MCP (Model Context Protocol) for Dart

mcp_dart is a dual-era Dart and Flutter SDK for MCP clients, servers, and AI
hosts. It implements the complete core client/server wire surface of the locked
MCP 2026-07-28 specification, retains the MCP 2025-11-25 feature set, and
negotiates supported earlier initialization-based specifications.
Here, core means the normative wire requirements assigned to client and server
roles by the pinned final specification. It excludes optional MCP
extensions, host UI behavior, an authorization-server implementation, JSON
Schema external-reference resolution, and custom JSON Schema vocabularies.
[!IMPORTANT]
This release is mcp_dart 2.4.2. The separately versioned stable CLI remains
mcp_dart_cli 0.2.1, which requires mcp_dart ^2.4.2.
Current source passes every scored requirement in the official alpha.11 MCP
2025-11-25 and 2026-07-28 client and server sets, including all 25
required 2026 authorization scenarios, plus bidirectional published
TypeScript SDK 2.2.0 and Python SDK 2.1.1 interoperability.
SDK Tier 1 target
The project is pursuing
MCP SDK Tier 1. Tier 1
is not yet claimed or assigned. The technical baseline is green; the remaining
official audit, repository-governance, and SDK Working Group steps are tracked
in the roadmap and
48-feature coverage inventory.
The public maintenance contract is documented in the
contribution guide, security policy,
dependency policy, and
versioning policy.
Requirements
SDK-only generated projects retain the SDK's Dart 3.4 minimum. CLI projects
use Dart 3.12 because the CLI and its toolchain target that release.
Install Dart from dart.dev.
Installation
Production channel
Use the latest stable package for production projects:
dart pub add mcp_dart
Pin the stable SDK release
Pin the stable 2.4 line explicitly when reproducible dependency resolution is
important:
dependencies:
mcp_dart: ^2.4.2
The snippets below use the current stable SDK line. Package versions
remain separate from protocol profiles: McpProtocol.stable names the SDK's
default compatibility policy.
The SDK and CLI are versioned independently. The stable CLI's ^2.4.2
constraint accepts SDK versions from 2.4.2 up to, but not including, 3.0.0.
AI agent skills
mcp_dart ships agent skills for
building servers, building clients, and serving or connecting over Streamable
HTTP. Install them into your coding agent's skills directory from your app's
root:
dart run skills@ get
For direct SDK integration, start with the
getting-started guide.
The CLI below is optional and provides scaffolding, inspection, and conformance
commands.
What the SDK provides
- MCP servers, clients, and host integrations with null-safe Dart APIs.
- Core tools, resources, prompts, completion, elicitation, subscriptions,
logging, roots, and sampling APIs with behavior selected for the negotiated
protocol era. MCP 2026-07-28 logging is retained for compatibility but is
deprecated upstream.
- Stdio, Streamable HTTP, IO stream, and custom transports.
- OAuth client discovery/PKCE hooks, server authentication callbacks, DNS
rebinding protection, and strict Streamable HTTP validation.
- An experimental Tasks extension implementation, MCP Apps metadata helpers,
and generic extension negotiation. Extensions are separate from core
protocol coverage; Tasks is not an official extension or part of the SDK's
core conformance claim.
- Automated MCP 2025-11-25 and MCP 2026-07-28 conformance, bidirectional
published TypeScript SDK 2.2.0 interoperability, bidirectional Python SDK
2.1.1 interoperability, real-browser transport tests, a real Flutter Web
service integration in Chrome, deterministic widget tests, and an
independent pinned JSON Schema Test Suite gate.
mcp_dart 2.4.2 bounds incoming stdio and IO stream messages to 10 MiB by
default, with configurable limits for larger messages. See the
transport guide before upgrading integrations that
exchange larger frames.
- Hardened Streamable HTTP access and JSON-RPC error diagnostics, plus the
deprecated, opt-in legacy HTTP+SSE client with
same-origin routing and bidirectional interoperability against official
TypeScript SDK 1.30.0 and Python SDK 2.1.1 peers.
MCP has three roles: a host owns the user experience, a client connects that
host to one server, and a server exposes tools, resources, and prompts. A host
can manage multiple clients and servers.
Protocol profiles
Use stableProtocolVersion or defaultProtocolVersion for MCP 2026-07-28.
previewProtocolVersion remains as a deprecated alias for applications built
against a 2.3 prerelease.
latestInitializationProtocolVersion remains 2025-11-25 when the default
profile falls back to the legacy lifecycle. For compatibility,
latestProtocolVersion and supportedProtocolVersions retain their mcp_dart
2.2 initialization-era values; use allSupportedProtocolVersions for the
dual-era list.
Select a profile only when you need to constrain negotiation:
final legacyClient = McpClient(
const Implementation(name: 'my-client', version: '1.0.0'),
options: const McpClientOptions(protocol: McpProtocol.legacy),
);
final strict2026Server = McpServer(
const Implementation(name: 'my-server', version: '1.0.0'),
options: const McpServerOptions(protocol: McpProtocol.require2026),
);
See the MCP 2026-07-28 transition guide
for fallback rules and APIs specific to MCP 2026-07-28, or run the
strict MCP 2026-07-28 example.
Applications upgrading from the stable 2.2 line should also follow the
2.2 to 2.3 migration guide.
Quick start with the CLI
Install the matching stable CLI:
dart pub global activate mcp_dart_cli 0.2.1
mcp_dart create my_server
cd my_server
mcp_dart inspect
The 0.2.1 CLI creates a project with mcp_dart: ^2.4.2. The inspector
launches the generated stdio server itself. After leaving the interactive
inspector, you can run a single tool directly:
mcp_dart inspect --tool add --json-args '{"a": 1, "b": 2}'
Useful commands:
See the CLI documentation
for command options and scope.
Documentation
- Start: getting started, server guide, client guide, quick reference
- Upgrade: 2.2 to 2.3 migration guide, migration cookbooks, MCP 2026-07-28 transition guide
- Build: tools, transports, examples, MCP Apps
- Deploy: Streamable HTTP security, OAuth examples, Flutter recipes
- Verify: interop matrix, MCP 2025-11-25 coverage, MCP 2026-07-28 coverage, day-0 runbook
Standalone integration examples may declare newer Dart SDK requirements; check
each example README before running it.
Authentication
StreamableHttpClientTransport supports OAuthClientProvider and optional
authorization-code discovery. Servers can use authenticator or
authenticationHandler and publish protected-resource metadata.
The checked-in OAuth examples store tokens in plaintext files for local
learning. Production applications must use platform secure storage or an
encrypted credential service. See the OAuth examples
and Streamable HTTP authentication.
Do not expose example HTTP servers directly to untrusted networks. Production
deployments should use TLS, authenticate requests, and configure the documented
Host and Origin protections.
Legacy HTTP+SSE is deprecated under MCP SEP-2596 and is retained only for
explicit compatibility. Use Streamable HTTP for new remote integrations.
See Flutter host and client recipes
for lifecycle and secure-storage guidance.
Choosing a Dart MCP package
The Dart team maintains dart_mcp in
dart-lang/ai.
Choose it when you prefer the Dart team's APIs. Choose mcp_dart when you need
this SDK's transport, security, compatibility, extension, and inspection
surface. Re-check both packages' current releases before a production decision.
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