Model Context Protocol: Advanced Topics
by Anthropic
Anthropic's free follow-up MCP course on sampling, notifications, roots, and the STDIO and StreamableHTTP transports you need in production.
Overview
Model Context Protocol: Advanced Topics is Anthropic Academy's follow-up to its introductory MCP course. It is free on Anthropic's Skilljar site and also listed on Coursera, where it has 3 modules, about 3 hours of content, an Intermediate/Advanced level, 5 AI-graded assignments, a 4.6/5 rating from 10 reviews and 3,744 enrolled learners (Coursera page, checked September 2026). The curriculum has three sections. Core MCP Features covers sampling, which lets a server ask the connected client's model for a completion so the client pays for the model call; log and progress notifications for long-running tools; and roots, the permission system that limits which files a server may touch. Each has a code walkthrough. Transports and Communication explains MCP's JSON message types, the STDIO transport, and the StreamableHTTP transport in depth, including how state is handled with StreamableHTTP. That section matters for anyone moving a local server to a remote deployment. Assessment and Next Steps ends with a graded assessment on MCP concepts. The stated prerequisites are Python development with async programming, familiarity with JSON message formats and HTTP, and basic knowledge of Server-Sent Events. Completing the course earns a certificate. Anthropic created MCP, so this is first-party training on the protocol's less-documented parts.
At a Glance
- Topic
- MCP
- Level
- Intermediate
- Format
- Course
- Cost
- Free
- Duration
- ~3 hours, self-paced (3 modules)
- Provider
- Anthropic
- Hands-on
- Yes — code/exercises
- Certificate
- Available
What You’ll Learn
- ✓Use MCP sampling so a server can request completions from the client's model
- ✓Emit log messages and progress notifications from long-running MCP tools
- ✓Restrict server file-system access safely using the MCP roots permission system
- ✓Read and reason about the JSON-RPC message types exchanged between MCP clients and servers
- ✓Choose between the STDIO and StreamableHTTP transports for local versus remote deployment
- ✓Manage session state correctly when running MCP servers over the StreamableHTTP transport
Highlights
- •First-party course from Anthropic, the company that created the Model Context Protocol
- •Covers the less-documented parts of MCP (sampling, roots, notifications, transport state) rather than another hello-world server
- •Code walkthrough for each core feature plus a graded assessment and certificate
- •Free and short (~3 hours); rated 4.6/5 by 10 reviewers with 3,744 learners on Coursera as of September 2026
Who It’s For
Best For
- ✓Developers who have built a basic MCP server and need production features
- ✓Platform engineers moving local STDIO MCP servers to remote StreamableHTTP deployments
- ✓Agent builders who want tools that report progress and respect file-system boundaries
Prerequisites
- •Python development experience including async programming
- •Familiarity with JSON message formats, HTTP, and basic Server-Sent Events
- •Anthropic's Introduction to Model Context Protocol course or equivalent hands-on MCP experience
FAQ
What is Model Context Protocol: Advanced Topics?
Model Context Protocol: Advanced Topics is a free Anthropic Academy course for developers who already build MCP servers and clients and need to take them to production. It covers sampling, logging and progress notifications, roots-based file access control, and the JSON message types and transports (STDIO, StreamableHTTP) behind the protocol, with code walkthroughs.
Is Model Context Protocol: Advanced Topics free?
Model Context Protocol: Advanced Topics is free to access.
What level is Model Context Protocol: Advanced Topics for?
Model Context Protocol: Advanced Topics is aimed at a intermediate audience. Recommended background: Python development experience including async programming, Familiarity with JSON message formats, HTTP, and basic Server-Sent Events, Anthropic's Introduction to Model Context Protocol course or equivalent hands-on MCP experience.
How long does Model Context Protocol: Advanced Topics take?
Expect roughly ~3 hours, self-paced (3 modules). Most learners work through it at their own pace.
What will I learn from Model Context Protocol: Advanced Topics?
You'll learn: Use MCP sampling so a server can request completions from the client's model; Emit log messages and progress notifications from long-running MCP tools; Restrict server file-system access safely using the MCP roots permission system; Read and reason about the JSON-RPC message types exchanged between MCP clients and servers; Choose between the STDIO and StreamableHTTP transports for local versus remote deployment; Manage session state correctly when running MCP servers over the StreamableHTTP transport.
Topics
Sources
This page was written from 2 sources, 1 on domains other than anthropic.skilljar.com.