MCP

Introduction#

The Model Context Protocol (MCP) is a standard that allows AI agents — such as Claude Code, Cursor, and ChatGPT — to discover and use the capabilities of your application. The mcp component brings Laravel MCP to Laravel Zero, allowing you to expose your console application's tools, prompts, and resources to any MCP client.

Console applications are a natural fit for MCP: your application is already a single binary that an agent can start and talk to over standard input and output.

Installation#

You may install the mcp component using the app:install Artisan command:

php application app:install mcp

The installer will require laravel/mcp and publish a bootstrap/ai.php route file, which is where your servers are registered.

Creating Servers#

An MCP server is the entry point an agent connects to. You may create one using the make:mcp-server Artisan command:

php application make:mcp-server MovieServer

The generated class lives in app/Mcp/Servers and describes your server along with the tools, resources, and prompts it offers:

<?php

namespace App\Mcp\Servers;

use App\Mcp\Tools\SearchMovies;
use Laravel\Mcp\Server;

class MovieServer extends Server
{
    /**
     * The MCP server's name.
     */
    protected string $name = 'Movie Server';

    /**
     * The MCP server's instructions for the LLM.
     */
    protected string $instructions = 'This server provides access to a movie catalog.';

    /**
     * The tools registered with this MCP server.
     *
     * @var array<int, class-string<\Laravel\Mcp\Server\Tool>>
     */
    protected array $tools = [
        SearchMovies::class,
    ];
}

Registering Servers#

Servers are registered within your application's bootstrap/ai.php file. Since console applications communicate over standard input and output, you should register your servers using the local method:

<?php

use Laravel\Mcp\Facades\Mcp;

Mcp::local('movies', \App\Mcp\Servers\MovieServer::class);

Once registered, an agent may start the server by invoking your application:

php application mcp:start movies

Creating Tools#

Tools are the actions an agent may take. You may generate one using the make:mcp-tool Artisan command:

php application make:mcp-tool SearchMovies

<?php

namespace App\Mcp\Tools;

use App\Models\Movie;
use Illuminate\JsonSchema\JsonSchema;
use Laravel\Mcp\Request;
use Laravel\Mcp\Response;
use Laravel\Mcp\Server\Tool;

class SearchMovies extends Tool
{
    /**
     * The tool's description.
     */
    protected string $description = 'Search the movie catalog by title.';

    /**
     * Handle the tool request.
     */
    public function handle(Request $request): Response
    {
        $movies = Movie::where('title', 'like', "%{$request->get('title')}%")->get();

        return Response::json($movies);
    }

    /**
     * Get the tool's input schema.
     *
     * @return array<string, JsonSchema>
     */
    public function schema(JsonSchema $schema): array
    {
        return [
            'title' => $schema->string()
                ->description('The title to search for.')
                ->required(),
        ];
    }
}

Prompts and resources may be generated in the same way, using the make:mcp-prompt and make:mcp-resource commands.

Inspecting Your Server#

Laravel MCP includes the official MCP Inspector, which allows you to test your server and browse its capabilities interactively:

php application mcp:inspector movies

Note: The mcp:inspector command is only registered when your application is not running in the production environment, so it will not appear in a build of your application.

For everything else — authentication, validation, pagination, and streaming responses — consult the Laravel MCP documentation on the Laravel website.