What you’ll learn
- Define validated tool inputs, outputs and capabilities.
- Connect a client to an owned local MCP service.
- Handle authentication, cancellation and tool failures transparently.
Proposed course content
6 sections · 13 illustrative lesson records
Tool interfaces3 lessons
- Introduction to AI Agents, Tools & MCP Integration
Explore tool schemas, MCP client/server boundaries and reliable agent integration with local services and least-privilege access.
Public introduction · Video not supplied - Model bounded operations and structured responses
Model bounded operations and structured responses. Module: Tool interfaces.
Enroll to access · Video not supplied - Validate input and output schemas
Validate input and output schemas. Module: Tool interfaces.
Enroll to access · Video not supplied
MCP concepts2 lessons
- Distinguish tools, resources and prompts
Distinguish tools, resources and prompts. Module: MCP concepts.
Enroll to access · Video not supplied - Inspect discovery and client/server responsibilities
Inspect discovery and client/server responsibilities. Module: MCP concepts.
Enroll to access · Video not supplied
Local service integration2 lessons
- Expose read-only synthetic resources through a local service
Expose read-only synthetic resources through a local service. Module: Local service integration.
Enroll to access · Video not supplied - Test connection lifecycle and supported transports
Test connection lifecycle and supported transports. Module: Local service integration.
Enroll to access · Video not supplied
Permissions and trust2 lessons
- Limit credentials and validate server capabilities
Limit credentials and validate server capabilities. Module: Permissions and trust.
Enroll to access · Video not supplied - Treat tool outputs as untrusted context
Treat tool outputs as untrusted context. Module: Permissions and trust.
Enroll to access · Video not supplied
Resilience and control2 lessons
- Handle timeouts, cancellation and unavailable tools
Handle timeouts, cancellation and unavailable tools. Module: Resilience and control.
Enroll to access · Video not supplied - Prevent duplicate side effects and require review where needed
Prevent duplicate side effects and require review where needed. Module: Resilience and control.
Enroll to access · Video not supplied
Evaluation and diagnostics2 lessons
- Trace a scoped agent/tool interaction
Trace a scoped agent/tool interaction. Module: Evaluation and diagnostics.
Enroll to access · Video not supplied - Document protocol assumptions and integration failures
Document protocol assumptions and integration failures. Module: Evaluation and diagnostics.
Enroll to access · Video not supplied
Requirements
- Python or TypeScript programming, JSON and API concepts.
- Owned local services and synthetic data; no unapproved external actions.
Tools and resources
- A development computer with resources appropriate to the proposed local exercises.
- Python or TypeScript, an MCP-compatible client/server library and a permitted model interface.
- Local synthetic notes, schema validation and integration test tools.
Description
Explore tool schemas, MCP client/server boundaries and reliable agent integration with local services and least-privilege access.
Who this course is for
Developers integrating structured tools with model-backed applications.
Example practical project
Proposed capstone: a local research-note tool server and agent client that searches synthetic notes and presents traceable results without sending messages.