MCP Prototype – Translate Server

This project implements an MCP (Model Context Protocol) server for text translation. The server supports two transports:

• stdio – for integration with Claude Desktop
• http (streamable) – for testing and working via HTTP + SSE

⚙️ Requirements

• Node.js >= 18
• Yarn or npm
• Installed Claude Desktop (for stdio integration)
• Lingvanex Translator account for text translation

🔑 Lingvanex Translator Setup

To use the Lingvanex Translator you'll need a Lingvanex account.

1. If you don't have one, sign up for free

2. Go to the Cloud API tab: Cloud API

3. Fill out the Billing Address data

4. Click Continue to payment

   • To get a free trial, it is not necessary to add your payment card

5. Your API key will be generated and visible in the Cloud API tab: API key

Now you are ready to start using the translation API. Below is a video tutorial of the overall process (if available on Lingvanex site).

🚀 Installation & Build

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/you/mcp-prototype.git
cd mcp-prototype

Install dependencies

yarn install

🔌 Run in stdio mode (Claude Desktop)

stdio mode is used by Claude Desktop to connect to local MCP servers.

Set environment variable:

TRANSPORT=stdio

Start the server:

yarn build
yarn start

Expected output:

MCP stdio transport running
Translate MCP Server ready

🌐 Run in HTTP mode (streamable)

http mode runs a local HTTP server with HTTP transport. Useful for browser testing or with curl.

Set environment variables:

TRANSPORT=http
HTTP_PORT=3000

Start the server:

yarn build
yarn start

Test the server:

curl http://127.0.0.1:3000/ping

Expected response:

{ "status": "ok", "transport": "http" }

Use MCP Inspector for debugging:

npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector

In the MCP Inspector UI, select Transport Type - Streamable HTTP; URL - http://localhost:3000/mcp. Click Connect.

🖥️ Integration with Claude Desktop

Claude Desktop discovers local MCP servers via config file:

• Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
• Linux: ~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

Example config (Windows)

Open (or create) claude_desktop_config.json and add:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "translate": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": [
        "C:\\Users\\path\\to\\project\\dist\\index.js"
      ]
    }
  }
}

⚠️ Make sure to update the path to your local dist/index.js after build!

✅ How to verify

1. Launch Claude Desktop.
2. Enter a request like: "Use the MCP tool translate_text to translate 'Hello world' into Russian."
3. If everything is configured correctly, Claude will call your MCP server and return the translation.

📌 Available Tools

translate_text

Translate text from one language into another.

Arguments:

• text – the text to translate
• sourceLang – source language code (e.g. "en")
• targetLang – target language code (e.g. "ru")

Example request:

{
  "tool": "translate_text",
  "args": {
    "text": "Good morning",
    "sourceLang": "en",
    "targetLang": "fr"
  }
}

Example response:

{
  "content": [
    { "type": "text", "text": "Bonjour" }
  ]
}