Prerequisites: Prerequisites: Node ≥ 18,
Git,
a modern IDE (Cursor or VS Code), and
an API‑key‑enabled AI assistant (Claude Desktop, GitHub Copilot, etc.). Node ≥ 18, Git, a modern IDE (Cursor or VS Code), and an API‑key‑enabled AI assistant (Claude Desktop, GitHub Copilot, etc.). Why MCP isn’t just another buzzword When I first heard Anthropic describe MCP as “USB-C for AI,” I was skeptical. Another “universal protocol”? Cool idea, but would it work in the real world? Turns out — it does. MCP provides your AI assistant with secure, sandboxed access to development tools. It’s like giving Copilot or Claude a temporary, read-only pass to your file system, CLI, or API layer — with your rules. your Big players like Microsoft, GitHub, Atlassian, and Stripe already ship official MCP servers. My team (a four-engineer startup crew) wired a few into our stack and saw ~30 minutes of saved context-switching per dev per day. per dev per day Typical five‑minute wins Typical five‑minute wins Before MCP

After MCP



Search Jira manually, copy ticket ID, then write a PR title.

Ask Copilot: “Link this branch to the Jira bug I mentioned in stand-up and open a draft PR.”



Bounce across browser tabs checking Azure quotas.

Tell Claude: “List Azure storage accounts over 80% capacity.”



Eyeball README diffs commit by commit.

Ask Cursor: “Summarize README changes since the last release.” Before MCP

After MCP



Search Jira manually, copy ticket ID, then write a PR title.

Ask Copilot: “Link this branch to the Jira bug I mentioned in stand-up and open a draft PR.”



Bounce across browser tabs checking Azure quotas.

Tell Claude: “List Azure storage accounts over 80% capacity.”



Eyeball README diffs commit by commit.

Ask Cursor: “Summarize README changes since the last release.” Before MCP

After MCP Before MCP Before MCP After MCP After MCP Search Jira manually, copy ticket ID, then write a PR title.

Ask Copilot: “Link this branch to the Jira bug I mentioned in stand-up and open a draft PR.” Search Jira manually, copy ticket ID, then write a PR title. Search Jira manually, copy ticket ID, then write a PR title. Ask Copilot: “Link this branch to the Jira bug I mentioned in stand-up and open a draft PR.” Ask Copilot: “Link this branch to the Jira bug I mentioned in stand-up and open a draft PR.” Bounce across browser tabs checking Azure quotas.

Tell Claude: “List Azure storage accounts over 80% capacity.” Bounce across browser tabs checking Azure quotas. Bounce across browser tabs checking Azure quotas. Tell Claude: “List Azure storage accounts over 80% capacity.” Tell Claude: “List Azure storage accounts over 80% capacity.” Eyeball README diffs commit by commit.

Ask Cursor: “Summarize README changes since the last release.” Eyeball README diffs commit by commit. Eyeball README diffs commit by commit. Ask Cursor: “Summarize README changes since the last release.” Ask Cursor: “Summarize README changes since the last release.” Multiply that by dozens of micro‑tasks per day, and you claw back serious focus time. A two‑minute tour of the MCP architecture Client – Your IDE or AI chat agent.
Server – A local/remote process that exposes tools (functions) and read-only context.
Handshake – JSON-RPC; the client fetches the manifest and asks your permission before doing anything. Client – Your IDE or AI chat agent. Client Server – A local/remote process that exposes tools (functions) and read-only context. Server Handshake – JSON-RPC; the client fetches the manifest and asks your permission before doing anything. Handshake Since it’s a standard protocol, you can mix and match Microsoft’s Azure server, GitHub’s source control server, and your own “team-lunch-suggester” without extra glue code. Quick‑start: spin up a filesystem MCP server Install Node if you haven’t already (node --version should print ≥ 18).


Run the reference server (works on macOS, Windows, Linux):
npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem ~/projects


Tip — point it at a single workspace folder, not your whole disk.



Register it in your client.



