No complex protocols, no integration headaches, no compatibility issues β just beautiful, expressive Ruby code.
AI models are powerful, but they need to interact with your applications to be truly useful. Traditional approaches mean wrestling with:
- π Complex communication protocols and custom JSON formats
- π Integration challenges with different model providers
- 𧩠Compatibility issues between your app and AI tools
- π§ Managing the state between AI interactions and your data
Fast MCP solves all these problems by providing a clean, Ruby-focused implementation of the Model Context Protocol, making AI integration a joy, not a chore.
- π οΈ Tools API - Let AI models call your Ruby functions securely, with in-depth argument validation through Dry-Schema.
- π Resources API - Share data between your app and AI models
- π Multiple Transports - Choose from STDIO, HTTP, or SSE based on your needs
- 𧩠Framework Integration - Works seamlessly with Rails, Sinatra or any Rack app.
- π Authentication Support - Secure your AI-powered endpoints with ease
- π Real-time Updates - Subscribe to changes for interactive applications
# Define tools for AI models to use
server = FastMcp::Server.new(name: 'popular-users', version: '1.0.0')
# Define a tool by inheriting from FastMcp::Tool
class CreateUserTool < FastMcp::Tool
description "Create a user"
# These arguments will generate the needed JSON to be presented to the MCP Client
# And they will be validated at run time.
# The validation is based off Dry-Schema, with the addition of the description.
arguments do
required(:first_name).filled(:string).description("First name of the user")
optional(:age).filled(:integer).description("Age of the user")
required(:address).hash do
optional(:street).filled(:string)
optional(:city).filled(:string)
optional(:zipcode).filled(:string)
end
end
def call(first_name:, age: nil, address: {})
User.create!(first_name:, age:, address:)
end
end
# Register the tool with the server
server.register_tool(CreateUserTool)
# Share data resources with AI models by inheriting from FastMcp::Resource
class PopularUsers < FastMcp::Resource
uri "file://popular_users.json"
resource_name "Popular Users"
mime_type "application/json"
def content
JSON.generate(User.popular.limit(5).as_json)
end
end
# Register the resource with the server
server.register_resource(PopularUsers)
# Accessing the resource through the server
server.read_resource(PopularUsers.uri)
# Notify the resource content has been updated to clients
server.notify_resource_updated(PopularUsers.uri)
bundle add fast-mcp
bin/rails generate fast_mcp:install
This will add a configurable fast_mcp.rb
initializer
require 'fast_mcp'
FastMcp.mount_in_rails(
Rails.application,
name: Rails.application.class.module_parent_name.underscore.dasherize,
version: '1.0.0',
path_prefix: '/mcp', # This is the default path prefix
messages_route: 'messages', # This is the default route for the messages endpoint
sse_route: 'sse' # This is the default route for the SSE endpoint
# authenticate: true, # Uncomment to enable authentication
# auth_token: 'your-token' # Required if authenticate: true
) do |server|
Rails.application.config.after_initialize do
# FastMcp will automatically discover and register:
# - All classes that inherit from ApplicationTool (which uses ActionTool::Base)
# - All classes that inherit from ApplicationResource (which uses ActionResource::Base)
server.register_tools(*ApplicationTool.descendants)
server.register_resources(*ApplicationResource.descendants)
# alternatively, you can register tools and resources manually:
# server.register_tool(MyTool)
# server.register_resource(MyResource)
end
end
The install script will also:
- add app/resources folder
- add app/tools folder
- add app/tools/sample_tool.rb
- add app/resources/sample_resource.rb
- add ApplicationTool to inherit from
- add ApplicationResource to inherit from as well
For Rails applications, FastMCP provides Rails-style class names to better fit with Rails conventions:
ActionTool::Base
- An alias forFastMcp::Tool
ActionResource::Base
- An alias forFastMcp::Resource
These are automatically set up in Rails applications. You can use either naming convention in your code:
# Using Rails-style naming:
class MyTool < ActionTool::Base
description "My awesome tool"
arguments do
required(:input).filled(:string)
end
def call(input:)
# Your implementation
end
end
# Using standard FastMcp naming:
class AnotherTool < FastMcp::Tool
# Both styles work interchangeably in Rails apps
end
When creating new tools or resources, the generators will use the Rails naming convention by default:
# app/tools/application_tool.rb
class ApplicationTool < ActionTool::Base
# Base methods for all tools
end
# app/resources/application_resource.rb
class ApplicationResource < ActionResource::Base
# Base methods for all resources
end
I'll let you check out the dedicated sinatra integration docs.
