Build Your Own MCP Server for Claude Code

A working MCP server in Node.js. Tool definitions, handlers, REST and database patterns, and the config Claude Code needs to load it.

Problem: The public MCP servers don't talk to the systems you actually use. Your internal API, the company Postgres, a custom workflow nobody else touches. For Claude Code to reach those, you have to write the server yourself.

Quick Win: Five minutes of Node.js gets Claude talking to any REST API:

// my-api-server.js - Connect Claude to your API
const { Server } = require("@modelcontextprotocol/sdk/server/index.js");
 
const server = new Server({ name: "my-api-server", version: "1.0.0" });
 
server.setRequestHandler("tools/list", async () => ({
  tools: [
    {
      name: "fetch_user_data",
      description: "Get user information from our internal API",
      inputSchema: {
        type: "object",
        properties: {
          userId: { type: "string", description: "User ID to fetch" },
        },
        required: ["userId"],
      },
    },
  ],
}));
 
server.setRequestHandler("tools/call", async (request) => {
  const { name, arguments: args } = request.params;
 
  if (name === "fetch_user_data") {
    const response = await fetch(
      `https://api.yourcompany.com/users/${args.userId}`,
      {
        headers: { Authorization: `Bearer ${process.env.API_TOKEN}` },
      },
    );
    return {
      content: [{ type: "text", text: JSON.stringify(await response.json()) }],
    };
  }
});
 
server.connect(process.stdio);

Save the file as my-api-server.js. Run node my-api-server.js to test it. That's a working integration.

What an MCP Server Actually Is

An MCP server is a Node.js process that hands Claude Code a list of callable tools. It runs on its own, separate from the editor, and gives Claude a wire into anything you can reach from Node: APIs, databases, internal services.

Every server ships four things:

Tool definitions: the functions Claude is allowed to call
Tool handlers: the code that runs when Claude calls one
Error handling: useful messages when the call fails
Authentication: a safe way to reach the systems behind it

Patterns That Cover Most Cases

Talking to a REST API

Point Claude at any HTTP endpoint with a small connector:

// Generic API connector pattern
const { Server } = require("@modelcontextprotocol/sdk/server/index.js");
 
const server = new Server({ name: "api-connector", version: "1.0.0" });
 
server.setRequestHandler("tools/list", async () => ({
  tools: [
    {
      name: "api_get",
      description: "GET request to any endpoint",
      inputSchema: {
        type: "object",
        properties: {
          endpoint: { type: "string", description: "API endpoint path" },
          params: { type: "object", description: "Query parameters" },
        },
        required: ["endpoint"],
      },
    },
  ],
}));
 
server.setRequestHandler("tools/call", async (request) => {
  const { name, arguments: args } = request.params;
 
  if (name === "api_get") {
    const url = new URL(`${process.env.API_BASE_URL}${args.endpoint}`);
    if (args.params) {
      Object.entries(args.params).forEach(([key, value]) =>
        url.searchParams.append(key, value),
      );
    }
 
    const response = await fetch(url, {
      headers: { Authorization: `Bearer ${process.env.API_TOKEN}` },
    });
 
    return {
      content: [
        { type: "text", text: JSON.stringify(await response.json(), null, 2) },
      ],
    };
  }
});
 
server.connect(process.stdio);

The same shape handles Stripe, Shopify, your internal dashboard, anything that speaks HTTP.

Talking to a Database

Swap the fetch call for a database client:

// Database connector for PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite
const { Server } = require("@modelcontextprotocol/sdk/server/index.js");
const { Client } = require("pg");
 
const server = new Server({ name: "database-connector", version: "1.0.0" });
const client = new Client({ connectionString: process.env.DATABASE_URL });
 
server.setRequestHandler("tools/call", async (request) => {
  if (request.params.name === "query_database") {
    const result = await client.query(request.params.arguments.query);
    return {
      content: [{ type: "text", text: JSON.stringify(result.rows, null, 2) }],
    };
  }
});

Claude can now run SQL and help out with database work.

Setup and Testing

Start the project:

mkdir my-mcp-server && cd my-mcp-server
npm init -y && npm install @modelcontextprotocol/sdk

Then point Claude Code at the server from its MCP config file. Where that file sits depends on how you run Claude:

Claude Code CLI: ~/.claude.json (user-level) or .mcp.json (project-level)
Claude Desktop: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json (macOS) or %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json (Windows)

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "my-custom-server": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/path/to/your/server.js"],
      "env": { "API_TOKEN": "your-token" }
    }
  }
}

Restart Claude Code after you save. The new server loads on startup.

When Things Break

Server not found: the config path or JSON is wrong. Double-check the file location. Use an absolute path for command.

Tool timeout: long-running calls hang the tool. Wrap them in your own timeout so they fail cleanly.

Authentication failed: the environment variables in the config aren't reaching the server. Verify they're spelled right and present.

Things Worth Doing Up Front

Every external call goes in a try-catch so errors surface as text, not crashes
Tokens live in environment variables, never in the source
Rate-limited APIs need their own throttle so Claude can't burn through your quota
console.log output shows up in Claude's logs, so use it freely for debugging

Next Steps

Pick one thing to wire up and build from there:

Start with one API: the one you touch every day
Copy the REST pattern: the connector above is the template
Confirm it loaded: ask Claude "What MCP tools are available?" and your new tool should appear
Write good tool descriptions: MCP Tool Search uses them to decide when to load your server
Read further: the MCP basics guide and the popular MCP servers list cover what to build next

A custom MCP server turns Claude Code into a client for your own stack. One server a week and the list of things Claude can reach quietly gets longer.

