Quick Start
Create and run a verified mcpkit project in under two minutes.
This page is the fastest verified path from install to a running server.
quick start guide
under two minutes
repository-verified
Generate a working project in one command
This path uses the `basic` template and explicit npm package-manager selection to stay broadly usable for new users.
create
$mcpkit init hello-mcp --template basic --package-manager npm --yes
what to expect
- Uses the verified `basic` template.
- Sets the default description to `A hello-mcp MCP server` in non-interactive mode.
- Installs dependencies automatically because `--yes` selects the defaults.
- Generates `.vscode/mcp.json` for client configuration.
Why this path is the default recommendation
The commands above are intentionally narrow:
- they use the current published package name:
mcpkit-cli - they choose
npmexplicitly instead of assuming Bun is already installed - they use the
basictemplate because it has the fewest moving parts - they avoid documenting any behavior that is not present in the repository today
What gets generated
For this quick start, mcpkit init hello-mcp --template basic --package-manager npm --yes generates a small stdio-first project that includes:
src/index.tspackage.jsontsconfig.jsonREADME.mdLICENSE.vscode/mcp.json
The generated server creates an McpServer, registers a greet tool, connects through StdioServerTransport, and writes startup logging to stderr.
When to choose a different template
The quick start uses basic because it is the shortest path, not because it is the only useful template.
- choose
httpwhen you need a Streamable HTTP endpoint - choose
authwhen you want bearer-token protection on/mcp - choose
fullwhen you also want logging, health checks, metrics, linting, and formatting config
For a full breakdown, continue to Choosing a template.