{"id":311,"date":"2026-08-07T20:06:35","date_gmt":"2026-08-07T14:36:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.reskilll.com\/build-your-own-mcp-server-30-minutes-python-typescript-tutorial\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T20:28:25","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T14:58:25","slug":"build-your-own-mcp-server-30-minutes-python-typescript-tutorial","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.reskilll.com\/build-your-own-mcp-server-30-minutes-python-typescript-tutorial\/","title":{"rendered":"Build Your Own MCP Server in 30 Minutes: Python & TypeScript Tutorial"},"content":{"rendered":"

An MCP server is just a program that exposes functions AI can call.<\/strong> If you can write an API endpoint, you can build an MCP server. Here’s both Python and TypeScript, from zero to working in 30 minutes.<\/p>\n

What We’re Building<\/h2>\n

A simple MCP server with two tools:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. search_hackathons<\/code> – searches a list of hackathons by keyword<\/li>\n
  2. get_hackathon_details<\/code> – returns details for a specific hackathon<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    After building this, your AI can say: “Find AI hackathons happening this month” and get real results.<\/p>\n

    TypeScript Version<\/h2>\n

    Step 1: Setup<\/h3>\n
    mkdir my-mcp-server && cd my-mcp-server\nnpm init -y\nnpm install @modelcontextprotocol\/sdk zod<\/code><\/pre>\n
    Step 2: Create server (index.ts)<\/h3>\n
    import { McpServer } from \"@modelcontextprotocol\/sdk\/server\/mcp.js\";\nimport { StdioServerTransport } from \"@modelcontextprotocol\/sdk\/server\/stdio.js\";\nimport { z } from \"zod\";\n\nconst server = new McpServer({ name: \"hackathon-search\", version: \"1.0.0\" });\n\n\/\/ Sample data (replace with your database)\nconst hackathons = [\n  { name: \"Build with AI\", theme: \"ai\", date: \"2026-08-30\", url: \"https:\/\/buildwithai.reskilll.com\" },\n  { name: \"Health-a-thon\", theme: \"healthcare\", date: \"2026-09-28\", url: \"https:\/\/healthathon.reskilll.com\" },\n  { name: \"TechQuest\", theme: \"mobile\", date: \"2026-08-16\", url: \"https:\/\/techquest.reskilll.com\" },\n];\n\n\/\/ Tool 1: Search\nserver.tool(\"search_hackathons\", { query: z.string() }, async ({ query }) => {\n  const results = hackathons.filter(h =>\n    h.name.toLowerCase().includes(query.toLowerCase()) ||\n    h.theme.toLowerCase().includes(query.toLowerCase())\n  );\n  return { content: [{ type: \"text\", text: JSON.stringify(results, null, 2) }] };\n});\n\n\/\/ Tool 2: Get details\nserver.tool(\"get_hackathon_details\", { name: z.string() }, async ({ name }) => {\n  const hack = hackathons.find(h => h.name.toLowerCase() === name.toLowerCase());\n  if (!hack) return { content: [{ type: \"text\", text: \"Hackathon not found\" }] };\n  return { content: [{ type: \"text\", text: JSON.stringify(hack, null, 2) }] };\n});\n\n\/\/ Start\nconst transport = new StdioServerTransport();\nawait server.connect(transport);<\/code><\/pre>\n
    Step 3: Connect to Claude<\/h3>\n
    \/\/ In claude_desktop_config.json\n{\n  \"mcpServers\": {\n    \"hackathons\": {\n      \"command\": \"npx\",\n      \"args\": [\"tsx\", \"\/path\/to\/my-mcp-server\/index.ts\"]\n    }\n  }\n}<\/code><\/pre>\n
    Python Version<\/h2>\n
    # server.py\nfrom mcp.server.fastmcp import FastMCP\n\nmcp = FastMCP(\"hackathon-search\")\n\nhackathons = [\n    {\"name\": \"Build with AI\", \"theme\": \"ai\", \"date\": \"2026-08-30\"},\n    {\"name\": \"Health-a-thon\", \"theme\": \"healthcare\", \"date\": \"2026-09-28\"},\n    {\"name\": \"TechQuest\", \"theme\": \"mobile\", \"date\": \"2026-08-16\"},\n]\n\n@mcp.tool()\ndef search_hackathons(query: str) -> str:\n    \"\"\"Search hackathons by keyword\"\"\"\n    results = [h for h in hackathons if query.lower() in h[\"name\"].lower() or query.lower() in h[\"theme\"]]\n    return str(results)\n\n@mcp.tool()\ndef get_hackathon_details(name: str) -> str:\n    \"\"\"Get details of a specific hackathon\"\"\"\n    hack = next((h for h in hackathons if h[\"name\"].lower() == name.lower()), None)\n    return str(hack) if hack else \"Not found\"\n\nmcp.run()<\/code><\/pre>\n
    Test It<\/h2>\n
    Restart Claude Desktop. Ask: “Search for AI hackathons”. Claude calls your search_hackathons<\/code> tool and returns the results from your data.<\/p>\n
    Next Steps<\/h2>\n