MCP Servers Explained + Descope (video build)

Three versions of the same “notes” MCP server, built in the order you show them on camera.

• Script: script.md (theory fully scripted, build + Descope as bullets)
• Brand-facing script (Google Doc): https://docs.google.com/document/d/1PCnNyEp0rB_m-_FViT_pYCKwViQmGUElSLTVpRmpPqQ/edit
• Theory slide deck: presentation/index.html (open locally, arrows to move, F for fullscreen) or https://clever-opera-nnya.here.now/

Versions pinned on purpose: fastmcp<4 and mcp<2, because descope-mcp 0.1.0 still imports FastMCP from the old mcp.server path and breaks on mcp 2.x. Already done in pyproject.toml.

Setup

uv sync
cp .env.example .env

v1: local (stdio)

Cursor: ~/.cursor/mcp.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "notes": {
      "command": "uv",
      "args": ["run", "--directory", "C:/Users/User/Desktop/descope-mcp-video", "v1_local.py"]
    }
  }
}

Claude Desktop: same block in %APPDATA%/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json.

Or from the terminal, no editor needed:

uv run python -c "import asyncio; from fastmcp import Client; asyncio.run((lambda: Client('v1_local.py').__aenter__())())"

v2: remote, no auth

uv run v2_remote.py

uv run test_client.py

Cursor: {"notes": {"url": "http://localhost:8000/mcp"}}. Point out that the same URL works from any machine on the network and there is no “who” anywhere.

v3: Descope

Console (one time, about 2 minutes)

1. Sign up at https://www.descope.com (Free Forever tier) and open the console.
2. Agentic Identity Hub -> MCP Servers -> + MCP Server. Name it notes.
3. MCP Server URL: http://localhost:8000/mcp (change to the public URL when you deploy). This becomes the aud claim.
4. Client registration: enable Dynamic Client Registration (DCR) and CIMD. This is what lets Cursor / Claude register themselves.
5. Scopes: add
   • notes:read, consent text “Read your notes”
   • notes:write, consent text “Create and delete your notes” Leave both optional so you can demo denying one on the consent screen.
6. Expand Connect your MCP server to Descope and copy the Well-Known URL. Put it in .env as DESCOPE_CONFIG_URL.

Run

uv run v3_auth.py

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