.NET MCP Server 2

A comprehensive Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that exposes .NET CLI commands and Entity Framework operations as MCP tools, built using the official Microsoft ModelContextProtocol library.

Key Differences from DotNetMcpServer

This version uses the Microsoft ModelContextProtocol library instead of MCPSharp, providing:

• Official Microsoft Support: Built on the official Microsoft MCP library
• Hosting Integration: Uses Microsoft.Extensions.Hosting for robust server lifecycle management
• Automatic Tool Discovery: Tools are automatically discovered from the assembly using WithToolsFromAssembly()
• Simplified Attributes: Uses [McpServerTool] and [Description] attributes instead of custom MCP attributes
• Better Logging: Integrated logging to stderr to avoid interfering with MCP communication

Architecture Comparison

DotNetMcpServer (MCPSharp)

[McpTool("dotnet_version", "Gets the installed .NET version")]
public static async Task<string> GetVersionAsync()

// Registration
MCPServer.Register<DotNetCoreCommands>();
await MCPServer.StartAsync("DotNetMcpServer", "1.0.0");

DotNetMcpServer2 (ModelContextProtocol)

[McpServerTool, Description("Gets the installed .NET version")]
public static async Task<string> GetVersionAsync()

// Registration
builder.Services
    .AddMcpServer()
    .WithStdioServerTransport()
    .WithToolsFromAssembly();

Deployment Options

1. AOT (Ahead-of-Time) Compilation - Recommended for Production

Single-file AOT compilation provides maximum performance and minimal deployment footprint:

• Fast Startup: ~100ms vs ~500ms for JIT compilation
• Small Footprint: Single executable (~15-25MB)
• No Runtime Dependencies: Self-contained with .NET runtime included
• Better Performance: 10-30% faster execution for CPU-intensive operations

2. Docker Containers - Recommended for Containerized Environments

Ultra-lightweight Docker containers with AOT-compiled binaries:

• Minimal Images: As small as 30-50MB total
• Fast Container Startup: ~300ms including container overhead
• Security: Distroless/minimal base images with non-root execution
• Scalability: Perfect for microservices and cloud deployment

3. Traditional JIT - Recommended for Development

Standard .NET runtime for development and debugging.

Quick Start

Option 1: AOT Executable (Fastest)

# Build AOT executable
.\build-aot.ps1

# Use in Claude Desktop
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "dotnet-mcp-server2": {
      "command": "C:\\path\\to\\publish\\win-x64\\DotNetMcpServer2.exe"
    }
  }
}

Option 2: Docker Container (Most Portable)

# Build Docker image
.\build-docker.ps1

# Use in Claude Desktop
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "dotnet-mcp-server2": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": ["run", "--rm", "-i", "dotnet-mcp-server2:latest"]
    }
  }
}

Option 3: Development Mode

# Run directly
cd DotNetMcpServer2
dotnet run

# Use in Claude Desktop
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "dotnet-mcp-server2": {
      "command": "dotnet",
      "args": ["run", "--project", "C:\\path\\to\\DotNetMcpServer2.csproj"]
    }
  }
}

AOT (Ahead-of-Time) Compilation

Building AOT Executable

Using Build Scripts (Recommended)

Cross-platform PowerShell:

.\build-aot.ps1                    # Interactive runtime selection
.\build-aot.ps1 -Runtime win-x64   # Specific runtime

Windows Batch:

.\build-aot-simple.bat             # Interactive menu

Manual Build

# Windows x64
dotnet publish -c Release -r win-x64 --self-contained true

# Linux x64  
dotnet publish -c Release -r linux-x64 --self-contained true

# macOS ARM64 (Apple Silicon)
dotnet publish -c Release -r osx-arm64 --self-contained true

Supported Platforms

• Windows: x64, ARM64
• Linux: x64, ARM64
• macOS: x64, ARM64 (Apple Silicon)

Testing AOT Bui

... View full README on GitHub