StudyBuddy MCP

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  frontend app

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Inspiration

Students often struggle to organize study notes, revise important topics, and prepare for exams efficiently. We wanted to build a simple study assistant that brings these activities together in one place.

This inspired us to create StudyBuddy MCP, a web-based study assistant built using the Model Context Protocol (MCP). Our goal was to explore how MCP tools can connect an application to useful study functions through a standardized interface.

What it does

StudyBuddy MCP helps students manage their study activities through an interactive web interface.

Its key features include:

• Save Study Notes: Store notes under specific topics for easy reference.
• Retrieve Notes: Access previously saved study material.
• Organize Topics: View and manage study topics.
• Generate Practice Quizzes: Create practice questions to support learning.
• Plan Revisions: Generate a structured revision plan for study sessions.

The application uses SQLite to store study notes, a Python backend to handle requests, and MCP tools to expose the study functions in a standardized way.

How we built it

We built StudyBuddy MCP using a modular architecture with three main components:

• Frontend: HTML, CSS, and JavaScript for a responsive and interactive user interface.
• Backend: Python and FastAPI to handle application requests.
• MCP Server: Python MCP SDK to expose five tools: add_note, get_study_notes, list_study_topics, quiz_me, and revision_plan.
• Database: SQLite for persistent storage of study notes.
• Testing: MCP Inspector to connect to the server and test the available tools.

The frontend communicates with the backend, which uses an MCP client to call the MCP server. This architecture helped us separate the user interface, application logic, and study tools.

Challenges we ran into

One of our main challenges was setting up the MCP server and connecting it correctly to the backend and frontend.

We also had to configure the Streamable HTTP transport, manage multiple local development servers, install the required Python packages, and troubleshoot connection issues.

Another challenge was ensuring that each tool returned useful results and that notes could be stored and retrieved reliably.

We addressed these challenges by testing each component separately, using MCP Inspector to verify tool execution, and checking the complete workflow through the website.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We successfully built a working StudyBuddy MCP prototype with an interactive web interface and five functional MCP tools.

We are proud that:

• The MCP server connects successfully through MCP Inspector.
• All five MCP tools execute successfully in our tests.
• Users can interact with the study assistant through the website.
• The project demonstrates how MCP can expose application functions as reusable tools.
• The application uses a modular architecture that can be extended with additional capabilities.

This project gave us practical experience building and testing an MCP-based application from the ground up.

What we learned

Through this project, we learned how the Model Context Protocol helps applications expose tools through a standardized interface.

We also gained practical experience with Python, FastAPI, SQLite, HTTP communication, frontend-backend integration, and debugging multiple services.

Most importantly, we learned that building a useful AI application requires more than a user interface. The underlying tools, data storage, communication, and testing must all work together.

What's next for StudyBuddy MCP

We plan to improve StudyBuddy MCP by adding:

• Integration with a real large language model for more personalized quizzes and revision plans.
• Smarter revision schedules based on exam dates and topic difficulty.
• Progress tracking and study reminders.
• Search and filtering for large collections of notes.
• Support for exporting notes and revision plans.
• More comprehensive testing and deployment so students can access the application online.

Our long-term vision is to make StudyBuddy MCP a more personalized and intelligent learning companion that helps students study with greater confidence and organization.

Built With

• css
• fastapi
• html
• javascript
• mcp
• mcpinspector
• python
• sqlite