TypeScript-based MCP Currency Converter

A currency converter created with Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers using the v2 TypeScript SDK (@modelcontextprotocol/server and @modelcontextprotocol/node). This server exposes currency conversion as an MCP tool and resource, allowing LLMs or clients to convert between currencies or list supported currencies via MCP.

pnpm add @alcorme/mcp-currency-converter

Features

• MCP-compliant server using @modelcontextprotocol/server v2 (stateless, no session handshake)
• Transport Support: Stdio, Streamable HTTP, and managed AWS Lambda (Serverless Framework v4)
• 4 Tools:
  • convert-currency — convert an amount between two currencies
  • get-exchange-rate — fetch the raw exchange rate for a currency pair
  • convert-batch — convert an amount to multiple currencies in one call
  • compare-rates — compare a currency pair across multiple dates
• Currency Conversion: Real-time exchange rates or historical exchange rates
• Rate Caching: Exchange rates cached in-memory (5-minute TTL) to reduce API calls
• Locale-aware Formatting: Intl.NumberFormat for amounts and rates
• Resource Management: List supported currencies via resources
• Prompt Capability: Interactive prompts for dynamic input
• Unit Testing: Vitest powered unit testing
• Type Safety: Built with TypeScript
• Package Management: Uses pnpm for efficient dependency management

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Example queries

• Convert 1 USD to EUR
• Convert 1 USD to EUR on 12 August 2025
• What is the exchange rate for USD to EUR?
• Convert 100 USD to EUR, GBP, and JPY
• Compare USD to EUR rates for 10 Aug, 11 Aug, and 12 Aug 2025

Tool usage

Each tool takes a JSON object. date is optional — when omitted, empty, or whitespace, the latest rate is used. Currency codes are case-insensitive (normalized to uppercase).

convert-currency

{ "fromCurrency": "USD", "toCurrency": "EUR", "amount": 100 }
{ "fromCurrency": "USD", "toCurrency": "EUR", "amount": 100, "date": "12-08-2025" }

get-exchange-rate

{ "fromCurrency": "USD", "toCurrency": "EUR" }
{ "fromCurrency": "USD", "toCurrency": "EUR", "date": "12-08-2025" }

convert-batch

toCurrencies is a comma-separated string:

{ "fromCurrency": "USD", "amount": 100, "toCurrencies": "EUR, GBP, JPY" }

compare-rates

dates is a comma-separated string:

{ "fromCurrency": "USD", "toCurrency": "EUR", "dates": "10-08-2025, 11-08-2025, 12-08-2025" }

Prerequisites

• Node.js >=24
• API key from https://freecurrencyapi.com
• pnpm

Development

# Clone repository
$ git clone git@github.com:dilumdarshana/mcp-currency-converter.git

# Use the correct Node.js version
$ nvm use

# Create .env file from .env_sample with your API key
$ cp .env_sample .env

# Install dependencies
$ pnpm install

# Watch mode (no rebuild needed)
$ pnpm build:dev

# Build for production
$ pnpm build

# Run tests
$ pnpm test

# Test with MCP Inspector (stdio)
$ pnpm inspector

# Test with MCP Inspector (http, starts server on :3000 automatically)
$ pnpm inspector-http

Integrate with Claude Desktop

Add to your Claude Desktop configuration (claude_desktop_config.json):

Using a local build,

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "currency-converter": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/path/to/mcp-currency-converter/dist/index.js"],
      "env": {
        "TRANSPORT": "stdio",
        "PORT": "3000",
        "FREE_CURRENCY_API_KEY": "xxxxx"
      }
    }
  }
}

Using the npm module (no local build needed),

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "currency-converter": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@alcorme/mcp-currency-converter"],
      "env": {
        "TRANSPORT": "stdio",
        "PORT": "3000",
        "FREE_CURRENCY_API_KEY": "xxxxx"
      }
    }
  }
}

Integrate with VS Code GitHub Copilot

Edit VS Code's mcp.json (.vscode/mcp.json in your project or the global User mcp.json):

Using stdio (local build),

{
  "servers": {
    "currency-converter": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/path/to/mcp-currency-converter/dist/index.js"],
      "env": {
        "TRANSPORT": "stdio",
        "PORT": "3000",
        "FREE_CURRENCY_API_KEY": "xxxxx"
      }
    }
  }
}

Using npm module,

{
  "servers": {
    "currency-converter": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@alcorme/mcp-currency-converter"],
      "env": {
        "TRANSPORT": "stdio",
        "FREE_CURRENCY_API_KEY": "xxxxx"
      }
    }
  }
}

Using HTTP transport (works well with VS Code Copilot Agent),

{
  "servers": {
    "currency-converter": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "http://localhost:3000/mcp",
      "env": {
        "TRANSPORT": "http",
        "FREE_CURRENCY_API_KEY": "xxxxx"
      }
    }
  }
}

Integrate with OpenCode

OpenCode uses its own MCP server configuration. Add to your opencode.json or .opencode.json:

