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title: MCP Client description: Learn how to use the Model Context Protocol (MCP) client to interact with MCP servers —

Model Context Protocol Client

The MCP Client is a key component in the Model Context Protocol (MCP) architecture, responsible for establishing and managing connections with MCP servers. It implements the client-side of the protocol, handling:

• Protocol version negotiation to ensure compatibility with servers
• Capability negotiation to determine available features
• Message transport and JSON-RPC communication
• Tool discovery and execution
• Resource access and management
• Prompt system interactions
• Optional features like roots management and sampling support

The core io.modelcontextprotocol.sdk:mcp module provides STDIO and SSE client transport implementations without requiring external web frameworks.

Spring-specific transport implementations are available as an optional dependency io.modelcontextprotocol.sdk:mcp-spring-webflux for Spring Framework users.

The client provides both synchronous and asynchronous APIs for flexibility in different application contexts.

// Create a sync client with custom configuration
McpSyncClient client = McpClient.sync(transport)
    .requestTimeout(Duration.ofSeconds(10))
    .capabilities(ClientCapabilities.builder()
        .roots(true)      // Enable roots capability
        .sampling()       // Enable sampling capability
        .build())
    .sampling(request -> new CreateMessageResult(response))
    .build();

// Initialize connection
client.initialize();

// List available tools
ListToolsResult tools = client.listTools();

// Call a tool
CallToolResult result = client.callTool(
    new CallToolRequest("calculator", 
        Map.of("operation", "add", "a", 2, "b", 3))
);

// List and read resources
ListResourcesResult resources = client.listResources();
ReadResourceResult resource = client.readResource(
    new ReadResourceRequest("resource://uri")
);

// List and use prompts
ListPromptsResult prompts = client.listPrompts();
GetPromptResult prompt = client.getPrompt(
    new GetPromptRequest("greeting", Map.of("name", "Spring"))
);

// Add/remove roots
client.addRoot(new Root("file:///path", "description"));
client.removeRoot("file:///path");

// Close client
client.closeGracefully();

// Create an async client with custom configuration
McpAsyncClient client = McpClient.async(transport)
    .requestTimeout(Duration.ofSeconds(10))
    .capabilities(ClientCapabilities.builder()
        .roots(true)      // Enable roots capability
        .sampling()       // Enable sampling capability
        .build())
    .sampling(request -> Mono.just(new CreateMessageResult(response)))
    .toolsChangeConsumer(tools -> Mono.fromRunnable(() -> {
        logger.info("Tools updated: {}", tools);
    }))
    .resourcesChangeConsumer(resources -> Mono.fromRunnable(() -> {
        logger.info("Resources updated: {}", resources);
    }))
    .promptsChangeConsumer(prompts -> Mono.fromRunnable(() -> {
        logger.info("Prompts updated: {}", prompts);
    }))
    .build();

// Initialize connection and use features
client.initialize()
    .flatMap(initResult -> client.listTools())
    .flatMap(tools -> {
        return client.callTool(new CallToolRequest(
            "calculator", 
            Map.of("operation", "add", "a", 2, "b", 3)
        ));
    })
    .flatMap(result -> {
        return client.listResources()
            .flatMap(resources -> 
                client.readResource(new ReadResourceRequest("resource://uri"))
            );
    })
    .flatMap(resource -> {
        return client.listPrompts()
            .flatMap(prompts ->
                client.getPrompt(new GetPromptRequest(
                    "greeting", 
                    Map.of("name", "Spring")
                ))
            );
    })
    .flatMap(prompt -> {
        return client.addRoot(new Root("file:///path", "description"))
            .then(client.removeRoot("file:///path"));            
    })
    .doFinally(signalType -> {
        client.closeGracefully().subscribe();
    })
    .subscribe();

Client Transport

The transport layer handles the communication between MCP clients and servers, providing different implementations for various use cases. The client transport manages message serialization, connection establishment, and protocol-specific communication patterns.

