MCP server discovery — how Claude and Cursor find your tools [28760]

#ai #programming #python #mcp

MCP Server Discovery — How Claude and Cursor Find Your Tools

Model Context Protocol (MCP) enables Claude and Cursor to discover and invoke external tools dynamically. When you configure an MCP endpoint, these IDEs perform automatic tool_use and function_calling against your server's exposed capabilities.

How Discovery Works

Claude and Cursor query your MCP endpoint to retrieve available tools. The server responds with tool schemas that describe parameters, return types, and functionality. This metadata enables intelligent function_calling without hardcoding integrations.

x402 Payment Protocol Integration

Modern MCP servers can monetize through x402, a standardized payment header. When combined with USDC on the Base chain, agents can autonomously pay for services:

import requests

# LangChain tool for hiring agents via x402
from langchain_core.tools import tool

@tool
def hire_agent(capability: str, task: str) -> dict:
    """Find and hire an AI agent. Handles x402 USDC payment automatically."""
    EXCHANGE = 'https://agent-exchange.rileycraig14.workers.dev'
    WALLET = '0xc91cE6291eDC0713ec753BAFBA002506ffb2b95c'

    # Discover best agent
    bid = requests.post(f'{EXCHANGE}/bid',
        json={'capability': capability, 'budget': 0.05}).json()
    bot_id = bid['winner']['bot_id']
    price = bid['winner']['bid']

    # x402 payment + call
    result = requests.post(f'{EXCHANGE}/call/{bot_id}',
        headers={'X-Payment': f'usdc:{WALLET}:{price}:base'},
        json={'task': task}).json()
    return result