Using a local build,

{
  "mcp": {
    "currency-converter": {
      "type": "local",
      "command": ["node", "/path/to/mcp-currency-converter/dist/index.js"],
      "environment": {
        "TRANSPORT": "stdio",
        "PORT": "3000",
        "FREE_CURRENCY_API_KEY": "xxxxx"
      }
    }
  }
}

Using the npm module,

{
  "mcp": {
    "currency-converter": {
      "type": "local",
      "command": ["npx", "-y", "@alcorme/mcp-currency-converter"],
      "environment": {
        "TRANSPORT": "stdio",
        "PORT": "3000",
        "FREE_CURRENCY_API_KEY": "xxxxx"
      }
    }
  }
}

Deploy to AWS (Serverless Framework)

The server can be deployed as a managed MCP server on AWS Lambda using the Serverless Framework v4's native mcp: property. The Framework owns the REST endpoint, response streaming, packaging, and the Lambda entry that bridges its streaming runtime to the server's web-standard fetch handler.

The Lambda entry is src/serverless.ts, esbuild-bundled into a self-contained dist/serverless.mjs by pnpm build, and declared in the root serverless.yml:

provider:
  name: aws
  region: ${env:AWS_REGION, 'us-west-2'}
  stage: ${opt:stage, 'prod'}
  runtime: nodejs24.x
  endpointType: REGIONAL

mcp:
  servers:
    currency-converter:
      server: dist/serverless.mjs
      timeout: 30
      environment:
        FREE_CURRENCY_API_KEY: ${env:FREE_CURRENCY_API_KEY}

Because the entry is bundled, node_modules is excluded from the Lambda package (package.patterns: ['!node_modules/**']), keeping the upload at ~1 MB.

The endpoint is public (no authorizer) and served at:

https://<api-id>.execute-api.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/prod/currency-converter/mcp

Prerequisites

• Node.js >= 24 and pnpm
• A serverless.com account with an access key (app.serverless.com → Access Keys). Serverless Framework v4 requires this for every command.
• An AWS account with an IAM role that GitHub Actions can assume via OIDC to deploy CloudFormation stacks.
• GitHub repository secrets (Settings → Secrets and variables → Actions):
  • AWS_DEPLOY_ROLE_ARN — ARN of the OIDC IAM role
  • SERVERLESS_ACCESS_KEY — serverless.com access key
  • FREE_CURRENCY_API_KEY — freecurrencyapi.com API key

One-time AWS setup (OIDC)

1. Create the GitHub OIDC provider (once per account):

   aws iam create-open-id-connect-provider \
     --url https://token.actions.githubusercontent.com \
     --client-id-list sts.amazonaws.com \
     --thumbprint-list 6938fd4d98bab03faadb97b34396831e3780aea1
   

2. Create an IAM role (e.g. github_cicd_admin) with this trust policy:

   {
     "Version": "2012-10-17",
     "Statement": [
       {
         "Effect": "Allow",
         "Principal": {
           "Federated": "arn:aws:iam::<ACCOUNT_ID>:oidc-provider/token.actions.githubusercontent.com"
         },
         "Action": "sts:AssumeRoleWithWebIdentity",
         "Condition": {
           "StringEquals": {
             "token.actions.githubusercontent.com:aud": "sts.amazonaws.com"
           },
           "StringLike": {
             "token.actions.githubusercontent.com:sub": "repo:<OWNER>/<REPO>:ref:refs/heads/*"
           }
         }
       }
     ]
   }
   

3. Attach a permissions policy allowing the role to deploy Serverless Framework stacks (CloudFormation, S3, Lambda, API Gateway, IAM, CloudWatch Logs, etc.) and set the role ARN as the AWS_DEPLOY_ROLE_ARN secret.

Deploy from your machine

$ pnpm build
$ SERVERLESS_ACCESS_KEY=xxx FREE_CURRENCY_API_KEY=xxx npx serverless@4 deploy

The stack deploys to us-west-2 by default (override with AWS_REGION). The endpoint is printed at the end of the deploy.

Deploy from GitHub Actions (CI/CD)

Pushes to master that touch serverless.yml, src/**, or the dependency manifests trigger .github/workflows/deploy-aws.yml. The workflow:

1. Assumes the OIDC role (AWS_DEPLOY_ROLE_ARN) for AWS credentials
2. Installs dependencies, builds (pnpm build), and runs tests (pnpm test)
3. Deploys with npx serverless@4 deploy using SERVERLESS_ACCESS_KEY and FREE_CURRENCY_API_KEY

The workflow pins AWS_REGION: us-west-2 so CI and local deploys target the same stack.

Verify the deployment

$ curl -s -X POST "https://<api-id>.execute-api.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/prod/currency-converter/mcp" \
    -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
    -H "Accept: application/json, text/event-stream" \
    -d '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"method":"tools/list"}'

Remove the deployment

$ npx serverless@4 remove

This deletes the CloudFormation stack (Lambda, API Gateway, etc.). The Serverless Framework deployment S3 bucket is left behind and can be deleted manually.

License

ISC License

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Resources

• MCP Specification
• MCP SDK Documentation
• Claude Desktop Integration