Creates transport for in-process based communication java ServerParameters params = ServerParameters.builder("npx") .args("-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-everything", "dir") .build(); McpTransport transport = new StdioClientTransport(params); Creates a framework agnostic (pure Java API) SSE client transport. Included in the core mcp module. java McpTransport transport = new HttpClientSseClientTransport("http://your-mcp-server"); Creates WebFlux-based SSE client transport. Requires the mcp-webflux-sse-transport dependency. java WebClient.Builder webClientBuilder = WebClient.builder() .baseUrl("http://your-mcp-server"); McpTransport transport = new WebFluxSseClientTransport(webClientBuilder);

Client Capabilities

The client can be configured with various capabilities:

var capabilities = ClientCapabilities.builder()
    .roots(true)      // Enable filesystem roots support with list changes notifications
    .sampling()       // Enable LLM sampling support
    .build();

Roots Support

Roots define the boundaries of where servers can operate within the filesystem:

// Add a root dynamically
client.addRoot(new Root("file:///path", "description"));

// Remove a root
client.removeRoot("file:///path");

// Notify server of roots changes
client.rootsListChangedNotification();

The roots capability allows servers to:

• Request the list of accessible filesystem roots
• Receive notifications when the roots list changes
• Understand which directories and files they have access to

Sampling Support

Sampling enables servers to request LLM interactions (“completions” or “generations”) through the client:

// Configure sampling handler
Function<CreateMessageRequest, CreateMessageResult> samplingHandler = request -> {
    // Sampling implementation that interfaces with LLM
    return new CreateMessageResult(response);
};

// Create client with sampling support
var client = McpClient.sync(transport)
    .capabilities(ClientCapabilities.builder()
        .sampling()
        .build())
    .sampling(samplingHandler)
    .build();

This capability allows: - Servers to leverage AI capabilities without requiring API keys - Clients to maintain control over model access and permissions - Support for both text and image-based interactions - Optional inclusion of MCP server context in prompts

Using MCP Clients

Tool Execution

Tools are server-side functions that clients can discover and execute. The MCP client provides methods to list available tools and execute them with specific parameters. Each tool has a unique name and accepts a map of parameters.

// List available tools and their names
var tools = client.listTools();
tools.forEach(tool -> System.out.println(tool.getName()));

// Execute a tool with parameters
var result = client.callTool("calculator", Map.of(
    "operation", "add",
    "a", 1,
    "b", 2
));

// List available tools asynchronously
client.listTools()
    .doOnNext(tools -> tools.forEach(tool -> 
        System.out.println(tool.getName())))
    .subscribe();

// Execute a tool asynchronously
client.callTool("calculator", Map.of(
        "operation", "add",
        "a", 1,
        "b", 2
    ))
    .subscribe();

Resource Access

Resources represent server-side data sources that clients can access using URI templates. The MCP client provides methods to discover available resources and retrieve their contents through a standardized interface.

// List available resources and their names
var resources = client.listResources();
resources.forEach(resource -> System.out.println(resource.getName()));

// Retrieve resource content using a URI template
var content = client.getResource("file", Map.of(
    "path", "/path/to/file.txt"
));

// List available resources asynchronously
client.listResources()
    .doOnNext(resources -> resources.forEach(resource -> 
        System.out.println(resource.getName())))
    .subscribe();

// Retrieve resource content asynchronously
client.getResource("file", Map.of(
        "path", "/path/to/file.txt"
    ))
    .subscribe();

Prompt System

The prompt system enables interaction with server-side prompt templates. These templates can be discovered and executed with custom parameters, allowing for dynamic text generation based on predefined patterns.

// List available prompt templates
var prompts = client.listPrompts();
prompts.forEach(prompt -> System.out.println(prompt.getName()));

// Execute a prompt template with parameters
var response = client.executePrompt("echo", Map.of(
    "text", "Hello, World!"
));

// List available prompt templates asynchronously
client.listPrompts()
    .doOnNext(prompts -> prompts.forEach(prompt -> 
        System.out.println(prompt.getName())))
    .subscribe();

// Execute a prompt template asynchronously
client.executePrompt("echo", Map.of(
        "text", "Hello, World!"
    ))
    .subscribe();