Exercises
MCP, Context7
Install the Context7 MCP server and feel the difference between Claude with and without live documentation.
Goal
Practice installing an MCP server end to end, then prove that it changed Claude's answer. The target server is Context7, which lets Claude pull current library docs on demand.
Getting started
The repository ships a near-empty starter. This exercise is mostly about wiring, so the starter is small on purpose.
claudeWhat you do
Take a baseline (without Context7). Ask Claude:
Write a 15-line C# example that uses the latest OpenTelemetry .NET API
to trace an HTTP request and a custom span. Cite the package versions
you expect to use.Save the output in baseline.cs (overwrite the stub) and note the
versions Claude picked from memory.
Install the Context7 MCP. Follow the project's official install steps and register it so
/mcp lists context7.Reset and re-ask.
/clear your conversation, then ask the same question, but tell Claude to use Context7 first to look up the latest docs. Save that output as with-context7.cs.Compare. Open both files side by side. Look for changes in package versions, API surface, and whether the model called the
context7 tool at all.Done when
- The Context7 server appears under
/mcp. - The
with-context7.csoutput cites doc references that came from the MCP, not from the model's training data. - You can describe one real task at your job where Context7 (or another MCP) would have changed Claude's answer.
- You can describe one task where MCP would not help, so you do not reach for it on every prompt.