MCP and Tool-Using Apps

Servers, clients and the apps that use them.

recorded hours: 7.5
modules, in order: 5
deployed projects: 3
graded checkpoints: 4

Who it is for, and what you receive.

Developers in Python or TypeScript who have made one LLM API call and want to expose and consume tools the standard way.

Before you start

Python or TypeScript; one LLM API call before.

Skills

MCP
tool design
TypeScript or Python

1
The recorded sessions
Taught by an instructor who does the work, taken in order at your own pace, yours for twelve months.
2
Graded work after every module
Exercises and projects marked by Nova against a rubric you can read, with what you did well and what to fix.
3
The projects
Deployed and graded, each one on your record with its repository.
4
Your hiring plan
The same six-part plan the bootcamps use, run with the career agent.
5
The record and the certificate
Every grade at square1ai.com/u/{handle}; a credential ID that resolves at square1ai.com/verify.
6
Nova as your tutor
Help that is about your actual work, because it has read all of it.

The content plan, module by module.

7.5 recorded hours from an instructor, taken in order at your own pace. Nova grades the work at the end of each module.

1
What MCP is for
- The protocol
- Servers, clients, hosts
- When not to use it
Graded
Nothing to submit; watch and take notes
60 min
2
Your first server
- Tools
- Resources
- Running it
Graded
A server with two tools and a resource
90 min
3
Clients and hosts
- A client
- Connecting a host
- Discovery
Graded
A client that uses the server
90 min
4
Permissions, safety, testing
- Permission models
- Testing tools
- Failure modes
Graded
A permission model with tests
90 min
5
Project: an app on MCP
- The app
- The server
- Deploy
Graded
The app, deployed
120 min

The projects.

Each is deployed and graded by Nova against a rubric you can read before you start.

1
An MCP server
A server with two tools and a resource.
You hand in
- Server
- Tests
The rubric requires
Tools callable from a standard client.
2
A client
A client that uses the server.
You hand in
- Client
The rubric requires
Round-trips a tool call.
3
An app on MCP
An application built on both.
You hand in
- App
- Permission model
- Deploy
The rubric requires
Every tool call permission-checked.

What you can do at the end.

You can expose and consume tools the standard way, with three graded projects on your record.

1
Explain what MCP is for and when to use it.
2
Build a server with tools and resources.
3
Build a client and connect a host.
4
Design permissions, test tools and keep them safe.
5
Build an application on MCP.

Roles this prepares you for

AI engineer
Integration engineer

No placement rate is shown, because there are no graduates to count yet. The roles above are what the projects are built for.

Your record at the end.

Every exercise and project is graded by Nova against a rubric you can read, and every grade is kept on one page an employer can open and run. This is what the programme writes to it.

Graded, line by line: Nova reads every submission against the brief and the rubric and returns a score, what you did well and what to fix.
Module by module: Each module ends in graded work; the next opens when you are ready, on your own schedule.
Nova remembers: Help is about your actual work, because the tutor has every submission and every failed exercise of yours.
One page an employer can run: Every grade and project at /verify. An employer opens it and runs the code.

Record, MCP and Tool-Using Apps

Example

Project
An MCP server
Tools callable from a standard client.
Graded
Project
A client
Round-trips a tool call.
Graded
Project
An app on MCP
Every tool call permission-checked.
Graded
Every module
4 graded checkpoints
Each module ends in work Nova grades line by line against a rubric you can read.
Graded
After
Your hiring plan
Target roles, the gap map, the proof to send, weekly actions and an interview log.
Kept

The entries, not the grades: those are yours to earn. The page lives at /verify and an employer needs no account to open it.

5 entries, at your own pace. One email when this course opens.

How we help you find a job.

Proof, not a certificate: the projects you deployed are the thing you show, and the tools below are yours to use.

1
Your hiring plan
The same six-part plan the bootcamps use: target roles, the gap map, the proof to send, weekly actions, an interview log, the outcome. You run it with the career agent.
2
A record an employer can run
Your graded projects on /verify. An employer opens it and runs the code.
3
The career agent
Paste a real job posting at /career and it maps the role to your graded work and what to do next.
4
The roles directory
Every role we prepare people for, what it pays and what it asks, at /roles.
5
A path to the live cohort
If you want the instructor, the gates and the hiring sprint, the bootcamp on the same subject is one waitlist away.

One email when this course opens.

Recorded by an instructor who does this work, graded by Nova. The waitlist hears the date and the price first, and nothing is charged before it exists.