name: mcp-builder description: Build MCP (Model Context Protocol) clients to connect AI agents with external tools and data sources. Use when building integrations with MCP servers. license: MIT compatibility: Requires TypeScript, Node.js 18+ metadata: author: copilot-sdk-samples version: "1.0"

MCP Builder Skill

Build MCP (Model Context Protocol) clients that connect AI agents with external tools and data sources.

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when:

• Building a client to connect to an MCP server
• Integrating AI agents with external data sources via MCP
• Creating typed wrappers around MCP tool calls
• The user mentions "MCP", "Model Context Protocol", or needs to connect to an MCP endpoint

MCP Protocol Overview

MCP is an open protocol for connecting AI models to external tools and data. Key concepts:

1. MCP Server: Exposes tools, resources, and prompts via JSON-RPC over HTTP (streamable) or stdio
2. MCP Client: Connects to servers, discovers tools, and executes tool calls
3. Tools: Functions the model can invoke (e.g., search_docs, fetch_page)
4. Resources: Data the model can read (e.g., docs://azure/overview)

Implementation Pattern

Follow this pattern when building MCP clients:

1. Define the Interface

export interface MCPClientConfig {
  mode: "mock" | "live";
  endpoint?: string;
}

export interface MyMCPClient {
  readonly mode: "mock" | "live";
  readonly isInitialized: boolean;

  initialize(): Promise<ConnectorResult<void>>;
  dispose(): Promise<void>;

  // Add tool-specific methods based on server capabilities
  toolName(args: ToolArgs): Promise<ConnectorResult<ToolResult>>;
}

2. Implement Mock Client First

Always create a mock implementation that works without network calls:

class MockMyMCPClient implements MyMCPClient {
  readonly mode = "mock" as const;
  private _isInitialized = false;

  get isInitialized(): boolean {
    return this._isInitialized;
  }

  async initialize(): Promise<ConnectorResult<void>> {
    this._isInitialized = true;
    return success(undefined);
  }

  async dispose(): Promise<void> {
    this._isInitialized = false;
  }

  async toolName(args: ToolArgs): Promise<ConnectorResult<ToolResult>> {
    if (!this._isInitialized) {
      return failure({
        code: ErrorCodes.NOT_INITIALIZED,
        message: "Client not initialized",
      });
    }
    // Return realistic mock data
    return success({
      /* mock result */
    });
  }
}

3. Use ConnectorResult Pattern

All methods must return ConnectorResult<T>:

import {
  ConnectorResult,
  success,
  failure,
  ErrorCodes,
} from "../shared/connectors/types.js";

// Success
return success(data);

// Failure
return failure({
  code: ErrorCodes.NOT_FOUND,
  message: "Resource not found",
});

4. Factory Function

Export a factory function:

export function createMyMCPClient(config: MCPClientConfig): MyMCPClient {
  if (config.mode === "mock") {
    return new MockMyMCPClient(config);
  }
  return new LiveMyMCPClient(config);
}

Example: Microsoft Learn MCP Server

The Microsoft Learn MCP Server (https://learn.microsoft.com/api/mcp) provides:

Tools

1. microsoft_docs_search - Search Microsoft Learn documentation
2. microsoft_docs_fetch - Fetch and convert a page to markdown
3. microsoft_code_sample_search - Search code samples

Client Implementation

export interface DocSearchResult {
  title: string;
  url: string;
  snippet: string;
}

export interface MSLearnMCPClient {
  readonly mode: "mock" | "live";
  readonly isInitialized: boolean;

  initialize(): Promise<ConnectorResult<void>>;
  dispose(): Promise<void>;

  searchDocs(query: string): Promise<ConnectorResult<DocSearchResult[]>>;
  fetchDoc(url: string): Promise<ConnectorResult<string>>;
  searchCodeSamples(
    query: string,
    language?: string,
  ): Promise<ConnectorResult<CodeSampleResult[]>>;
}

Testing Requirements

Every MCP client must include:

1. Unit tests using Vitest
2. Tests for initialization/disposal
3. Tests for each tool method
4. Tests for error handling (NOT_INITIALIZED, etc.)

describe("MyMCPClient", () => {
  let client: MyMCPClient;

  beforeEach(async () => {
    client = createMyMCPClient({ mode: "mock" });
    await client.initialize();
  });

  afterEach(async () => {
    await client.dispose();
  });

  it("should initialize successfully", () => {
    expect(client.isInitialized).toBe(true);
  });

  it("should fail when not initialized", async () => {
    const uninit = createMyMCPClient({ mode: "mock" });
    const result = await uninit.toolName({});
    expect(result.success).toBe(false);
    expect(result.error?.code).toBe("NOT_INITIALIZED");
  });
});

File Structure

shared/connectors/<name>/
├── client.ts    # Client implementation
└── index.ts     # Public exports

test/connectors/
└── <name>.test.ts

Acceptance Criteria

A valid MCP client implementation must:

1. ✅ Export a factory function create<Name>Client(config)
2. ✅ Support both mock and live modes
3. ✅ Use ConnectorResult<T> for all async operations
4. ✅ Have isInitialized property
5. ✅ Return NOT_INITIALIZED error when called before initialize()
6. ✅ Include comprehensive unit tests
7. ✅ Follow existing connector patterns in the codebase