# Get started

New to MCP, or new to this SDK? Start here. These pages take you from nothing to a
server a real MCP host can talk to: [install the SDK](installation.md), build your
[first server](first-server.md), and [open it in the Inspector](inspector.md).

## Run the code

Every code block on these pages is a complete, working file — copy it into
`server.php` next to your `vendor/` directory and run it.

It is worth actually typing (or pasting) and running them: what the SDK does for you
only really shows up in your own editor, where the type hints you write turn into the
schema a model sees.

## Where to go next

Once you have a server running, the rest of these docs are a reference, not a course.
Every page stands on its own, so jump straight to what you need:

* What a server exposes (tools, resources, prompts) is **[Servers](../servers/index.md)**.
* Getting it in front of clients (STDIO, HTTP, an existing framework app) is
  **[Running your server](../run/index.md)**.
* What is available inside the functions you register is
  **[Inside your handler](../handlers/index.md)**.
* Building the other side, an application that *uses* MCP servers, is
  **[Clients](../client/index.md)**.