Hello, my name is Paul Turchinetz, but you might know me as Turch.
I'm a software engineer, a tester, a writer, a speaker.
I've written a lot of tests in my lifetime, and I bet you have to. I'd also bet that you're here because you're interested in how AI tools can improve quality and enhance automation.
Well, one of my favorite tools to come out of the AI revolution of the last two years is the Model Context Protocol, MCP for short.
Today, we're going to learn how to build it in Java with a spring boot application, but first, let's talk about what it actually is.
# Course Overview
In this course, you will build a custom MCP server in Java using Spring Boot and the official Java MCP SDK. We start with the fundamentals, build a server that generates structured test data on demand, and finish by connecting that server into a multi-server agentic workflow alongside the Applitools Eyes MCP for automated visual validation.
Over our six-chapter journey, we will cover:
Chapter 1: What MCP is, why standardized AI communication matters, and the USB analogy that replaces N × M glue-code integrations with a single universal interface.
Chapter 2: The three pillars — Host (the brain), Client (the nervous system), and Server (the hands) — and setting up the official Java MCP SDK.
Chapter 3: Exposing executable functions as tools, designing them with BDD, and generating structured test data on demand.
Chapter 4: Exposing dynamic context, application data, and internal resources to the model, and when reading beats calling.
Chapter 5: Defining standardized prompt templates that guide agent behavior and stop your agent from thrashing.
Chapter 6: Connecting your custom server into a multi-server agentic workflow and performing visual UI validation with the Applitools Eyes MCP.
# What You'll Learn
- Understand the core architecture of the Model Context Protocol (Host, Client, Server).
- Build a custom MCP server using Java, Spring Boot, and the official Java MCP SDK.
- Expose actionable tools, resources, and prompts to AI models.
- Solve the N × M integration problem by using a standardized protocol instead of custom glue code.
- Generate structured test data on demand for web application testing.
- Integrate custom servers into multi-server agentic workflows alongside the Applitools Eyes MCP.
# Prerequisites
- Basic knowledge of Java programming and Spring Boot concepts.
- Familiarity with general software testing and automated QA practices.
