---
title: Contributing
description: How to contribute to the MCP Java SDK
---

# Contributing

Thank you for your interest in contributing to the Model Context Protocol Java SDK!
This guide outlines how to contribute to this project.

## Prerequisites

!!! info "Required Software"
    - **Java 17** or above
    - **Docker**
    - **npx**

## Getting Started

1. Fork the repository
2. Clone your fork:

    ```bash
    git clone https://github.com/YOUR-USERNAME/java-sdk.git
    cd java-sdk
    ```

3. Build from source:

    ```bash
    ./mvnw clean install -DskipTests  # skip the tests
    ./mvnw test                        # run tests
    ```

## Reporting Issues

Please create an issue in the repository if you discover a bug or would like to
propose an enhancement. Bug reports should have a reproducer in the form of a code
sample or a repository attached that the maintainers or contributors can work with to
address the problem.

## Making Changes

1. Create a new branch:

    ```bash
    git checkout -b feature/your-feature-name
    ```

2. Make your changes.

3. Validate your changes:

    ```bash
    ./mvnw clean test
    ```

### Change Proposal Guidelines

#### Principles of MCP

1. **Simple + Minimal**: It is much easier to add things to the codebase than it is to
   remove them. To maintain simplicity, we keep a high bar for adding new concepts and
   primitives as each addition requires maintenance and compatibility consideration.
2. **Concrete**: Code changes need to be based on specific usage and implementation
   challenges and not on speculative ideas. Most importantly, the SDK is meant to
   implement the MCP specification.

## Submitting Changes

1. For non-trivial changes, please clarify with the maintainers in an issue whether
   you can contribute the change and the desired scope of the change.
2. For trivial changes (for example a couple of lines or documentation changes) there
   is no need to open an issue first.
3. Push your changes to your fork.
4. Submit a pull request to the main repository.
5. Follow the pull request template.
6. Wait for review.
7. For any follow-up work, please add new commits instead of force-pushing. This will
   allow the reviewer to focus on incremental changes instead of having to restart the
   review process.

## Code of Conduct

This project follows a Code of Conduct. Please review it in
[CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md](https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/java-sdk/blob/main/CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md).

## Questions

If you have questions, please create a discussion in the repository.

## License

By contributing, you agree that your contributions will be licensed under the MIT
License.

## Security

This SDK is maintained by [Anthropic](https://www.anthropic.com/) as part of the Model Context Protocol project.

The security of our systems and user data is Anthropic's top priority. We appreciate the work of security researchers acting in good faith in identifying and reporting potential vulnerabilities.

!!! warning "Reporting Security Vulnerabilities"
    Do **not** report security vulnerabilities through public GitHub issues. Instead, report them through our HackerOne [submission form](https://hackerone.com/anthropic-vdp/reports/new?type=team&report_type=vulnerability).

Our Vulnerability Disclosure Program guidelines are defined on our [HackerOne program page](https://hackerone.com/anthropic-vdp).
