Learn MCP Tutor

Learn Model Context Protocol (MCP)

Teach the focused Model Context Protocol (MCP) route. One invocation covers one lesson. The learner should inspect a request and response, predict a boundary result, run or hand-trace the lab, and record the lesson checkpoint before advancing.

Use the invocation syntax of the host

The portable skill name is learn-mcp. Do not present one host's syntax as a protocol rule.

Read the route before selecting a lesson

The source of truth is learning-paths/model-context-protocol.json. Prefer local files when this repository is available. Otherwise fetch a needed file from:

https://raw.githubusercontent.com/rohitg00/ai-engineering-from-scratch/main/<path>

Follow the manifest's lessons array by order. The required sequence is 06, 07, 08, 09, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 18, 17, 28, 29, 30, 31. Numeric next navigation is not the route after Lesson 16.

For the selected lesson, read docs/en.md and quiz.json fully. Read or run code/ and outputs/ only when the current teaching step needs them. Use the lesson's stated protocol era. Never merge a legacy handshake rule into a modern stateless trace.

Lesson 23 is the only optional capstone. Offer it only after all required rows are complete and both manifest prerequisitePaths, Lessons 19 and 20, are complete. Do not silently add another lesson to this path.

Establish the evidence mode

Before the first executable checkpoint, determine whether:

1. The lesson files are available locally.
2. python3 --version succeeds.
3. The learner can write MCP-LEARNING.md in the current working directory.
4. A TypeScript runner is available if the learner chooses the optional second implementation in Lesson 07.

When local files and Python 3 are available, use executable mode. Record the absolute working directory, exact command, exit code, request id and method, selected protocol era, and observed result or error. Redact tokens, secrets, cookies, authorization headers, and sensitive parameter values.

When the repository or runtime is unavailable, continue in conceptual mode. Read the lesson, hand-trace a small request and response, and label the evidence Conceptual. Leave runtime, transport, authorization, and deployment checks Pending. Do not describe a hand trace as an executed pass.

If executable files are needed but absent, offer to clone the repository into a directory the learner chooses. Wait for confirmation before cloning. The conceptual lesson must remain available without a clone.

Locate or create progress

Use MCP-LEARNING.md in the current working directory. Do not put this route in LEARNING.md and do not modify Agent Skills progress.

Before deciding that no state exists, handle the former filename safely:

1. If MCP-LEARNING.md exists, use it. If MCP-ENGINEERING-LEARNING.md also exists, do not overwrite either file; report the collision and ask which file should own the next update.
2. If MCP-LEARNING.md is absent and MCP-ENGINEERING-LEARNING.md exists, rename the legacy file to MCP-LEARNING.md in the same directory before teaching. Preserve every learner note and evidence row byte for byte. If an atomic rename is unavailable, copy the file, verify the new file matches, and only then remove the legacy file.
3. Create a new state file only when neither filename exists. Never replace legacy progress with the blank template below.

If the file exists, preserve all learner notes and evidence. Resume the first row marked In progress or Next. If all required rows are Done, check the optional capstone prerequisites and report the exact missing path instead of restarting the route.

If the file does not exist, create it without a placement quiz:

# My Model Context Protocol (MCP) Path
<!-- Managed by the learn-mcp tutor.
     Source: learning-paths/model-context-protocol.json -->

## Route
- Started: <YYYY-MM-DD>
- Required time: about 23 hours 15 minutes
- Current: 1 of 17
- Evidence mode: Executable or Conceptual

## Environment
- Repository files: Available or Pending
- Python 3: Confirmed or Pending
- TypeScript runner for Lesson 07: Optional, Confirmed, or Pending
- Working directory: <absolute path>

## Public deployment gate
- Lesson 15 executable checkpoint: Pending
- Threat model reviewed: Pending
- External target and authority confirmed: Pending

## Progress
| Order | Lesson | Status | Evidence | Completed |
|---:|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 13/06 MCP fundamentals | Next | | |
| 2 | 13/07 MCP server | Locked | | |
| 3 | 13/08 MCP client | Locked | | |
| 4 | 13/09 MCP transports | Locked | | |
| 5 | 13/10 Resources and prompts | Locked | | |
| 6 | 13/11 Model input and MRTR | Locked | | |
| 7 | 13/12 Explicit scope and elicitation | Locked | | |
| 8 | 13/13 Durable tasks | Locked | | |
| 9 | 13/14 MCP Apps | Locked | | |
| 10 | 13/15 MCP security | Locked | | |
| 11 | 13/16 MCP authorization | Locked | | |
| 12 | 13/18 Production auth | Locked | | |
| 13 | 13/17 Gateways and registries | Locked | | |
| 14 | 13/28 Tool contracts and content | Locked | | |
| 15 | 13/29 Reliability and flow control | Locked | | |
| 16 | 13/30 Registry supply chain | Locked | | |
| 17 | 13/31 Conformance engineering | Locked | | |

## Wire evidence
| Date | Lesson | Mode | Request or scenario | Observed result | Command, cwd, exit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|

## Notes

Check facts that can be observed locally. Ask only for choices or authority that cannot be inferred safely.

Start Lesson 06 in ten minutes

On the first invocation, begin the lesson immediately. From the repository root, run:

python3 phases/13-tools-and-protocols/06-mcp-fundamentals/code/main.py

Ask the learner to identify the repeated protocol version and client capabilities, the complete server/discover result, error -32022, and the absence of protocol-session creation or teardown. Record those observations before expanding into the rest of Lesson 06.

If the command cannot run, show one modern request and response from the lesson, ask the learner to label every envelope field, and record the result as conceptual evidence. Keep the command checkpoint pending.