Template MCP Server

A production-ready template for developing Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers using Python and FastMCP. This server provides a foundation for creating MCP-compliant servers with comprehensive examples of tools, structured logging, configuration management, and containerized deployment.

The template includes three example MCP tools: a multiply calculator, a code review prompt generator, and a Red Hat logo tool. It demonstrates best practices for MCP server development including proper error handling, health checks, multiple transport protocols (HTTP, SSE, streamable-HTTP), SSL support, and comprehensive development tooling.

Features

• FastMCP + FastAPI with multiple transport protocols (HTTP, SSE, streamable-HTTP)
• Three example tools: multiply calculator, code review prompt, Red Hat logo
• Pydantic configuration via environment variables
• Structured JSON logging with structlog
• SSL/TLS support for secure deployments
• Container-ready with Red Hat UBI base image
• OpenShift deployment manifests included
• Full CI/CD with GitHub Actions (tests, linting, security, releases)
• OAuth integration with PostgreSQL token storage

Quick Start

git clone https://github.com/redhat-data-and-ai/template-mcp-server
cd template-mcp-server
make install        # creates venv, installs deps + pre-commit hooks
make local          # starts server on localhost:5001

Verify in another terminal:

curl http://localhost:5001/health

Manual setup (without Make)

# Create venv and install
uv venv && source .venv/bin/activate
uv pip install -e ".[dev]"
pre-commit install

# Configure and run
cp .env.example .env
template-mcp-server

# Verify
curl http://localhost:5001/health

How to Use This Template

Option 1: GitHub Template (Recommended)

1. Click the "Use this template" button at the top of the repository page.
2. Name your new repository (e.g., my-mcp-server).
3. Clone your new repository and follow the rename checklist below.

Option 2: Manual Clone

git clone https://github.com/redhat-data-and-ai/template-mcp-server.git my-mcp-server
cd my-mcp-server
rm -rf .git
git init

Rename Checklist

After creating your project, replace all references to template-mcp-server and template_mcp_server with your project name. The following files require updates:

File / Directory	What to Change
template_mcp_server/	Rename the package directory (e.g.,my_mcp_server/)
pyproject.toml	name, project.scripts entry, [project.urls], [tool.coverage.run] source
Makefile	References in lint, local, and deployment targets
Containerfile	COPY source path and CMD module path
compose.yaml	container_name, service name, healthcheck URL
deployment/openshift/	App labels, image names, route hostnames in all manifests (deployment.yaml, route.yaml, kustomization.yaml, etc.)
.github/workflows/	Workflow names and paths
README.md	Title, description, clone URL, and all badge URLs (tests, coverage, Codespaces)
.env.example	Adjust defaults if your server uses a different port or protocol

Verify Rename

Run this to catch any leftover references:

grep -rn "template.mcp" --include="*.py" --include="*.yaml" --include="*.yml" --include="*.toml" --include="*.md" .

The output should be empty (or only match this README section itself).

Configuration

Variable	Default	Description
MCP_HOST	localhost	Server bind address
MCP_PORT	5001	Server port (1024-65535)
MCP_TRANSPORT_PROTOCOL	http	Transport protocol (http, sse, streamable-http)
MCP_SSL_KEYFILE	None	SSL private key file path
MCP_SSL_CERTFILE	None	SSL certificate file path
ENABLE_AUTH	False*	Enable OAuth authentication (see Auth Guide)
USE_EXTERNAL_BROWSER_AUTH	False	Browser-based OAuth for local dev
PYTHON_LOG_LEVEL	INFO	Logging level

* ENABLE_AUTH defaults to False in .env.example but True in code. Always copy .env.example to .env to start with auth disabled.

Documentation

Guide	Description
Architecture	System diagrams, code structure, key components, MCP tools
Development	Setup, running locally, testing, code quality
Deployment	Podman, OpenShift, container configuration
CI/CD	Workflows, pipeline features, running CI locally
Contributing	Development workflow, commit conventions, PR process
Security	Vulnerability reporting policy
Changelog	Release history
Authentication	OAuth setup, auth modes, troubleshooting
Tutorial	Your First Tool in 5 Minutes
Examples	FastMCP and LangGraph client examples

Contributing

See CONTRIBUTING.md for detailed guidelines.

# Fork, clone, and set up
git clone https://github.com/<your-username>/template-mcp-server.git
cd template-mcp-server
make install

# Create a branch, make changes, verify
git checkout -b feat/your-feature
make lint && make test && make pre-commit

# Commit and open a PR
git commit -m "feat: your descriptive message"
git push origin feat/your-feature

License

Apache 2.0