Installation

Install guMCP and set up your development environment

This guide will walk you through installing guMCP and setting up your development environment.

Video Tutorial

Before getting started, we recommend watching our quick setup video (under 5 minutes):

Prerequisites

Before installing guMCP, ensure you have the following:

• Python 3.11 - guMCP requires Python 3.11 or higher
• Git - For cloning the repository
• Bash-compatible shell (Windows users) - Git Bash, WSL, or similar

You can verify your Python version by running python --version or python3 --version in your terminal.

Installation Steps

1. Clone the repository

   Clone the guMCP repository from GitHub:

   HTTPS

   git clone https://github.com/dvlpjrs/guMCP.git
   cd guMCP
   
2. Create a virtual environment

   Set up a Python virtual environment to isolate project dependencies from your system Python installation:

   python -m venv venv
   

   The virtual environment will be created in a venv directory within your project folder.

3. Activate the virtual environment

   Activate your virtual environment using the appropriate command for your operating system:

   macOS/Linux

   source venv/bin/activate
   

   You’ll know your virtual environment is active when you see (venv) at the beginning of your command prompt.

4. Install dependencies

   Install the core dependencies required to run guMCP:

   pip install -r requirements.txt
   

   This will install all necessary packages including:

   • mcp (v1.4.1) - Model Context Protocol SDK
   • anthropic - Anthropic API client
   • starlette & uvicorn - Web framework and ASGI server
   • google-api-python-client - Google services integration
   • slack-sdk - Slack integration
   • And many more dependencies listed in requirements.txt
5. Install development dependencies (optional)

   If you plan to contribute to guMCP or run tests, install the development dependencies:

   pip install -r requirements-dev.txt
   

   This includes:

   • pytest & pytest-asyncio - Testing framework
   • black - Code formatter
   • flake8 - Linter
   • mypy - Type checker
6. Configure environment variables

   Create a local environment file from the template:

   Unix/macOS

   cp .env.example .env
   

   Then open the .env file in your preferred text editor:

   VS Code

   code .env
   

   See the Configuration guide for details on all available environment variables.

Verify Installation

To verify that guMCP is installed correctly, try starting the SSE development server:

./start_sse_dev_server.sh

You should see output indicating the server has started on http://0.0.0.0:8000.

Press Ctrl+C to stop the server.

Troubleshooting

Python version mismatch

If you have multiple Python versions installed, you may need to use python3.11 explicitly:

python3.11 -m venv venv

Permission errors on Unix/macOS

If you encounter permission errors when running start_sse_dev_server.sh, make the script executable:

chmod +x start_sse_dev_server.sh

Port already in use

If port 8000 is already in use, the startup script will automatically kill any process using it. You can also manually specify a different port (see Configuration).

Module import errors

If you see module import errors, ensure:

1. Your virtual environment is activated (you should see (venv) in your prompt)
2. All dependencies are installed: pip install -r requirements.txt
3. You’re running commands from the project root directory

Next Steps

Quick Start

Get up and running with your first MCP server

Configuration

Configure environment variables and server settings