Restart Cursor → click the 🛠 Tools icon → approve permissions. Install Node if you haven’t already (node --version should print ≥ 18). Install Node if you haven’t already (node --version should print ≥ 18). Install Node node --version Run the reference server (works on macOS, Windows, Linux):
npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem ~/projects


Tip — point it at a single workspace folder, not your whole disk. Run the reference server (works on macOS, Windows, Linux): Run the reference server npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem ~/projects npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem ~/projects Tip — point it at a single workspace folder, not your whole disk. Tip — point it at a single workspace folder, not your whole disk. Tip — single workspace folder Register it in your client. Register it in your client. Register it in your client. Restart Cursor → click the 🛠 Tools icon → approve permissions. Restart Cursor → click the 🛠 Tools icon → approve permissions. 🛠 Tools Try this prompt in your AI assistant: “Create a folder mcp-demo and write a hello-world Python script in it.” “Create a folder mcp-demo and write a hello-world Python script in it.” mcp-demo You’ll see the request pop up. Approve it — and boom, the file appears. boom Curated servers for everyday dev chores Category

Server

What it adds

Link



Source control

GitHub MCP

Open PRs, triage issues, run code‑search

GitHub repo



CI / Tests

Playwright MCP

Headless browser automation from chat

playwright-mcp



Docs

Microsoft Learn Docs

Semantic search across official docs

DevBlog post



Secrets scanning

GitGuardian MCP

Detect API keys before you commit

HackerNoon story



Cloud infra

Azure Resource MCP

Query quotas, spin up VMs

DevBlog post Category

Server

What it adds

Link



Source control

GitHub MCP

Open PRs, triage issues, run code‑search

GitHub repo



CI / Tests

Playwright MCP

Headless browser automation from chat

playwright-mcp



Docs

Microsoft Learn Docs

Semantic search across official docs

DevBlog post



Secrets scanning

GitGuardian MCP

Detect API keys before you commit

HackerNoon story



Cloud infra

Azure Resource MCP

Query quotas, spin up VMs

DevBlog post Category

Server

What it adds

Link Category Category Server Server What it adds What it adds Link Link Source control

GitHub MCP

Open PRs, triage issues, run code‑search

GitHub repo Source control Source control Source control GitHub MCP GitHub MCP Open PRs, triage issues, run code‑search Open PRs, triage issues, run code‑search GitHub repo GitHub repo GitHub repo CI / Tests

Playwright MCP

Headless browser automation from chat

playwright-mcp CI / Tests CI / Tests CI / Tests Playwright MCP Playwright MCP Headless browser automation from chat Headless browser automation from chat playwright-mcp playwright-mcp playwright-mcp Docs

Microsoft Learn Docs

Semantic search across official docs

DevBlog post Docs Docs Docs Microsoft Learn Docs Microsoft Learn Docs Semantic search across official docs Semantic search across official docs DevBlog post DevBlog post Secrets scanning

GitGuardian MCP

Detect API keys before you commit

HackerNoon story Secrets scanning Secrets scanning Secrets scanning GitGuardian MCP GitGuardian MCP Detect API keys before you commit Detect API keys before you commit HackerNoon story HackerNoon story HackerNoon story Cloud infra

Azure Resource MCP

Query quotas, spin up VMs

DevBlog post Cloud infra Cloud infra Cloud infra Azure Resource MCP Azure Resource MCP Query quotas, spin up VMs Query quotas, spin up VMs DevBlog post DevBlog post (Replace links with the canonical GitHub or HackerNoon URLs before publishing.) (Replace links with the canonical GitHub or HackerNoon URLs before publishing.) Automating five high‑leverage daily tasks Issue triage
Scan the last 20 GitHub issues labeled bug; group by component and estimate fix effort.



