mcp/examples: HTTP server example with a simple client built-in (#168)

wkoszek · web-flow · commit a617dcea31a7 · 2025-08-30T14:30:48.000-04:00
I'm adding a practical example of an MCP with HTTP streaming: both
client and server. Those are useful for testing real-world applications.
diff --git a/examples/http/README.md b/examples/http/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,66 @@
+# MCP HTTP Example
+
+This example demonstrates how to use the Model Context Protocol (MCP) over HTTP using the streamable transport. It includes both a server and client implementation.
+
+## Overview
+
+The example implements:
+- A server that provides a `cityTime` tool
+- A client that connects to the server, lists available tools, and calls the `cityTime` tool
+
+## Usage
+
+Start the Server
+
+```bash
+go run main.go server
+```
+This starts an MCP server on `http://localhost:8080` (default) that provides a `cityTime` tool.
+
+To run a client in another terminal:
+
+```bash
+go run main.go client
+```
+
+The client will:
+1. Connect to the server
+2. List available tools
+3. Call the `cityTime` tool for NYC, San Francisco, and Boston
+4. Display the results
+
+At any given time you can pass a custom URL to the program to run it on a custom host/port:
+
+```
+go run main.go -host 0.0.0.0 -port 9000 server
+```
+
+## Testing with real-world MCP Clients
+
+Once the server is started, assuming it's the default
+localhost:8080, you can try to add it to a popular MCP client:
+
+    claude mcp add -t http timezone http://localhost:8080
+
+Once added, Claude Code will be able to discover and use the `cityTime` tool provided by this server.
+
+In Claude Code:
+
+    > what's the timezone
+
+    ⏺ I'll get the current time in a major US city for you.
+
+    ⏺ timezone - cityTime (MCP)(city: "nyc")
+      ⎿ The current time in New York City is 7:30:16 PM EDT on Wedn
+        esday, July 23, 2025
+
+
+    ⏺ The current timezone is EDT (Eastern Daylight Time), and it's
+       7:30 PM on Wednesday, July 23, 2025.
+
+    > what timezones do you support?
+
+    ⏺ The timezone tool supports three US cities:
+      - NYC (Eastern Time)
+      - SF (Pacific Time)
+      - Boston (Eastern Time)
diff --git a/examples/http/logging_middleware.go b/examples/http/logging_middleware.go
@@ -0,0 +1,51 @@
+// Copyright 2025 The Go MCP SDK Authors. All rights reserved.
+// Use of this source code is governed by an MIT-style
+// license that can be found in the LICENSE file.
+
+package main
+
+import (
+	"log"
+	"net/http"
+	"time"
+)
+
+// responseWriter wraps http.ResponseWriter to capture the status code.
+type responseWriter struct {
+	http.ResponseWriter
+	statusCode int
+}
+
+func (rw *responseWriter) WriteHeader(code int) {
+	rw.statusCode = code
+	rw.ResponseWriter.WriteHeader(code)
+}
+
+func loggingHandler(handler http.Handler) http.Handler {
+	return http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+		start := time.Now()
+
+		// Create a response writer wrapper to capture status code.
+		wrapped := &responseWriter{ResponseWriter: w, statusCode: http.StatusOK}
+
+		// Log request details.
+		log.Printf("[REQUEST] %s | %s | %s %s",
+			start.Format(time.RFC3339),
+			r.RemoteAddr,
+			r.Method,
+			r.URL.Path)
+
+		// Call the actual handler.
+		handler.ServeHTTP(wrapped, r)
+
+		// Log response details.
+		duration := time.Since(start)
+		log.Printf("[RESPONSE] %s | %s | %s %s | Status: %d | Duration: %v",
+			time.Now().Format(time.RFC3339),
+			r.RemoteAddr,
+			r.Method,
+			r.URL.Path,
+			wrapped.statusCode,
+			duration)
+	})
+}
diff --git a/examples/http/main.go b/examples/http/main.go
@@ -0,0 +1,203 @@
+// Copyright 2025 The Go MCP SDK Authors. All rights reserved.
+// Use of this source code is governed by an MIT-style
+// license that can be found in the LICENSE file.
+
+package main
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"flag"
+	"fmt"
+	"log"
+	"net/http"
+	"os"
+	"time"
+
+	"github.com/modelcontextprotocol/go-sdk/mcp"
+)
+
+var (
+	host  = flag.String("host", "localhost", "host to connect to/listen on")
+	port  = flag.Int("port", 8000, "port number to connect to/listen on")
+	proto = flag.String("proto", "http", "if set, use as proto:// part of URL (ignored for server)")
+)
+
+func main() {
+	out := flag.CommandLine.Output()
+	flag.Usage = func() {
+		fmt.Fprintf(out, "Usage: %s <client|server> [-proto <http|https>] [-port <port] [-host <host>]\n\n", os.Args[0])
+		fmt.Fprintf(out, "This program demonstrates MCP over HTTP using the streamable transport.\n")
+		fmt.Fprintf(out, "It can run as either a server or client.\n\n")
+		fmt.Fprintf(out, "Options:\n")
+		flag.PrintDefaults()
+		fmt.Fprintf(out, "\nExamples:\n")
+		fmt.Fprintf(out, "  Run as server:  %s server\n", os.Args[0])
+		fmt.Fprintf(out, "  Run as client:  %s client\n", os.Args[0])
+		fmt.Fprintf(out, "  Custom host/port: %s -port 9000 -host 0.0.0.0 server\n", os.Args[0])
+		os.Exit(1)
+	}
+	flag.Parse()
+
+	if flag.NArg() != 1 {
+		fmt.Fprintf(out, "Error: Must specify 'client' or 'server' as first argument\n")
+		flag.Usage()
+	}
+	mode := flag.Arg(0)
+
+	switch mode {
+	case "server":
+		if *proto != "http" {
+			log.Fatalf("Server only works with 'http' (you passed proto=%s)", *proto)
+		}
+		runServer(fmt.Sprintf("%s:%d", *host, *port))
+	case "client":
+		runClient(fmt.Sprintf("%s://%s:%d", *proto, *host, *port))
+	default:
+		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "Error: Invalid mode '%s'. Must be 'client' or 'server'\n\n", mode)
+		flag.Usage()
+	}
+}
+
+// GetTimeParams defines the parameters for the cityTime tool.
