Model Context Protocol (MCP) Server

Helidon provides support for building Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers through a dedicated extension. The MCP Server feature is not part of the core Helidon Framework – it is delivered as a separate project hosted in the helidon-mcp GitHub repository.

What is MCP?

The Model Context Protocol (MCP) is an open protocol designed to connect AI models with external tools, resources, and data sources in a standardized way. An MCP server exposes resources, prompts, and tools that AI clients can discover and invoke dynamically, enabling more powerful and context-aware applications.

Helidon MCP Server Extension

The Helidon MCP Server extension allows you to build and run MCP servers with Helidon.

Key points:

  • Separate repository: helidon-mcp

  • Independent lifecycle: Requires Helidon but has its own versioning and release cadence

  • Dedicated documentation: Full usage guides, configuration details, and examples are provided directly in the helidon-mcp documentation

Next Steps

To get started:

  1. Visit the helidon-mcp GitHub repository.

  2. Follow the setup and usage instructions in the repository’s documentation.

  3. Explore how to expose your Helidon resources as MCP tools, prompts, and data sources.

MCP Client

Helidon includes support for an MCP client through its integration with LangChain4j. With this integration, you can set up the MCP client using Helidon configuration and plug it directly into your LangChain4j AI services.