AI Engineering · 300-level
MCP & Tool Integration
AIE-3032 creditselectivebadge: integratorprereqs: AIE-301
Start this course — free
Earn the integrator credential
What's inside
Sections & lessons
01
Model Context Protocol basics
- What MCP actually is: JSON-RPC, made literalconcept45 min
02
Tool/resource manifests
- Reading a server's declared tools and resourcesconcept60 min
03
Writing agent-legible tool descriptions
- Rewriting one sentence to stop an agent from guessingconcept60 min
04
Least-privilege scoping
- Scoping a tool to only what a task actually needsconcept45 min
05
Wiretapping protocol traffic
- Watching the raw list_tools/call_tool traffic liveconcept90 min
06
Read-only-by-default servers
- Auditing what a tool's manifest claims versus what it didconcept45 min
07
Quiz: tool-scope judgment
- Checkpoint on spotting an over-permissioned serverconcept30 min
08
Lab + eval-gate: connect & scope MCP servers
- Catch the overreach before it becomes a habit (Integrator badge)concept120 min
Learn it from the inside
This module's playgrounds
Vocabulary
Key concepts in this course
Compare related approaches
Optional · watch & try
Go deeper, elsewhere
Hand-picked public explainers and open tools — always optional, never required, never graded.
Model Context Protocol (MCP), clearly explained (why it matters)Explains the client-server-tool model MCP standardizes Model Context Protocol (MCP) Explained in 17 MinutesDeeper technical walkthrough of tool/resource manifests · ~17 minWhat is MCP in AI? Model Context Protocol Simply Explained [No BS]Plain-language why-not-just-use-an-API framing MCP InspectorOfficial visual tool for testing and debugging MCP servers Model Context Protocol docsThe open spec itself — tool/resource/permission-scope schema reference
This module ends in a gate you can fail.
That's what makes passing it mean something. Take the DSAT, get placed, and start earning.