---
title: "Installation"
description: "Install mcp-use and get your development environment ready"
icon: "download"
---

<Info>
  **Prerequisites**:
  - Install [Python](https://python.org/) (version 3.11 or higher)
  - pip, uv, or poetry package manager
</Info>

## Install mcp-use

<CodeGroup>
```bash pip
pip install mcp-use
```

```bash uv
uv add mcp-use
```

```bash poetry
poetry add mcp-use
```
</CodeGroup>

This gives you access to everything: **MCPAgent**, **MCPClient**, and **MCPServer**.

## LLM Providers (for Agents)

If you're building agents, install your preferred LLM provider:

<CodeGroup>
```bash OpenAI
pip install langchain-openai
```

```bash Anthropic
pip install langchain-anthropic
```

```bash Google
pip install langchain-google-genai
```

```bash Groq
pip install langchain-groq
```
</CodeGroup>

<Warning>
**Tool Calling Required**: Only models with tool calling capabilities can be used with mcp-use agents.
</Warning>

## Environment Variables

Create a `.env` file in your project root:

```bash
OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-...
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=sk-ant-...
GOOGLE_API_KEY=AI...
GROQ_API_KEY=gsk_...
```

Load them in your scripts:

```python
from dotenv import load_dotenv
load_dotenv()
```

## Development Installation

Install from source for the latest features or to contribute:

<CodeGroup>
```bash pip
git clone https://github.com/mcp-use/mcp-use.git
cd mcp-use/libraries/python
pip install -e .
```

```bash dev mode
git clone https://github.com/mcp-use/mcp-use.git
cd mcp-use/libraries/python
pip install -e ".[dev]"
```
</CodeGroup>

## Next Steps

<CardGroup cols={3}>
  <Card title="Agent" icon="brain" href="/python/agent/building-custom-agents">
    Build AI Agents with tool calling capabilities through MCP connections
  </Card>
  <Card title="Client" icon="router" href="/python/client/connection-types">
    A full featured MCP Client implementation for Python
  </Card>
  <Card title="Server" icon="server" href="/python/server">
    The MCP Server framework implementation for Python
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

<Tip>
**Need Help?** Join our [Discord](https://discord.gg/XkNkSkMz3V) or [Github](https://github.com/mcp-use/mcp-use) communities.
</Tip>