Quick Win: Five minutes of Node.js gets Claude talking to any REST API:

// my-api-server.js - Connect Claude to your API
const { Server } = require("@modelcontextprotocol/sdk/server/index.js");
 
const server = new Server({ name: "my-api-server", version: "1.0.0" });
 
server.setRequestHandler("tools/list", async () => ({
  tools: [
    {
      name: "fetch_user_data",
      description: "Get user information from our internal API",
      inputSchema: {
        type: "object",
        properties: {
          userId: { type: "string", description: "User ID to fetch" },
        },
        required: ["userId"],
      },
    },
  ],
}));
 
server.setRequestHandler("tools/call", async (request) => {
  const { name, arguments: args } = request.params;
 
  if (name === "fetch_user_data") {
    const response = await fetch(
      `https://api.yourcompany.com/users/${args.userId}`,
      {
        headers: { Authorization: `Bearer ${process.env.API_TOKEN}` },
      },
    );
    return {
      content: [{ type: "text", text: JSON.stringify(await response.json()) }],
    };
  }
});
 
server.connect(process.stdio);

Save the file as my-api-server.js. Run node my-api-server.js to test it. That's a working integration.

What an MCP Server Actually Is

Every server ships four things:

Tool definitions: the functions Claude is allowed to call
Tool handlers: the code that runs when Claude calls one
Error handling: useful messages when the call fails
Authentication: a safe way to reach the systems behind it

Patterns That Cover Most Cases

Talking to a REST API

Point Claude at any HTTP endpoint with a small connector:

// Generic API connector pattern
const { Server } = require("@modelcontextprotocol/sdk/server/index.js");
 
const server = new Server({ name: "api-connector", version: "1.0.0" });
 
server.setRequestHandler("tools/list", async () => ({
  tools: [
    {
      name: "api_get",
      description: "GET request to any endpoint",
      inputSchema: {
        type: "object",
        properties: {
          endpoint: { type: "string", description: "API endpoint path" },
          params: { type: "object", description: "Query parameters" },
        },
        required: ["endpoint"],
      },
    },
  ],
}));
 
server.setRequestHandler("tools/call", async (request) => {
  const { name, arguments: args } = request.params;
 
  if (name === "api_get") {
    const url = new URL(`${process.env.API_BASE_URL}${args.endpoint}`);
    if (args.params) {
      Object.entries(args.params).forEach(([key, value]) =>
        url.searchParams.append(key, value),
      );
    }
 
    const response = await fetch(url, {
      headers: { Authorization: `Bearer ${process.env.API_TOKEN}` },
    });
 
    return {
      content: [
        { type: "text", text: JSON.stringify(await response.json(), null, 2) },
      ],
    };
  }
});
 
server.connect(process.stdio);

The same shape handles Stripe, Shopify, your internal dashboard, anything that speaks HTTP.

Talking to a Database

Swap the fetch call for a database client:

// Database connector for PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite
const { Server } = require("@modelcontextprotocol/sdk/server/index.js");
const { Client } = require("pg");
 
const server = new Server({ name: "database-connector", version: "1.0.0" });
const client = new Client({ connectionString: process.env.DATABASE_URL });
 
server.setRequestHandler("tools/call", async (request) => {
  if (request.params.name === "query_database") {
    const result = await client.query(request.params.arguments.query);
    return {
      content: [{ type: "text", text: JSON.stringify(result.rows, null, 2) }],
    };
  }
});

Claude can now run SQL and help out with database work.

Setup and Testing

Start the project:

mkdir my-mcp-server && cd my-mcp-server
npm init -y && npm install @modelcontextprotocol/sdk

Then point Claude Code at the server from its MCP config file. Where that file sits depends on how you run Claude:

Claude Code CLI: ~/.claude.json (user-level) or .mcp.json (project-level)
Claude Desktop: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json (macOS) or %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json (Windows)

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "my-custom-server": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/path/to/your/server.js"],
      "env": { "API_TOKEN": "your-token" }
    }
  }
}

Restart Claude Code after you save. The new server loads on startup.

When Things Break

Server not found: the config path or JSON is wrong. Double-check the file location. Use an absolute path for command.

Tool timeout: long-running calls hang the tool. Wrap them in your own timeout so they fail cleanly.

Authentication failed: the environment variables in the config aren't reaching the server. Verify they're spelled right and present.

Things Worth Doing Up Front

Every external call goes in a try-catch so errors surface as text, not crashes
Tokens live in environment variables, never in the source
Rate-limited APIs need their own throttle so Claude can't burn through your quota
console.log output shows up in Claude's logs, so use it freely for debugging

Next Steps

Pick one thing to wire up and build from there:

Start with one API: the one you touch every day
Copy the REST pattern: the connector above is the template
Confirm it loaded: ask Claude "What MCP tools are available?" and your new tool should appear
Write good tool descriptions: MCP Tool Search uses them to decide when to load your server
Read further: the MCP basics guide and the popular MCP servers list cover what to build next

A custom MCP server turns Claude Code into a client for your own stack. One server a week and the list of things Claude can reach quietly gets longer.

Build Your Own MCP Server for Claude Code

What an MCP Server Actually Is

Patterns That Cover Most Cases

Talking to a REST API

Talking to a Database

Setup and Testing

When Things Break

Things Worth Doing Up Front

Next Steps

On this page

Build Your Own MCP Server for Claude Code

What an MCP Server Actually Is

Patterns That Cover Most Cases

Talking to a REST API

Talking to a Database

Setup and Testing

When Things Break

Things Worth Doing Up Front

Next Steps

On this page