+type GetTimeParams struct {
+	City string `json:"city" jsonschema:"City to get time for (nyc, sf, or boston)"`
+}
+
+// getTime implements the tool that returns the current time for a given city.
+func getTime(ctx context.Context, ss *mcp.ServerSession, params *mcp.CallToolParamsFor[GetTimeParams]) (*mcp.CallToolResultFor[any], error) {
+	// Define time zones for each city
+	locations := map[string]string{
+		"nyc":    "America/New_York",
+		"sf":     "America/Los_Angeles",
+		"boston": "America/New_York",
+	}
+
+	city := params.Arguments.City
+	if city == "" {
+		city = "nyc" // Default to NYC
+	}
+
+	// Get the timezone.
+	tzName, ok := locations[city]
+	if !ok {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("unknown city: %s", city)
+	}
+
+	// Load the location.
+	loc, err := time.LoadLocation(tzName)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to load timezone: %w", err)
+	}
+
+	// Get current time in that location.
+	now := time.Now().In(loc)
+
+	// Format the response.
+	cityNames := map[string]string{
+		"nyc":    "New York City",
+		"sf":     "San Francisco",
+		"boston": "Boston",
+	}
+
+	response := fmt.Sprintf("The current time in %s is %s",
+		cityNames[city],
+		now.Format(time.RFC3339))
+
+	return &mcp.CallToolResultFor[any]{
+		Content: []mcp.Content{
+			&mcp.TextContent{Text: response},
+		},
+	}, nil
+}
+
+func runServer(url string) {
+	// Create an MCP server.
+	server := mcp.NewServer(&mcp.Implementation{
+		Name:    "time-server",
+		Version: "1.0.0",
+	}, nil)
+
+	// Add the cityTime tool.
+	mcp.AddTool(server, &mcp.Tool{
+		Name:        "cityTime",
+		Description: "Get the current time in NYC, San Francisco, or Boston",
+	}, getTime)
+
+	// Create the streamable HTTP handler.
+	handler := mcp.NewStreamableHTTPHandler(func(req *http.Request) *mcp.Server {
+		return server
+	}, nil)
+
+	handlerWithLogging := loggingHandler(handler)
+
+	log.Printf("MCP server listening on %s", url)
+	log.Printf("Available tool: cityTime (cities: nyc, sf, boston)")
+
+	// Start the HTTP server with logging handler.
+	if err := http.ListenAndServe(url, handlerWithLogging); err != nil {
+		log.Fatalf("Server failed: %v", err)
+	}
+}
+
+func runClient(url string) {
+	ctx := context.Background()
+
+	// Create the URL for the server.
+	log.Printf("Connecting to MCP server at %s", url)
+
+	// Create a streamable client transport.
+	transport := mcp.NewStreamableClientTransport(url, nil)
+
+	// Create an MCP client.
+	client := mcp.NewClient(&mcp.Implementation{
+		Name:    "time-client",
+		Version: "1.0.0",
+	}, nil)
+
+	// Connect to the server.
+	session, err := client.Connect(ctx, transport)
+	if err != nil {
+		log.Fatalf("Failed to connect: %v", err)
+	}
+	defer session.Close()
+
+	log.Printf("Connected to server (session ID: %s)", session.ID())
+
+	// First, list available tools.
+	log.Println("Listing available tools...")
+	toolsResult, err := session.ListTools(ctx, nil)
+	if err != nil {
+		log.Fatalf("Failed to list tools: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	for _, tool := range toolsResult.Tools {
+		log.Printf("  - %s: %s\n", tool.Name, tool.Description)
+	}
+
+	// Call the cityTime tool for each city.
+	cities := []string{"nyc", "sf", "boston"}
+
+	log.Println("Getting time for each city...")
+	for _, city := range cities {
+		// Call the tool.
+		result, err := session.CallTool(ctx, &mcp.CallToolParams{
+			Name: "cityTime",
+			Arguments: map[string]any{
+				"city": city,
+			},
+		})
+		if err != nil {
+			log.Printf("Failed to get time for %s: %v\n", city, err)
+			continue
+		}
+
+		// Print the result.
+		for _, content := range result.Content {
+			if textContent, ok := content.(*mcp.TextContent); ok {
+				log.Printf("  %s", textContent.Text)
+			}
+		}
+	}
+
+	log.Println("Client completed successfully")
+}
