Model Context Protocol (MCP) Field Guide
Open standard by Anthropic connecting AI agents with databases, local filesystems, Docker, and Kubernetes.
MCP Architecture Overview
MCP Host
Claude Desktop / Antigravity / Cursor
User-facing AI application managing tools and prompts.
MCP Client / Protocol
JSON-RPC 2.0 (stdio / SSE)
Standardized messaging layer enforcing strict authorization.
MCP Servers
Postgres / Git / Docker / Filesystem
Lightweight connectors exposing internal enterprise tools.
Ready-to-Use MCP Server Configurations
PostgreSQL Database MCP Server
Allow AI to query schemas and read-only tables
{
"mcpServers": {
"postgres": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"@modelcontextprotocol/server-postgres",
"postgresql://postgres:[email protected]:5432/tdnam_db"
],
"env": {
"READ_ONLY": "true"
}
}
}
}Filesystem & GitHub MCP Server
Confined workspace root directory and GitHub repo API
{
"mcpServers": {
"filesystem": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"@modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem",
"C:\\Users\\Administrator\\OneDrive\\Project\\Website"
]
},
"github": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-github"],
"env": {
"GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN": "ghp_your_secure_pat_token_here"
}
}
}
}Docker Container Management MCP
Inspect container logs, restart services, monitor health
{
"mcpServers": {
"docker": {
"command": "docker",
"args": [
"run",
"-i",
"--rm",
"-v",
"/var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock",
"mcp/docker"
]
}
}
}Mandatory Security Rules for MCP Deployment
- Read-Only Mode: Always enforce READ_ONLY flags on production database MCP connectors.
- Directory Bounding: Never scope the root drive C:\ or /; always bound filesystem access to the specific project directory.
- Secret Masking: Use environment variables rather than hardcoding API secrets directly in config JSON.