**Code review scaffolding \  Let Copilot fetch diff stats, generate a checklist, and pre-fill the PR template.


**Environment setup \  Spin up Docker Compose, run migrations, and seed data with a single agent command.


**Live log analysis \  Point the server at /var/log and ask your assistant to grep + summarize.


**Daily stand-up reports \  Have your agent summarize commits and Jira updates into a Slack-ready message. Issue triage
Scan the last 20 GitHub issues labeled bug; group by component and estimate fix effort. Issue triage Issue triage Scan the last 20 GitHub issues labeled bug; group by component and estimate fix effort. Scan the last 20 GitHub issues labeled bug; group by component and estimate fix effort. **Code review scaffolding \  Let Copilot fetch diff stats, generate a checklist, and pre-fill the PR template. **Code review scaffolding \  Let Copilot fetch diff stats, generate a checklist, and pre-fill the PR template. **Environment setup \  Spin up Docker Compose, run migrations, and seed data with a single agent command. **Environment setup \  Spin up Docker Compose, run migrations, and seed data with a single agent command. **Live log analysis \  Point the server at /var/log and ask your assistant to grep + summarize. **Live log analysis \  Point the server at /var/log and ask your assistant to grep + summarize. /var/log **Daily stand-up reports \  Have your agent summarize commits and Jira updates into a Slack-ready message. **Daily stand-up reports \  Have your agent summarize commits and Jira updates into a Slack-ready message. Measuring the productivity gain We didn’t run formal benchmarks — but the difference was obvious within a week. Instead of bouncing between Jira, GitHub, Slack, and the terminal, we could just ask the assistant to do the glue work. Things like: Linking a branch to a Jira ticket and opening a draft PR
Writing quick stand-up summaries from commit logs
Grepping logs or checking Azure quotas without breaking flow Linking a branch to a Jira ticket and opening a draft PR Writing quick stand-up summaries from commit logs Grepping logs or checking Azure quotas without breaking flow Our team felt noticeably less interrupted. I’d go as far as saying it brought back that “deep work” vibe we hadn’t felt in a while: fewer pings, fewer browser tabs, and way less mental overhead. less interrupted Security & best practices Principle of least privilege – expose only the paths and APIs you need.
Per‑tool prompts – keep “Ask before each action” turned on until you trust the workflow.
Pin versions – use exact NPM/SKUs (@mcp/server-git@1.2.0) to avoid breaking changes.
Audit logs – most clients write JSON logs (~/.config/your‑client/logs/mcp‑*.log); ship them to Loki or ELK. Principle of least privilege – expose only the paths and APIs you need. Principle of least privilege Per‑tool prompts – keep “Ask before each action” turned on until you trust the workflow. Per‑tool prompts on Pin versions – use exact NPM/SKUs (@mcp/server-git@1.2.0) to avoid breaking changes. Pin versions @mcp/server-git@1.2.0 Audit logs – most clients write JSON logs (~/.config/your‑client/logs/mcp‑*.log); ship them to Loki or ELK. Audit logs ~/.config/your‑client/logs/mcp‑*.log For a deep dive on threat models, see MCP Is a Security — Here’s How the Agent Security Framework Fixes It (HackerNoon, April 2025). MCP Is a Security — Here’s How the Agent Security Framework Fixes It Troubleshooting cheatsheet Symptom

Fix



ECONNREFUSED The client couldn’t connect

Port already in use → change --port Or kill the stray process.



“Server disconnected” on first call

Your process exited; run it in --verbose mode to see the stack‑trace.



Agent spams permission prompts.

Use per‑tool scopes in the manifest to whitelist benign actions. Symptom

Fix



ECONNREFUSED The client couldn’t connect

Port already in use → change --port Or kill the stray process.



“Server disconnected” on first call

Your process exited; run it in --verbose mode to see the stack‑trace.



Agent spams permission prompts.

Use per‑tool scopes in the manifest to whitelist benign actions. Symptom

Fix Symptom Symptom Fix Fix ECONNREFUSED The client couldn’t connect

Port already in use → change --port Or kill the stray process. ECONNREFUSED The client couldn’t connect ECONNREFUSED The client couldn’t connect ECONNREFUSED Port already in use → change --port Or kill the stray process. Port already in use → change --port Or kill the stray process. --port “Server disconnected” on first call

Your process exited; run it in --verbose mode to see the stack‑trace. “Server disconnected” on first call “Server disconnected” on first call “Server disconnected” on first call Your process exited; run it in --verbose mode to see the stack‑trace. Your process exited; run it in --verbose mode to see the stack‑trace. --verbose Agent spams permission prompts.

Use per‑tool scopes in the manifest to whitelist benign actions. Agent spams permission prompts. Agent spams permission prompts. Agent spams permission prompts. Use per‑tool scopes in the manifest to whitelist benign actions. Use per‑tool scopes in the manifest to whitelist benign actions. Where to go next Read “Model Context Protocol — How to Get Started” for a deeper conceptual intro.
Browse the Awesome MCP Servers list for niche integrations (Notion, Airtable, Stripe, Home‑Assistant). Read “Model Context Protocol — How to Get Started” for a deeper conceptual intro. Browse the Awesome MCP Servers list for niche integrations (Notion, Airtable, Stripe, Home‑Assistant). Awesome MCP Servers If you build something cool, drop me a line on Instagram at @jawad7khan. I’d love to see what you've automated!

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