communications and refine based on feedback
  6. 6.Build template library for recurring PM tasks
  7. 7.Share effective prompts with product team

Common Pitfalls

  • Not validating competitive research—verify facts before sharing
  • Accepting user stories without involving engineering team
  • Over-relying on frameworks without qualitative judgment
  • Not customizing outputs to company culture and communication style
  • Skipping stakeholder validation of generated requirements

Best Practices

✓ Do

  • +Validate research and competitive analysis with real data
  • +Collaborate with engineering when generating technical requirements
  • +Customize frameworks and templates to your company context
  • +Use skill for first drafts, refine with stakeholder input
  • +Document successful prompt patterns for PM tasks
  • +Combine AI efficiency with human judgment and intuition

✗ Don't

  • Don't publish competitive analysis without fact-checking
  • Don't finalize user stories without engineering review
  • Don't make prioritization decisions solely on AI scoring
  • Don't skip customer validation of generated requirements
  • Don't ignore company-specific context and culture

💡 Pro Tips

  • Provide context: company goals, constraints, customer feedback
  • Ask for alternatives: 'Show 3 ways to prioritize this roadmap'
  • Request stakeholder-specific formatting: 'Executive summary vs. engineering spec'
  • Use skill for 70% generation + 30% customization to company needs

When to Use This

✓ Use When

Use for user story writing, competitive research, roadmap prioritization, stakeholder communication, and PRD drafting. Best for reducing repetitive documentation and research work.

✗ Avoid When

Avoid for strategic product vision (requires deep customer empathy), pricing decisions (needs market and financial expertise), or when face-to-face customer discovery is more valuable than speed.

Learning Path

  1. 1Basic: user stories, feature specs, status updates
  2. 2Intermediate: competitive analysis, prioritization frameworks, PRDs
  3. 3Advanced: product strategy, go-to-market planning, OKR setting
  4. 4Expert: product vision, market positioning, business model innovation

Discussion

Product Hunt–style comments (not star reviews)
  • No comments yet — start the thread.
general reviews

Ratings

4.726 reviews
  • Mateo Harris· Dec 12, 2024

    mcp-developer fits our agent workflows well — practical, well scoped, and easy to wire into existing repos.

  • Diego Huang· Dec 8, 2024

    mcp-developer is among the better-maintained entries we tried; worth keeping pinned for repeat workflows.

  • Ganesh Mohane· Dec 4, 2024

    mcp-developer fits our agent workflows well — practical, well scoped, and easy to wire into existing repos.

  • Carlos Bhatia· Nov 27, 2024

    Solid pick for teams standardizing on skills: mcp-developer is focused, and the summary matches what you get after install.

  • Sakshi Patil· Nov 23, 2024

    Registry listing for mcp-developer matched our evaluation — installs cleanly and behaves as described in the markdown.

  • Diego Smith· Oct 18, 2024

    mcp-developer has been reliable in day-to-day use. Documentation quality is above average for community skills.

  • Chaitanya Patil· Oct 14, 2024

    mcp-developer reduced setup friction for our internal harness; good balance of opinion and flexibility.

  • Dev Nasser· Sep 13, 2024

    mcp-developer is among the better-maintained entries we tried; worth keeping pinned for repeat workflows.

  • Rahul Santra· Sep 5, 2024

    mcp-developer is among the better-maintained entries we tried; worth keeping pinned for repeat workflows.

  • Pratham Ware· Aug 24, 2024

    Keeps context tight: mcp-developer is the kind of skill you can hand to a new teammate without a long onboarding doc.

showing 1-10 of 26

1 / 3