Up to this point, the focus has been on constructing the internal logic of an MCP server, defining how it reads data and what actions it can perform. A functional server, however, requires a runtime environment and a client to drive interaction. The code you wrote must now communicate over standard input/output (stdio) or SSE, handling real-time requests from an AI application.

This chapter addresses the integration and maintenance phase of MCP development. We begin with the MCP Inspector, a utility for testing server capabilities outside of a primary client. You will learn to trace the JSON-RPC message flow, inspecting requests and responses to verify they adhere to the protocol specification. This isolation testing helps identify schema mismatches or logic errors before they affect the application behavior.

Following debugging, we turn to client configuration. We examine the setup required to register your server with Claude Desktop, including the modification of configuration files and the injection of environment variables for authentication. The text also covers the connection lifecycle, explaining how clients manage server processes and what happens during initialization and termination. You will apply these concepts to establish a stable, persistent link between your local tools and the LLM interface.