Model Context Protocol specialists
Deep skills without product context tend to produce fragile integrations. The specialist work has to connect to real user flows.
Specialist features sit behind clear interfaces, so your core product stays stable while new capability gets added.
We work best with teams adopting agentic AI tooling who want a partner that ships. Custom MCP servers that connect AI agents to your tools, data, and workflows.
What you get
- Custom MCP server development
- Tool-calling integrations
- Secure agent access patterns
- Cursor and Claude-ready tooling
- One studio accountable for the result
- Design and engineering on the same schedule
- Support available after launch
How engagement works
As your MCP developer, we run a shared backlog, design reviews, and engineering sprints, and you keep one point of contact throughout.
- 01
Discover
Goals, constraints, data sources, and success metrics, all settled before we touch architecture or prompts. The work for teams in Chicago stays tied to the outcome you asked for.
- 02
Design
System design, AI/tool boundaries, interface direction, and interaction prototypes. You see progress on the critical path every week.
- 03
Build
Modern stack, clean architecture, evaluated AI behavior, and iterative demos you can react to. Nothing here waits on a handover between separate teams.
- 04
Launch
Ship, monitor, harden, and keep improving models, tools, and product after go-live. On MCP development projects we favour practical architecture over trendy defaults.
How we build it, and why
The stack is chosen per project, not applied from a template. For MCP developer work these are the defaults, and the reason each one is on the list.
- MCP
- the Model Context Protocol, so your tools plug into Claude, Cursor, and other agent clients without a custom adapter for each
- TypeScript
- types across the whole stack, which catches the class of bug that only shows up in production
- Node.js
- one language across the stack, so context does not get lost at the boundary
- Claude
- long-context reasoning and reliable tool calling for agent work
- OpenAI
- a second model provider, so a single vendor's outage or price change is not your problem
What the first weeks look like
- Week 1
Spike the risky part
We build the thinnest possible version of custom mcp server development against your real data. If it is going to be a problem, it is better to know in week one than week six.
- Weeks 2-3
Harden the integration
Auth, rate limits, error paths, and the data contract. This is the work that separates a demo from something you can leave running.
- Weeks 4-6
Wire it into the product
The MCP development stops being a standalone service and becomes a feature people use, with the interface and permissions that implies.
- Ongoing
Evaluate and tune
Behaviour gets measured against cases you care about, and we tune from that rather than from impressions.
Weighing up your options
There are three realistic ways to get this built. Each is the right answer for someone.
A solo freelancer
Cheapest per hour and fine for a contained task. The risk on MCP development is breadth — one person covering design, backend, infrastructure, and launch usually means one of them is weak, and there is no cover when they are unavailable.
A local agency in Chicago
Same timezone and a face to meet, which genuinely matters for some teams. You are also paying Chicago enterprises hiring for dependable full-stack delivery. rates for the whole team including the layers that never touch your MCP development, and a local shortlist is a small shortlist.
Arcode
A small senior team. The people who scope the MCP development write the code, you get weekly demos instead of status decks, and the engagement ends when the thing is live and handed over.
Work we have shipped
Note Assist
AI product · Next.js · Speech
AI meeting assistant with live speech-to-text, ChatGPT chat, and Firebase auth for transcription workflows.
Freelance AI product built with Next.js, Firebase, AssemblyAI, and ChatGPT for live meeting transcription and realtime chat around the transcript.
- · Live speech-to-text transcription
- · Realtime chat over meeting notes
- · Firebase authentication
- · AI-assisted follow-up on transcripts
Next.js · Firebase · AssemblyAI · ChatGPT · TypeScript
StudioX Localization
Frontend · i18n
UI polish and language translation pages for the StudioX product experience.
Contract contribution implementing UI fixes and localization pages with Next.js, React, and Tailwind to improve accessibility and multi-language use.
- · Language translation pages
- · UI accessibility fixes
- · Next.js page delivery
- · Clearer multi-language UX
Next.js · React · Tailwind
React Email Templates
Email systems · Resend
Reusable React Email templates sent through Resend for production transactional mail.
Freelance email kit using React Email, Resend, TypeScript, and Tailwind to create and send branded emails from a React app.
- · Reusable email templates
- · Resend delivery integration
- · TypeScript-safe composition
- · Tailwind-styled layouts
React Email · Resend · TypeScript · Tailwind
Working with teams in Chicago
Chicago enterprises hiring for dependable full-stack delivery. We work with clients in Chicago remotely and keep overlapping hours in CST/CDT. We usually collaborate in English.
How we work with Chicago teams
Chicago is ten to eleven hours behind us, so our late afternoon is your morning. That is enough for a daily sync window, with the rest handled in writing so nobody waits on a call to get unblocked.
What Chicago clients usually need
Chicago work leans towards established companies rather than early-stage startups: logistics, insurance, trading-adjacent tooling, and internal platforms that need rebuilding without disrupting the business running on them.
Contracts, data, and compliance
Migrations here usually need a parallel-running period and a rollback plan rather than a cutover date. We invoice in USD under US contractor agreements with IP assignment, and scope SOC 2 evidence in where procurement asks for it.
