Arcade MCP (MCP Server SDK) - Python Overview

arcade mcp, the secure framework for building servers, provides a clean, minimal API to build programmatically. It handles collection, server configuration, and transport setup with a developer-friendly interface.

Basic Usage

Python


from arcade_mcp_server import MCPApp
from typing import Annotated
 
app = MCPApp(name="my_server", version="1.0.0")
 
@app.tool
def greet(name: Annotated[str, "The name of the person to greet"]) -> str:
    """Greet a person by name."""
    return f"Hello, {name}!"
 
app.run(host="127.0.0.1", port=8000)

Class Reference

`MCPApp`

arcade_mcp_server.mcp_app.MCPApp

A FastAPI-like interface for building servers.

The app collects and configuration, then lazily creates the server and transport when run() is called.

Example:

Python


from arcade_mcp_server import MCPApp
from typing import Annotated
 
app = MCPApp(name="my_server", version="1.0.0")
 
@app.tool
def greet(name: Annotated[str, "The name of the person to greet"]) -> str:
    """Greet a person by name."""
    return f"Hello, {name}!"
 
# Runtime CRUD once you have a server bound to the app:
# app.server = mcp_server
# await app.tools.add(materialized_tool)
# await app.prompts.add(prompt, handler)
# await app.resources.add(resource)
 
app.run(host="127.0.0.1", port=8000)

Properties

`prompts`

Runtime prompts API: add/remove/list.

`resources`

Runtime resources API: add/remove/list.

`tools`

Runtime and build-time API: add/update/remove/list.

Methods

`init`

Python


__init__(
    name='ArcadeMCP',
    version='1.0.0dev',
    title=None,
    instructions=None,
    log_level='INFO',
    transport='stdio',
    host='127.0.0.1',
    port=8000,
    reload=False,
    **kwargs
)

Initialize the app.

Parameters:

Name	Type	Description	Default
`name`	`str`	Server name	`'ArcadeMCP'`
`version`	`str`	Server version	`'1.0.0dev'`
`title`	`str \| None`	Server title for display	`None`
`instructions`	`str \| None`	Server instructions	`None`
`log_level`	`str`	Logging level (DEBUG, INFO, WARNING, ERROR)	`'INFO'`
`transport`	`TransportType`	Transport type (“stdio” or “http”)	`'stdio'`
`host`	`str`	Host for transport	`'127.0.0.1'`
`port`	`int`	Port for transport	`8000`
`reload`	`bool`	Enable auto-reload for development	`False`
`**kwargs`	`Any`	Additional server configuration	`{}`

`add_tool`

Python


add_tool(
    func,
    desc=None,
    name=None,
    requires_auth=None,
    requires_secrets=None,
    requires_metadata=None,
    adapters=None
)

Add a for build-time materialization (pre-server).

`tool`

Python


tool(
    func=None,
    desc=None,
    name=None,
    requires_auth=None,
    requires_secrets=None,
    requires_metadata=None,
    adapters=None
)

Decorator for adding with optional parameters.

Examples

With OAuth Authentication

Use requires_auth when your needs to act on behalf of a . Add a context: Context parameter to access the authorization token.

Python


from arcade_mcp_server import MCPApp, Context
from arcade_mcp_server.auth import Google
from typing import Annotated
 
app = MCPApp(name="my_server")
 
@app.tool(requires_auth=Google(scopes=["profile", "email"]))
async def get_profile(
    user_id: Annotated[str, "The user ID to look up"],
    context: Context,
) -> dict:
    """Get user profile from Google."""
    token = context.authorization.token  # OAuth access token
    # Use token to call Google APIs...
    return {"user_id": user_id}

Available :

Python


from arcade_mcp_server.auth import (
    Google,
    GitHub,
    Slack,
    Microsoft,
    Discord,
    LinkedIn,
    Dropbox,
    # ... and more
)

With Secrets

Use requires_secrets for your server needs. Add a context: Context parameter to access secrets.

Python


from arcade_mcp_server import MCPApp, Context
from typing import Annotated
 
app = MCPApp(name="my_server")
 
@app.tool(requires_secrets=["API_KEY"])
async def call_external_api(
    query: Annotated[str, "Search query"],
    context: Context,
) -> str:
    """Call an external API."""
    api_key = context.get_secret("API_KEY")
    # Use api_key to call external service...
    return f"Results for: {query}"

With Lifecycle Hooks

Use @app.on_event for startup/shutdown logic.

Python


from arcade_mcp_server import MCPApp
 
app = MCPApp(name="my_server")
 
@app.on_event("startup")
async def on_startup():
    await db.connect()
 
@app.on_event("shutdown")
async def on_shutdown():
    await db.disconnect()

Full Example

Python


# --- server.py ---
# Programmatic server creation with a simple tool and HTTP transport
 
from arcade_mcp_server import MCPApp
from typing import Annotated
 
app = MCPApp(name="example_server", version="1.0.0")
 
@app.tool
def echo(text: Annotated[str, "The text to echo"]) -> str:
    """Echo the text back."""
    return f"Echo: {text}"
 
if __name__ == "__main__":
    # Start an HTTP server (good for local development/testing)
    app.run(transport="http", host="0.0.0.0", port=8000, reload=False, debug=True)

Terminal


# then run the server
python server.py