Step 2: Project Setup — Build Your Own MCP Server

One-Line Summary: Initialize the Node.js project, install dependencies, and configure TypeScript for building MCP servers.

Prerequisites: Node.js 18+ installed, npm or yarn

Create the Project

mkdir bookmark-mcp && cd bookmark-mcp
npm init -y

Install Dependencies

npm install @modelcontextprotocol/sdk better-sqlite3 zod
npm install -D typescript @types/node @types/better-sqlite3

What each package does:

Package	Purpose
`@modelcontextprotocol/sdk`	Official MCP TypeScript SDK — server, transport, and protocol types
`better-sqlite3`	Synchronous SQLite driver for Node.js — fast, zero-config, no external DB needed
`zod`	Schema validation — the MCP SDK uses Zod to define tool input schemas
`typescript`	TypeScript compiler

Configure TypeScript

Create tsconfig.json:

{
  "compilerOptions": {
    "target": "ES2022",
    "module": "Node16",
    "moduleResolution": "Node16",
    "outDir": "./dist",
    "rootDir": "./src",
    "strict": true,
    "esModuleInterop": true,
    "skipLibCheck": true,
    "declaration": true
  },
  "include": ["src/**/*"]
}

Update package.json

Add the build and start scripts. Open package.json and update it:

{
  "name": "bookmark-mcp",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "type": "commonjs",
  "scripts": {
    "build": "tsc",
    "start": "node dist/index.js"
  }
}

Create the Source Directory

mkdir src

Verify the Setup

npx tsc --version

You should see TypeScript 5.x. If this works, your project is ready.

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