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Ken.xu
Ken.xu

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Farewell to Node.js Toolchain Hell: How Bun Tripled MCP Server Development Efficiency

From multiple dependency packages to 1 runtime, from complex configuration to zero-configuration development - this is the revolutionary changes Bun brings to MCP Server development!

Pain Points of Traditional Node.js Development

In traditional MCP Server development, we need to build a complex toolchain:

πŸ“¦ Dependency Hell

Taking Figma-Context-MCP as an example, a standard TypeScript MCP project requires:

Build toolchain

  • tsup - TypeScript build tool to compile TS to different Node versions of JS
  • typescript - type system support
  • @modelcontextprotocol/sdk - MCP protocol SDK

Development Services

  • nodejs - Runtime environment
  • node-watch - file change listening
  • express - Web framework
  • cross-env - Cross-platform environment variables
  • dotenv - Environment Configuration Management

Test Framework

  • jest - Test Framework
  • ts-jest - TypeScript Test Adapter

🐌 Development Experience Pain Points

  • Compile wait: tsup rebuild required for every change
  • Difficult to debug: streamable-http and SSE need to be compiled to see the results
  • Configuration complexity: need to configure tsup, jest, typescript and other tools
  • Dependency management: npm installation is slow, node_modules is huge.

Bun: a runtime to solve all the problems

f2c-mcp project Demonstrates the perfect solution for Bun:

Image description

πŸš€ Unified build: zero configuration out of the box! 

{
  "build": "bun run bun.build.script.ts",
  "dev": "bun --watch run bun.build.script.ts"
}
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One script takes care of all build requirements:

const script = process.env.npm_lifecycle_script || ''
const isDev = script.includes('--watch')

const result = await Bun.build({
  entrypoints: ['src/stdio.ts', 'src/cli.ts', 'src/streamable-http.ts'],
  outdir: 'dist',
  format: 'cjs',
  target: 'node',
  sourcemap: 'linked',
  minify: !isDev,
  env: isDev ? 'inline' : 'disable',
})
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Key benefits:

  • πŸ”₯ Built-in builder, no need for external tools like tsup, webpack, etc.
  • ⚑ Hot reload development, code changes take effect immediately
  • πŸ“¦ Automatically optimized packaging, best performance for production environments

πŸ§ͺ Native testing: say goodbye to configuration hell 

{
  "test": "bun test src/test/api.test.ts",
  "e2e": "bun test src/test/e2e.test.ts"
}
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No configuration required:

  • ❌ No jest configuration file required
  • ❌ no ts-jest adapter needed
  • ❌ No babel conversion required
  • βœ… Run TypeScript test files directly

🌐 Perfect service: production-grade web support 

{
  "http:dev": "bun --env-file=.env --watch run src/streamable-http.ts",
  "http:prod": "bun --env-file= run src/streamable-http.ts"
}
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Bun 1.2+ Breakthrough:

  • 🎯 100% Node.js API compatibility
  • πŸš€ Express framework works perfectly
  • ⚑ 3-5x performance improvement
  • πŸ”„ streamable-http and SSE real-time debugging

Performance comparison: the data speaks for itself

Metrics Node.js Toolchain Bun Program Improvements
Project startup time 3-5 seconds 0.5-1 seconds 5x improvement
Hot reload speed 2-3 seconds <500ms 6X improvement
Test Execution Speed 10-15 seconds 2-3 seconds 5x faster
Memory Usage 200-300MB 50-80MB 3X Reduction
Number of Dependency Packages 15+ 1 Extremely Simplified

Migration guide: 3 steps to complete the upgrade

Step 1: Replace package.json scripts 

{
  "scripts": {
    "build": "bun run build.script.ts",
    "dev": "bun --watch run build.script.ts",
    "test": "bun test",
    "serve": "bun --watch run src/server.ts"
  }
}
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Step 2: Create build script 

// build.script.ts
const result = await Bun.build({
  entrypoints: ['src/index.ts'],
  outdir: 'dist',
  target: 'node'
})
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Step 3: Remove redundant dependencies 

# 可δ»₯η§»ι™€ηš„εŒ…
npm uninstall tsup typescript ts-jest jest node-watch cross-env
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Cross-platform deployment: build once, run everywhere

Bun's cross-compile capability makes deployment extremely easy:

# ηΌ–θ―‘δΈΊε„εΉ³ε°ε―ζ‰§θ‘Œζ–‡δ»Ά
bun build --compile --target=linux-x64 ./src/index.ts
bun build --compile --target=windows-x64 ./src/index.ts
bun build --compile --target=darwin-x64 ./src/index.ts
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In summary: a qualitative change in the development experience

The migration from Node.js to Bun is not just a tool replacement, but an upgrade in development philosophy:

  • From complexity to simplicity: multiple dependency packages β†’ 1 runtime
  • From slow to fast: 80% reduction in build time
  • From configuration to zero configuration: say goodbye to cumbersome toolchain configuration
  • From debugging difficulties to real-time feedback: hot reloading makes development silky smooth

In the new era of MCP Server development, Bun is more than just a faster Node.js alternative, it redefines what's possible with full-stack JavaScript development.

Start your Bun + MCP journey today and experience the thrill of developing with 3X efficiency gains!

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