How to Build an MCP for Your Developer Documentation

A developer mid-integration needs two different pages, and they rarely say which. "What header do I send?" is the reference. "How does the sample handle the error?" is the tutorial, or the repository. A server that only has search will often hand them the quickstart for both.

Build the MCP with the tools separated. Documentation search for the guides. API reference lookup for the contract. Code example lookup when the sample lives in a repo.

What this server is

A docs MCP, in the narrower sense, is this object. The definition is What is a docs MCP server?. The API reference slice alone is Connect your API documentation to an AI agent. Technical specs and runbooks are Build an MCP for technical documentation.

Why the tools stay separate

The reference holds the contract. For a charges endpoint that requires Idempotency-Key on POST /v1/charges, that header name has to come from the reference page.

The tutorial holds the walkthrough. How the quickstart sends that header is a different citation. If every answer cites the quickstart, the developer never sees the contract.

The sample in the docs can be older than the SDK. Cite the repository for code and the docs for the contract. Do not leave both unlabeled.

Make the server in MCP Studio

Name one reference page and one tutorial before you open the app. MCP Studio is the no-code builder on Appa Tools. Open the wizard. You do not write any code.

1. Name it for the portal. Billing developer docs.
2. Paste the portal URL. Prefer /docs over the marketing homepage.
3. Select documentation search, API reference lookup, and code example lookup. The tool guide is the difference between them.
4. Add the sample repository if the official sample lives only there. See Give an AI agent access to your GitHub repository. Deploy and wait for indexing.

https://appatools.com/mcp-studio/api/mcp/your-server-name

Mintlify or GitBook can be the source if they publish a URL or their own MCP endpoint. The GitBook case is Your GitBook docs and your code. That endpoint retrieves. It does not call remote action tools.

Check that it works

1. Ask for the required header on POST /v1/charges. The citation should be the reference, and the header should be Idempotency-Key if that is what the page says.
2. Ask how the quickstart sends that header. The citation should be the tutorial, or the sample repo.

Then ask for an endpoint the portal does not document. The server should say the content does not cover it.

A useful first set is one authentication question, one endpoint question, and one error question. Scoring them is Test an MCP server for accuracy.

If the reply is not what you expected

Every answer citing the quickstart means reference lookup is off, or the reference is not under the URL you added. Point a source at the reference section, or prefer it with a retrieval rule.

Staff-only pages in the same portal do not belong on the public server. Split them. Who can reach your MCP server is that split. Two sources on one job is Create an MCP server from multiple sources.

Refresh the source when the reference changes, and re-ask the two questions.

Build a developer docs server today

Build a developer docs server today. Open MCP Studio, add the portal, turn on reference lookup, and deploy. Ask for the charges header. Keep the server when the citation is the reference, not the quickstart.

Where to go next

• Ship a docs MCP built around one real task
• Choosing tools
• What is a docs MCP server?
• Adding sources