₹0 for students · Certificate · Intermediate

Model Context Protocol (MCP) for Beginners

16 lessons: build, connect, secure and deploy MCP servers and clients

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16 lessons · ~12 hours · 30-question final exam · pass mark 70%

About the course

What you’ll learn

MCP is the open standard that lets AI applications use tools and data. Learn its architecture and primitives, security risks and defences, then build your first server and clients, connect an LLM, use servers in VS Code and other hosts, choose transports, test with the Inspector, add authentication, deploy remotely, and explore sampling, scaling, best practices and real case studies. Each lesson has a study guide, the full lesson with samples in several languages, and a quiz. Pass every quiz and the final exam to earn a verifiable certificate.

Model Context ProtocolMCP serversMCP clientsTool callingJSON-RPCStreamable HTTPOAuth 2.1AI securityAgent integration

Part of the career track: GenAI and LLM Builder

How the certificate works

  1. Read each lesson’s study guide, then the full lesson and any notebooks or exercises.
  2. Pass every lesson quiz with 70% or more.
  3. Pass the final exam: 30 questions in 45 minutes.
  4. Get a certificate with a public verification link, and add it to LinkedIn.

Syllabus

16 lessons in 4 parts

Understanding MCP

1
Introduction to the Model Context Protocol
35 min · MCP is an open standard connecting AI applications to tools and data.
2
MCP Core Concepts
50 min · Tools (model-controlled), resources (application-controlled, URIs) and prompts (user-controlled).
3
MCP Security
50 min · Prompt injection (including indirect) is the top AI-specific risk.

Building servers and clients

4
Building Your First MCP Server
50 min · SDKs (Python FastMCP, TypeScript McpServer, C#, Java) make servers short.
5
Building an MCP Client
40 min · Clients connect through a transport; for local servers, launch the process with stdio parameters.
6
Adding an LLM to Your Client
45 min · List MCP tools and convert their schemas into the LLM's function-calling format.
7
Using MCP Servers in VS Code and Other Hosts
35 min · Hosts like VS Code (Copilot agent mode), Claude Desktop and Cursor use MCP servers.
8
Transports: stdio and Streamable HTTP
45 min · stdio: host launches a local subprocess; messages over stdin/stdout; logs to stderr.

Production MCP

9
Testing and Debugging MCP Servers
40 min · The MCP Inspector lists capabilities, calls tools and shows raw messages.
10
Deploying MCP Servers
40 min · Remote, shared servers use Streamable HTTP and are deployed as services.
11
Authentication and Authorisation
45 min · Authentication verifies identity; authorisation decides permissions.

Advanced MCP and the real world

12
Sampling and Advanced Protocol Features
40 min · Sampling: servers request completions from the client's model; users stay in control.
13
Practical Implementation with the SDKs
45 min · SDKs: Python, TypeScript, C#, Java/Spring, Kotlin, Go, Rust, Swift and more.
14
Advanced MCP Topics
45 min · Scale with multiple instances, load balancing, statelessness, caching and queues.
15
MCP Best Practices and Lessons from Early Adopters
40 min · Single-responsibility tools with clear names, descriptions and strict schemas.
16
Case Studies, Hands-On Labs and MCP Apps
45 min · Case studies: enterprise integration, developer tools, docs assistants, multi-service agents.

Course content is adapted from Microsoft's "MCP for Beginners" curriculum (https://github.com/microsoft/mcp-for-beginners), used under the MIT License, Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation. Study guides and quiz questions are written by Vikosha. Certificates are issued by Vikosha and are not issued or endorsed by Microsoft or Anthropic. Licence: MIT License, Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation. View the original curriculum