MCP(Model Context Protocol) minimal Kotlin client server sample
LocalAbout MCP(Model Context Protocol) minimal Kotlin client server sample
A minimal Kotlin sample demonstrating a weather tool and interaction between an MCP client and server. It is intended for demonstration and pairs a client with a server that returns sunny weather for Tokyo.
Key features
- 01Kotlin client and server sample
- 02Weather tool example
- 03Client-server interaction demonstration
Use cases
- 01Studying MCP client-server exchanges
- 02Trying a sample weather-tool flow
MCP support
The sample demonstrates an MCP client discovering and invoking a weather tool on an MCP server.
Configuration
Local server config is the same for every client. Copy it into your client’s MCP config file.
We haven’t collected a package or remote endpoint for this server. Follow the instructions in the project README.
Tools
Local servers expose tools only once running on your machine, and the maintainer has not provided a tool list.
Details
From the project READMEMCP(Model Context Protocol) minimal Kotlin client server sample
A simple weather tool demonstrating server-client interaction using the Model Context Protocol (MCP). For demonstration purposes only.
User: "What's the weather in Tokyo?"
Response: "The weather in Tokyo is sunny."
This is a Kotlin version of mcp-minimal-client-weather-server-sample
client: src/main/kotlin/Client.kt server: server.main.kts
Diagram 1: Initialization and Tool Discovery
sequenceDiagram
autonumber
participant User
participant ClientApp as ClientApp (Host)<br>on Local PC
participant LLM as LLM (e.g., Claude)<br>Remote Service
participant MCPClient as MCPClient (Internal Component)<br>in ClientApp on Local PC
participant MCPServer as MCPServer (e.g., Tool Server)<br>on Local PC
Note over User, MCPServer: User starts ClientApp, initiating connection to MCPServer
ClientApp->>+MCPClient: Instruct preparation to connect to a specific MCPServer
Note right of ClientApp: Host manages MCPClient instances per server
MCPClient->>+MCPServer: 1. initialize (Request)<br>[protocol_version, client_capabilities]
Note over MCPClient, MCPServer: Start connection establishment and capability exchange (JSON-RPC)
MCPServer-->>-MCPClient: 2. initialize (Response)<br>[selected_protocol_version, server_capabilities (tools, resources, etc.)]
Note over MCPClient, MCPServer: Server notifies its available capabilities
MCPClient->>MCPServer: 3. notifications/initialized (Initialization Complete Notification)
Note over MCPClient, MCPServer: Handshake complete, normal communication possible
MCPClient-->>-ClientApp: Initialization Success & Server Capabilities notified (implicitly via successful initialize await)
Note right of ClientApp: Host (ClientApp) now knows the server is ready
ClientApp->>MCPClient: 4. Instruct to get the list of tools provided by the server (session.list_tools())
MCPClient->>+MCPServer: 5. tools/list (Request)
Note over MCPClient, MCPServer: Request the list of tools defined on the server
MCPServer-->>-MCPClient: 6. tools/list (Response)<br>[{"name": "get_weather", "description": "...", "inputSchema": {...}}]
Note over MCPClient, MCPServer: Example: Returns the definition of the 'get_weather' tool
MCPClient-->>ClientApp: 7. Notify Tool List (containing 'get_weather', etc.) via tools_response object
Note right of ClientApp: Host stores/processes the retrieved tool information (format_tools_for_llm)
ClientApp->>LLM: 8. Send available tool information to LLM<br>(e.g., via system prompt using formatted tools_prompt)
Note over ClientApp, LLM: Host informs LLM that 'get_weather' is available<br>LLM can now decide to use the tool based on this info
Diagram 2: Tool Execution Flow
sequenceDiagram
autonumber
participant User
participant ClientApp as ClientApp (Host)<br>on Local PC
participant LLM as LLM (e.g., Claude)<br>Remote Service
participant MCPClient as MCPClient (Internal Component)<br>in ClientApp on Local PC
participant MCPServer as MCPServer (e.g., Tool Server)<br>on Local PC
User->>ClientApp: 1. "What's the weather in Tokyo?"
Note right of User: User asks a question that might require a tool
ClientApp->>LLM: 2. Forward user's question with context<br>[System Prompt (with tool info) + User Question]
Note over ClientApp, LLM: Host sends the question and formatted tool info ('get_weather') to the LLM
LLM->>ClientApp: 3. LLM responds, requesting tool usage<br>Response: `{"tool_name": "get_weather", "arguments": {"location": "Tokyo"}}`
Note over ClientApp, LLM: Based on provided tool info, LLM decides to use the weather tool<br>and generates the required JSON structure with arguments
ClientApp->>User: (Optional) 4. Confirm tool execution<br>"Execute 'get_weather' on Tool Server?"
User->>ClientApp: (Optional) 5. "Yes"
Note over ClientApp, User: For security/transparency, host might seek user permission (Not implemented in the sample code)
ClientApp->>+MCPClient: 6. Instruct execution of 'get_weather' tool (session.call_tool())<br>Arguments: {"location": "Tokyo"}
Note right of ClientApp: Host instructs the MCP server via MCPClient
MCPClient->>+MCPServer: 7. tools/call (Request)<br>[name: "get_weather", arguments: {"location": "Tokyo"}]
Note over MCPClient, MCPServer: Invoke server function with specified tool name and arguments (JSON-RPC)
MCPServer->>MCPServer: Internal processing (executes get_weather function)
Note over MCPServer: Logs execution, returns result (e.g., "Sunny")
MCPServer-->>-MCPClient: 8. tools/call (Response)<br>[result: {content: [{type: "text", text: "Sunny"}]}]
Note over MCPClient, MCPServer: Server returns the processing result (weather info) in structured format
MCPClient-->>-ClientApp: 9. Notify Tool Execution Result<br>Result object contains: "Sunny" (extracted from tool_result_obj.content[0].text)
ClientApp->>LLM: 10. Send tool execution result back to LLM<br>New User Message: "Tool 'get_weather' returned: 'Sunny'. Answer the original question based on this."
Note over ClientApp, LLM: Host feeds back the information obtained from the server to the LLM
LLM->>ClientApp: 11. Generate final response (as text)<br>"The weather in Tokyo is Sunny."
ClientApp->>User: 12. Display the final response generated by LLM
Note right of ClientApp: Present the final answer to the user
Comments
New to MCP?
From what the protocol is to installing your first server, these answers cover most first questions.
An open protocol that defines how AI applications connect to external tools and data in a uniform way. Clients talk to the model; MCP servers provide tools, resources and prompt templates. They exchange standard messages, so one server can be reused by many clients.