Stop Manually Posting: How I Automate DEV.to Articles with Model Context Protocol (MCP)

Want to automate your DEV.to publishing process by writing and publishing articles with AI? This article was posted using the very system I'm about to share! Discover how Model Context Protocol (MCP) can revolutionize your workflow.

What is Model Context Protocol (MCP) and Why Should I Care?

Model Context Protocol (MCP) empowers AI to interact directly with your code and APIs. Think of it as giving your AI the ability to do things, not just talk about them. This opens exciting possibilities for automation and more. MCP unlocks a new level of efficiency and allows you to focus on higher-level tasks.

Building a DEV.to Auto-Publisher with MCP: My Simple System

I'll walk you through the steps I took to build a simple yet effective system that allows AI to publish articles directly to DEV.to. Model Context Protocol simplifies the process, making it more accessible than you might think. I will share all the essentials for getting yours to work.

Step 1: Setting Up Your MCP Server – Your Mission Control

First, you'll need to set up your MCP server. Think of this as your project's central command center. This small snippet of code gets you started:

import { McpServer} from " @modelcontextprotocol/sdk/server/mcp.js "; 
const server = new McpServer ({ 
 name: " Demo ", 
 version: " 1.0.0 " 
});

This initializes the server and prepares it to handle your publishing tasks using MCP.

Step 2: Defining the "Publish Article" Tool

This is where the magic begins. We create a tool for handling article posting:

server. tool ( 
 " publish-devto-article ", 
 { 
 title: z. string (). min ( 5). max ( 150), 
 content: z. string (). min ( 100), 
 description: z. string (). max ( 150). optional (), 
 tags: z. array ( z. string (). max ( 25)). max ( 4) 
}, 
 async ({ title, content, description, tags}) => { 
 // Magic happens here! 
} 
);

This code defines the inputs (title, content, description, tags) the AI needs to publish a DEV.to article using Model Context Protocol. The validation ensures your article meets DEV.to's requirements.

Step 3: Communicating with DEV.to's API

The postArticle function handles sending your article data to DEV.to:

async function postArticle ( title, body, description, tags) { 
 const response = await fetch ( " https://dev.to/api/articles ", { 
 method: " POST ", 
 headers: { 
 " api-key ": " YOUR_API_KEY ", 
 " Content-Type ": " application/json ", 
}, 
 body: JSON. stringify ({ 
 article: { 
 title, 
 body_markdown: body, 
 published: true, 
 description, 
 tags 
} 
}) 
}); 
}

Important: Replace "YOUR_API_KEY" with your actual DEV.to API key for this to function.

Why This MCP-Powered System is Awesome

• AI-Powered Publishing: Let AI write and publish articles with minimal human intervention.
• Built-in Validation: Ensure your articles meet DEV.to's standards.
• Smooth Error Handling: Keep your publishing process running smoothly.
• Extensible Architecture: Easily add more features and integrations.

The Meta Moment: Proof in the Pudding

Here's where it gets really interesting – this very article was published using this MCP-powered system!

Ready to Automate? Here’s What You Need:

• The MCP SDK
• A DEV.to API key
• Basic TypeScript knowledge
• A can-do attitude!

The Future is Automated: Time to Embrace MCP

AI is now actively writing and publishing content about how it works. Automating your DEV.to article publications will free up your time and energy. It’s time to explore the possibilities of Model Context Protocol.

P.S. Yes, I really did publish this article through MCP. How meta is that? 😎 Happy coding!