require 'fast_mcp'
# Create an MCP server
server = FastMcp::Server.new(name: 'my-ai-server', version: '1.0.0')
# Define a tool by inheriting from FastMcp::Tool
class SummarizeTool < FastMcp::Tool
description "Summarize a given text"
arguments do
required(:text).filled(:string).description("Text to summarize")
optional(:max_length).filled(:integer).description("Maximum length of summary")
end
def call(text:, max_length: 100)
# Your summarization logic here
text.split('.').first(3).join('.') + '...'
end
end
# Register the tool with the server
server.register_tool(SummarizeTool)
# Create a resource by inheriting from FastMcp::Resource
class StatisticsResource < FastMcp::Resource
uri "data/statistics"
resource_name "Usage Statistics"
description "Current system statistics"
mime_type "application/json"
def content
JSON.generate({
users_online: 120,
queries_per_minute: 250,
popular_topics: ["Ruby", "AI", "WebDev"]
})
end
end
# Register the resource with the server
server.register_resource(StatisticsResource)
# Start the server
server.start
MCP has developed a very useful inspector. You can use it to validate your implementation. I suggest you use the examples I provided with this project as an easy boilerplate. Clone this project, then give it a go !
npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector examples/server_with_stdio_transport.rb
Or to test with an SSE transport using a rack middleware:
npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector examples/rack_middleware.rb
Or to test over SSE with an authenticated rack middleware:
npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector examples/authenticated_rack_middleware.rb
You can test your custom implementation with the official MCP inspector by using:
# Test with a stdio transport:
npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector path/to/your_ruby_file.rb
# Test with an HTTP / SSE server. In the UI select SSE and input your address.
npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector
# app.rb
require 'sinatra'
require 'fast_mcp'
use FastMcp::RackMiddleware.new(name: 'my-ai-server', version: '1.0.0') do |server|
# Register tools and resources here
server.register_tool(SummarizeTool)
end
get '/' do
'Hello World!'
end
Add your server to your Claude Desktop configuration at:
- macOS:
~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
- Windows:
%APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
{
"mcpServers": {
"my-great-server": {
"command": "ruby",
"args": [
"/Users/path/to/your/awesome/fast-mcp/server.rb"
]
}
}
}
Please refer to configuring_mcp_clients
Feature | Status |
---|---|
β JSON-RPC 2.0 | Full implementation for communication |
β Tool Definition & Calling | Define and call tools with rich argument types |
β Resource Management | Create, read, update, and subscribe to resources |
β Transport Options | STDIO, HTTP, and SSE for flexible integration |
β Framework Integration | Rails, Sinatra, Hanami, and any Rack-compatible framework |
β Authentication | Secure your AI endpoints with token authentication |
β Schema Support | Full JSON Schema for tool arguments with validation |
- π€ AI-powered Applications: Connect LLMs to your Ruby app's functionality
- π Real-time Dashboards: Build dashboards with live AI-generated insights
- π Microservice Communication: Use MCP as a clean protocol between services
- π Interactive Documentation: Create AI-enhanced API documentation
- π¬ Chatbots and Assistants: Build AI assistants with access to your app's data
- π Getting Started Guide
- 𧩠Integration Guide
- π€οΈ Rails Integration
- π Sinatra Integration
- π Resources
- π οΈ Tools
Check out the examples directory for more detailed examples:
-
π¨ Basic Examples:
-
π Web Integration:
- Ruby 3.2+
We welcome contributions to Fast MCP! Here's how you can help:
- Fork the repository
- Create your feature branch (
git checkout -b my-new-feature
) - Commit your changes (
git commit -am 'Add some feature'
) - Push to the branch (
git push origin my-new-feature
) - Create a new Pull Request
Please read our Contributing Guide for more details.
This project is available as open source under the terms of the MIT License.
- The Model Context Protocol team for creating the specification
- The Dry-Schema team for the argument validation.
- All contributors to this project