Skip to content
MCP

Get Started

Before You Begin

A jargon-free primer. By the end of this short chapter, the words you'll meet later — API, token, OAuth, JSON, terminal — won't feel like a foreign language.

🎯 What you'll be able to do

  • Explain what an API, a token, and OAuth are in plain English
  • Recognise JSON and know why it's everywhere in this guide
  • Feel comfortable opening a terminal and running a command
  • Understand what an MCP server is, at a high level

You don't need to be an expert

This guide assumes you are new to Python and new to agentic tools. You do not need to memorise anything here — treat this page as a friendly glossary you can come back to whenever a term feels fuzzy.

Read this whole page first
Five minutes here will save you confusion in every later chapter. Each idea below is explained again, in context, where you actually use it.

Words you'll meet

API

An Application Programming Interface is how one program asks another program to do something — like a waiter taking your order to the kitchen. Jira has an API; your MCP server calls it.

Token

A token is a temporary pass that proves who you are. Like a hotel key card, it expires and can be revoked. Your server forwards the user's token to Jira instead of storing a password.

OAuth

OAuth is a way to grant an app access to your data without giving it your password. You sign in once and approve what the app can do. That approval produces a token.

JSON

JSON is a simple text format for structured data — lists, labels, and values. APIs send and receive JSON. You'll see a lot of it, and it's easy to read once it clicks.

Endpoint

An endpoint is a single URL an API listens on. This server's main endpoint is /mcp.

Terminal

The terminal (here, PowerShell) is a text window where you type commands instead of clicking buttons. VS Code has one built in.

Here is a tiny piece of JSON, so it's not a surprise later:

You'll see…It means…
{ "status": "ok" }An object with one label 'status' whose value is the text 'ok'.
"key": "PROJ-123"A label 'key' with the value 'PROJ-123'.
[ "a", "b" ]A list containing two text items.

MCP in plain English

MCP (Model Context Protocol) is a standard way to give an AI agent a set of tools. Instead of teaching the AI to poke at a raw API, you publish a tidy menu of actions — “search issues”, “create issue” — and the agent picks the right one.

Think of it like this:

Everyday analogyMCP equivalent
A restaurant menuThe list of tools the server exposes
Ordering a dishThe agent calling a tool
The kitchenYour MCP server doing the real work (calling Jira)
The waiter checking your IDDelegated token: actions run as the signed-in user

❓ Concept check

Why is forwarding the user's token to Jira safer than using one shared account for everyone?

The security mindset

One idea will repeat in every chapter: never hold more power than you need, and never store secrets you don't have to. That's why this design uses short-lived per-user tokens, keeps secrets in Azure Key Vault, and puts a gateway in front of the server.

Why this matters
Beginners often reach for the “easy” option: one API key that does everything. This guide deliberately avoids that, because easy shortcuts become the security incident later. Learning the safe pattern from day one is the whole point.
▶ Watch to reinforce this conceptOptional supplement

Recommended video needed

No specific video is linked here on purpose — we don't invent URLs. Search an official source (Microsoft, Azure, Atlassian, GitHub, VS Code, Python, or Model Context Protocol) using:

"Model Context Protocol" introduction (modelcontextprotocol.io OR Microsoft OR VS Code)

Reinforces
What the Model Context Protocol is and why it exists
Level
beginner
Why it helps: A short conceptual overview from an official MCP, Microsoft, or VS Code source helps the protocol click before you read code.

📌 Chapter summary

  • An API is how programs talk; a token is a temporary pass.
  • OAuth lets you grant access without sharing your password.
  • JSON is the text format used to send structured data.
  • An MCP server is a safe, standard way to give an AI agent tools.

✅ End-of-chapter review

0/5 done