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⇱ Build AI Agents using MCP | Coursera


Build AI Agents using MCP

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Build AI Agents using MCP

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Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.
4.7

43 reviews

Intermediate level

Recommended experience

1 week to complete
at 10 hours a week
Flexible schedule
Learn at your own pace

Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.
4.7

43 reviews

Intermediate level

Recommended experience

1 week to complete
at 10 hours a week
Flexible schedule
Learn at your own pace

What you'll learn

  • Explain the architecture, components, and use cases of the Model Context Protocol (MCP), and how it differs from traditional APIs and tool calling

  • Build and run MCP servers using FastMCP, configuring tools, resources, and prompts to support AI applications such as retrieval-augmented generation

  • Develop MCP clients that connect to single and multiple servers using STDIO and Streamable HTTP for structured, context-aware LLM interactions

  • Implement secure, interactive MCP workflows by applying sampling, roots, and permission-based user-approval mechanisms for multi-agent applications

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Recently updated!

February 2026

Assessments

10 assignments

Taught in English

Build your Software Development expertise

This course is part of the IBM RAG and Agentic AI Professional Certificate
When you enroll in this course, you'll also be enrolled in this Professional Certificate.
  • Learn new concepts from industry experts
  • Gain a foundational understanding of a subject or tool
  • Develop job-relevant skills with hands-on projects
  • Earn a shareable career certificate from IBM

There are 3 modules in this course

Get hands-on designing secure, intelligent AI agent workflows using the Model Context Protocol (MCP) in this labs-driven course. You’ll see how AI systems connect to external tools, services, and data sources. You’ll learn how those connections can be designed to stay safe and predictable using structured permissions, user prompts, and validation workflows. And in hands-on labs, you’ll build agents that reason, retrieve information, and carry out tasks while maintaining security and control.

You’ll also work with permission enforcement models, JSON-schema-based elicitation, auditing concepts, and real-world security scenarios. You’ll explore how MCP works and why secure design decisions matter in practice. Plus, you’ll break down user requests, shape safe execution flows, and reduce the risk of unintended actions. Finally, you’ll plan and test a complete MCP-driven agent workflow, showing how usability, capability, and security come together in a real implementation. This course is designed for professionals in development, architecture, automation, or AI-powered applications who want hands-on, practical experience building responsible AI workflows.

In this module, you will gain a hands-on introduction to the Model Context Protocol (MCP). You will explore what MCP is, why it is used, and how it solves challenges compared to traditional APIs and tool-calling approaches. You will examine MCP's architecture, including clients, servers, and transport mechanisms, and see how MCP applications work in practice. Through guided demos and labs, you will connect to existing MCP servers and build your own MCP application.

What's included

9 videos1 reading3 assignments2 app items4 plugins

9 videosTotal 64 minutes
  • Course Introduction3 minutes
  • What is MCP?4 minutes
  • Why MCP?10 minutes
  • MCP vs API: Simplifying AI Agent Integration with External Data8 minutes
  • MCP Application Demo4 minutes
  • MCP Architecture9 minutes
  • MCP in Action8 minutes
  • Run Existing MCP Servers11 minutes
  • Build an MCP Application with Python7 minutes
1 readingTotal 10 minutes
  • Course Overview10 minutes
3 assignmentsTotal 41 minutes
  • Graded Quiz: Getting Started with MCP21 minutes
  • Practice Quiz: Introduction to MCP10 minutes
  • Practice Quiz: MCP in Action 10 minutes
2 app itemsTotal 60 minutes
  • Lab: Run Existing MCP Servers30 minutes
  • Lab: Build an MCP Application30 minutes
4 pluginsTotal 34 minutes
  • Reading: Helpful Tips for Course Completion10 minutes
  • Reading: Agentic AI Protocols10 minutes
  • Summary and Highlights: Getting Started with MCP 4 minutes
  • Cheat Sheet: Getting Started with MCP 10 minutes

In this module, you will learn how to build and enhance MCP servers. You will begin by converting tools into MCP servers and exploring simple "Hello World" examples. You will then extend server functionality with resources, prompts, and tools for real-world applications such as retrieval-augmented generation (RAG). Finally, you will explore MCP transport mechanisms, including streamable HTTP, standard IO, and deprecated SSE, while considering their security and performance trade-offs. Through guided labs, you will build and run MCP servers, connect to them using different transports, and experiment with enhanced capabilities.

