Model Context Protocol .NET Template

<p align="center"><img src="assets/light.png" alt="MCP Logo" /></p>

<p align="center"><strong>A protocol for seamless integration between LLM applications and external data sources</strong></p>

<p align="center"><a href="https://modelcontextprotocol.io">Documentation</a> |<a href="https://spec.modelcontextprotocol.io">Specification</a> |<a href="https://github.com/orgs/modelcontextprotocol/discussions">Discussions</a></p>

This repository contains atemplate for creating a Model Context Protocol (MCP) application in .NET. It provides a basic structure and example code to help you get started with building your own MCP-enabled applications.

Package	Version	Description
Nall.ModelContextProtocol.Template		Templates
Nall.ModelContextProtocol.Inspector.Aspire.Hosting		Aspire Hosting Integration

Getting Started

Install:

dotnet new install Nall.ModelContextProtocol.Template# dotnet new install ./Artefact/Nall.ModelContextProtocol.Template

Verify installation:

dotnet new list mcp# These templates matched your input: 'mcp'# Template Name      Short Name         Language  Tags# -----------------  -----------------  --------  -------------# Template Name         Short Name            Language  Tags# --------------------  --------------------  --------  -------------# MCP Server            mcp-server            [C#]      dotnet/ai/mcp# MCP Server HTTP       mcp-server-http       [C#]      dotnet/ai/mcp# MCP Server HTTP Auth  mcp-server-http-auth  [C#]      dotnet/ai/mcp# MCP Server Hybrid     mcp-server-hybrid     [C#]      dotnet/ai/mcp

Verify output:

dotnet new mcp-server -o MyAwesomeMCPServer -n MyAwesomeMCPServer --dry-run# File actions would have been taken:#   Create: MyAwesomeMCPServer\.vscode\launch.json#   Create: MyAwesomeMCPServer\MyAwesomeMCPServer.csproj#   Create: MyAwesomeMCPServer\Program.cs#   Create: MyAwesomeMCPServer\Properties\launchSettings.json#   Create: MyAwesomeMCPServer\README.md#   Create: MyAwesomeMCPServer\appsettings.Development.json#   Create: MyAwesomeMCPServer\appsettings.json

Create from template:

dotnet new mcp-server -o MyAwesomeMCPServer -n MyAwesomeMCPServer

Here is a content ofProgram.cs:

using Microsoft.Extensions.Hosting;var builder = Host.CreateApplicationBuilder(args);builder.Services    .AddMcpServer()    .WithStdioServerTransport()    .WithToolsFromAssembly();await builder.Build().RunAsync();[McpServerToolType]public static class EchoTool{    [McpServerTool, Description("Echoes the message back to the client.")]    public static string Echo(string message) => $"hello {message}";}

It is a simple echo server that listens for incoming messages and responds with a greeting. You can add more tools by creating additional methods with the[McpServerTool] attribute. TheWithToolsFromAssembly() method automatically registers all tools in the assembly.

Run Locally

Build from the project directory:

dotnet build -o Artefacts -c Release

Run the inspector:

npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector -e DOTNET_ENVIRONMENT=Production dotnet "$(PWD)/Artefacts/MyAwesomeMCPServer.dll"

Open inspector in your browser and test the server:

<p align="center"><img src="assets/inspector-demo.png" alt="Inspector Demo" /></p>

Distribute as .NET Tool

Pack from the project directory:

dotnet pack -o Artefacts -c Release

Install the tool globally:

dotnet tool install --global --add-source ./Artefacts MyAwesomeMCPServer

Now, after you installed this tool globally, you can run it from anywhere on your system. The tool will be available asMyAwesomeMCPServer (ormyawesomemcpserver) in your terminal.

💡 You can also create local tool manifest and install MCPs as tools locally.

Run the inspector:

npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector -e DOTNET_ENVIRONMENT=Production myawesomemcpserver

Run with Aspire

InStdio mode

InAppHost/Program.cs:

var builder = DistributedApplication.CreateBuilder(args);builder.AddMCPInspector().WithStdio<Projects.MCPServer>();builder.Build().Run();

InHTTP mode

InAppHost/Program.cs:

var builder = DistributedApplication.CreateBuilder(args);var mcp = builder.AddProject<Projects.MCPServerRemote>("server");builder.AddMCPInspector().WithMcp(mcp);builder.Build().Run();

Reference

• https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/core/tools/custom-templates
• https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/core/tools/global-tools