Spring Boot MCP Starter

A lightweight Spring Boot starter for building Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers in Java. Define tools, resources, and prompts with annotations — no boilerplate.

Why?

MCP is the open standard for connecting AI assistants to external tools and data. Most implementations are in Python or TypeScript. If you're a Java/Spring Boot engineer, there's no easy way to build an MCP server that fits into your existing stack.

This starter fixes that. Drop it into any Spring Boot app, annotate your methods, and you have a working MCP server.

Quick Start

1. Add the dependency

<dependency>
    <groupId>dev.ramesh</groupId>
    <artifactId>spring-boot-mcp-starter</artifactId>
    <version>0.1.0</version>
</dependency>

2. Define a tool

@McpTool(name = "get_weather", description = "Get current weather for a city")
public class WeatherTool {

    @ToolMethod
    public String execute(@ToolParam(name = "city", description = "City name") String city) {
        // Your logic here
        return "Sunny, 22°C in " + city;
    }
}

3. Run

mvn spring-boot:run

Your Spring Boot app is now an MCP server. Connect it to Claude Desktop, GitHub Copilot, or any MCP client.

Features

• @McpTool — Turn any Spring bean into an MCP tool
• @McpResource — Expose data sources (databases, APIs, files) as MCP resources
• @McpPrompt — Define reusable prompt templates
• Stdio & HTTP transports — Works with local CLI tools (stdio) and remote clients (SSE/HTTP)
• Auto-discovery — Tools, resources, and prompts are auto-registered via component scanning
• Spring Boot native — Constructor injection, application.yml config, actuator health checks
• JSON Schema generation — Tool parameters automatically generate JSON Schema from Java types

Configuration

mcp:
  server:
    name: my-mcp-server
    version: 1.0.0
    transport: stdio          # or 'sse' for HTTP
  sse:
    port: 8080
    endpoint: /mcp

Architecture

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  Spring Boot Application                     │
│                                              │
│  ┌──────────┐ ┌──────────┐ ┌──────────┐    │
│  │ @McpTool │ │@McpResource│ │@McpPrompt│    │
│  └────┬─────┘ └────┬──────┘ └────┬─────┘    │
│       │             │             │           │
│  ┌────▼─────────────▼─────────────▼────┐     │
│  │        McpServerAutoConfiguration    │     │
│  │   (auto-discovers & registers all)   │     │
│  └────────────────┬────────────────────┘     │
│                   │                           │
│  ┌────────────────▼────────────────────┐     │
│  │         Transport Layer              │     │
│  │    ┌─────────┐  ┌──────────┐        │     │
│  │    │  Stdio  │  │ SSE/HTTP │        │     │
│  │    └─────────┘  └──────────┘        │     │
│  └─────────────────────────────────────┘     │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Examples

Database query tool

@McpTool(name = "query_users", description = "Search users by name")
@RequiredArgsConstructor
public class UserQueryTool {

    private final UserRepository userRepository;

    @ToolMethod
    public List<User> execute(
            @ToolParam(name = "name", description = "Name to search for") String name,
            @ToolParam(name = "limit", description = "Max results", required = false) Integer limit) {
        return userRepository.findByNameContaining(name, PageRequest.of(0, limit != null ? limit : 10));
    }
}

REST API resource

@McpResource(
    uri = "api://orders/{orderId}",
    name = "order",
    description = "Fetch order details by ID"
)
@RequiredArgsConstructor
public class OrderResource {

    private final OrderService orderService;

    @ResourceMethod
    public Order fetch(@ResourceParam("orderId") String orderId) {
        return orderService.getById(orderId);
    }
}

Prompt template

@McpPrompt(name = "code_review", description = "Review code for common issues")
public class CodeReviewPrompt {

    @PromptMethod
    public String generate(
            @PromptParam(name = "language") String language,
            @PromptParam(name = "code") String code) {
        return """
            Review this %s code for bugs, security issues, and performance problems.
            Be specific and actionable. Only flag things that matter.

            ```%s
            %s
            ```
            """.formatted(language, language, code);
    }
}

Transport Options

Transport	Use Case	Config
Stdio	CLI tools, local AI assistants (Copilot, Claude Desktop)	mcp.server.transport=stdio
SSE	Remote clients, web-based integrations	mcp.server.transport=sse

Roadmap

• Auto-generate JSON Schema from records and POJOs
• Streaming responses for long-running tools
• OAuth2 authentication for SSE transport
• Spring Boot Actuator endpoint for MCP server health
• GraalVM native image support
• Publish to Maven Central

Contributing

Contributions welcome. Open an issue first to discuss what you'd like to change.

License

Apache License 2.0