What's included

2 videos3 assignments2 app items2 plugins

2 videosTotal 19 minutes
  • Hello World of MCP Servers11 minutes
  • Build an Enhanced MCP Server9 minutes
3 assignmentsTotal 41 minutes
  • Graded Quiz: MCP Server21 minutes
  • Practice Quiz: MCP Server Basics10 minutes
  • Practice Quiz: Building Enhanced MCP Servers10 minutes
2 app itemsTotal 60 minutes
  • Lab: Hello World of MCP Servers30 minutes
  • Lab: Build an Enhanced MCP Server30 minutes
2 pluginsTotal 13 minutes
  • Summary and Highlights: MCP Server3 minutes
  • Cheat Sheet: MCP Server10 minutes

In this module, you will learn how MCP clients are built and optimized for real-world use. You will examine client architecture, lifecycle management, and performance strategies such as connection pooling, caching, and load balancing. You will also explore advanced features like sampling and root controls to understand bidirectional LLM calls and filesystem boundaries. Finally, through guided labs, you will create custom MCP clients, implement advanced features, and design secure, interactive applications.

What's included

4 videos2 readings4 assignments3 app items2 plugins

4 videosTotal 31 minutes
  • MCP Client Architecture and Fundamentals8 minutes
  • Streamable HTTP, Roots, and Sampling9 minutes
  • MCP Security with Permissions and Elicitation9 minutes
  • Course Wrap-Up 6 minutes
2 readingsTotal 2 minutes
  • Congratulations and Next Steps1 minute
  • Team and Acknowledgments1 minute
4 assignmentsTotal 51 minutes
  • Graded Quiz: MCP Hosts and Clients21 minutes
  • Practice Quiz: MCP Client Implementation Patterns10 minutes
  • Practice Quiz: Advanced MCP Features: Sampling and Roots10 minutes
  • Practice Quiz: User Interaction Patterns: Elicitation and Permissions10 minutes
3 app itemsTotal 165 minutes
  • Lab: Build a Custom MCP Client with Python45 minutes
  • Lab: Advanced MCP Applications with Streamable HTTP, Roots, and Sampling60 minutes
  • Lab: MCP Security with Permissions and Elicitation60 minutes
2 pluginsTotal 13 minutes
  • Summary and Highlights: MCP Hosts and Clients3 minutes
  • Cheat Sheet: MCP Hosts and Clients10 minutes

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Instructors

Instructor ratings
4.3 (7 ratings)
IBM
3 Courses54,415 learners

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Frequently asked questions

This course equips professionals with valuable, hands-on skills used in roles such as MCP Developer, AI Agent Engineer, AI Tool Integration Specialist, Multi-Agent System Developer, and AI Workflow Engineer. It is ideal for software developers, Python programmers, and AI practitioners looking to expand into building and managing MCP-based AI applications. This course is also suitable for professionals reskilling to work on secure, multi-server AI agent systems.

You’ll need familiarity with basic programming skills (Python recommended) and a general understanding of how AI applications interact with tools and data sources. Completing the earlier courses in the IBM RAG and Agentic AI Professional Certificate is highly recommended for smooth progression.

You’ll work with MCP servers and clients, explore FastMCP, STDIO and HTTP transports, ReAct agents, and implement tools, prompts, resources, and user-aware workflows. Labs provide hands-on experience with multi-server interactions, context management, and secure elicitation workflows.

You’ll learn to build and test MCP servers and clients, integrate ReAct agents, configure tools, prompts, and resources, manage multi-server interactions and context, and implement secure user-approval workflows. By the end, you’ll be able to develop fast, scalable, and secure MCP applications and manage structured LLM interactions like a practicing AI agent developer.

Traditional tool-calling requires custom integration for every new data source, creating a fragmented ecosystem. The Model Context Protocol (MCP)provides a universal, open standard that replaces these "one-off" connectors. This course teaches you how to move beyond static APIs to a client-server-host architecture, where a single MCP client can discover and use tools across multiple servers simultaneously. You will learn to use FastMCP to provide AI models with secure, standardized access to local resources, databases, and web services without rewriting the integration layer for every new LLM.

Yes. Security is the primary bottleneck for deploying AI agents in enterprise environments, and this course addresses it through permission-based workflows. You will get hands-on experience implementing sampling, roots, and user-approval mechanisms—ensuring that your agents operate within strict filesystem boundaries and never execute unintended actions. By mastering JSON-schema-based elicitation and auditing, you’ll learn how to build "human-in-the-loop" systems where the AI must request explicit permission before accessing sensitive data or performing external writes.

To access the course materials, assignments and to earn a Certificate, you will need to purchase the Certificate experience when you enroll in a course. You can try a Free Trial instead, or apply for Financial Aid. The course may offer 'Full Course, No Certificate' instead. This option lets you see all course materials, submit required assessments, and get a final grade. This also means that you will not be able to purchase a Certificate experience.

When you enroll in the course, you get access to all of the courses in the Certificate, and you earn a certificate when you complete the work. Your electronic Certificate will be added to your Accomplishments page - from there, you can print your Certificate or add it to your LinkedIn profile.

Financial aid available,