---
title: FrontMCP Overview
sidebarTitle: Overview
icon: book
description: Core concepts and components for building FrontMCP servers
keywords: ['frontmcp', 'mcp', 'model context protocol', 'concepts', 'fundamentals', 'basics', 'typescript']
---

This section covers the essential building blocks for creating MCP servers with FrontMCP. Whether you're building a simple tool wrapper or a complex multi-app system, understanding these core concepts is key.

## Core Components

The building blocks of every FrontMCP server. These components define what your server exposes to AI clients.

<CardGroup cols={3}>
  <Card title="Server" icon="server" href="/frontmcp/servers/server">
    Entry point, configuration, and composition modes for your MCP server
  </Card>
  <Card title="Apps" icon="grid-2" href="/frontmcp/servers/apps">
    Container for grouping related tools, resources, and prompts with shared auth
  </Card>
  <Card title="Tools" icon="wrench" href="/frontmcp/servers/tools">
    AI-callable functions with typed input/output schemas and validation
  </Card>
  <Card title="Resources" icon="database" href="/frontmcp/servers/resources">
    Data endpoints for static content and dynamic templates
  </Card>
  <Card title="Prompts" icon="message" href="/frontmcp/servers/prompts">
    Reusable prompt templates with argument interpolation
  </Card>
  <Card title="Agents" icon="robot" href="/frontmcp/servers/agents">
    LLM-powered autonomous agents that can use tools and make decisions
  </Card>
  <Card title="Elicitation" icon="comment-dots" href="/frontmcp/servers/elicitation">
    Request user input during tool or agent execution
  </Card>
  <Card title="Skills" icon="graduation-cap" href="/frontmcp/servers/skills">
    HTTP-accessible instructions for Claude Code and other AI coding tools
  </Card>
  <Card title="Discovery" icon="compass" href="/frontmcp/servers/discovery">
    Server, app, and tool discovery for multi-server environments
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## Context Classes

Every tool, resource, prompt, agent, and skill runs within a context class. These provide access to dependency injection, logging, authentication, and more.

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Context Overview" icon="layer-group" href="/frontmcp/sdk-reference/contexts/overview">
    Introduction to context classes and the execution model
  </Card>
  <Card title="ExecutionContextBase" icon="cube" href="/frontmcp/sdk-reference/contexts/execution-context-base">
    Base class with DI, logging, auth, and shared functionality
  </Card>
  <Card title="ToolContext" icon="wrench" href="/frontmcp/sdk-reference/contexts/tool-context">
    Context for tool execution with typed input/output
  </Card>
  <Card title="ResourceContext" icon="database" href="/frontmcp/sdk-reference/contexts/resource-context">
    Context for resource reads with URI parameters
  </Card>
  <Card title="PromptContext" icon="message" href="/frontmcp/sdk-reference/contexts/prompt-context">
    Context for prompt generation with arguments
  </Card>
  <Card title="AgentContext" icon="robot" href="/frontmcp/sdk-reference/contexts/agent-context">
    Context for agent execution with tool access
  </Card>
  <Card title="SkillContext" icon="graduation-cap" href="/frontmcp/sdk-reference/contexts/skill-context">
    Context for skill execution via HTTP
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## Authentication

FrontMCP implements a flexible three-tier authentication system supporting public access, token pass-through, and full OAuth 2.1 orchestration.

| Mode             | Description                             | Best For                                    |
| ---------------- | --------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------- |
| **Public**       | No auth required, anonymous sessions    | Development, testing, public APIs           |
| **Transparent**  | Pass-through tokens from external IdPs  | Existing Auth0, Okta, Azure AD setups       |
| **Orchestrated** | Full OAuth 2.1 server (local or remote) | Multi-app, federated auth, progressive auth |

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Auth Overview" icon="shield-check" href="/frontmcp/authentication/overview">
    Understanding the three-tier authentication system
  </Card>
  <Card title="Authorization Modes" icon="layer-group" href="/frontmcp/authentication/modes">
    Deep dive into public, transparent, and orchestrated modes
  </Card>
  <Card title="Local OAuth" icon="house" href="/frontmcp/authentication/local">
    Self-contained OAuth server with built-in user management
  </Card>
  <Card title="Remote OAuth" icon="cloud" href="/frontmcp/authentication/remote">
    Proxy to external identity providers (Auth0, Okta, etc.)
  </Card>
  <Card title="Progressive Auth" icon="stairs" href="/frontmcp/authentication/progressive">
    Request additional scopes during tool execution
  </Card>
  <Card title="CIMD" icon="fingerprint" href="/frontmcp/authentication/cimd">
    Client-Initiated Mutual Disambiguation for multi-account scenarios
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## Deployment

Options for running your FrontMCP server in development and production.

| Target               | Use Case                | Session Storage           |
| -------------------- | ----------------------- | ------------------------- |
| **Local Dev**        | Development and testing | In-memory                 |
| **Production Build** | Long-running server     | Redis or Vercel KV        |
| **Serverless**       | Edge/Lambda deployments | External storage required |

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Local Development" icon="laptop-code" href="/frontmcp/deployment/local-dev-server">
    Start the development server with hot reload
  </Card>
  <Card title="Production Build" icon="building" href="/frontmcp/deployment/production-build">
    Build and run optimized production bundles
  </Card>
  <Card title="Redis Setup" icon="database" href="/frontmcp/deployment/redis-setup">
    Configure Redis for session and token storage
  </Card>
  <Card title="Vercel KV" icon="bolt" href="/frontmcp/deployment/vercel-kv">
    Use Vercel KV as a Redis alternative
  </Card>
  <Card title="Serverless" icon="cloud" href="/frontmcp/deployment/serverless">
    Deploy to serverless platforms (Vercel, AWS Lambda)
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## Where to Start

<Tip>
  **New to FrontMCP?** Start with [Server](/frontmcp/servers/server) to understand the entry point, then explore [Tools](/frontmcp/servers/tools) to see how AI-callable functions work. Once you're comfortable with the basics, dive into [Authentication](/frontmcp/authentication/overview) for securing your server.
</Tip>

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Quickstart" icon="rocket" href="/frontmcp/getting-started/quickstart">
    Build your first FrontMCP server in minutes
  </Card>
  <Card title="SDK Reference" icon="code" href="/frontmcp/sdk-reference/decorators/overview">
    Full API documentation for decorators, classes, and registries
  </Card>
</CardGroup>
