LLMs, Vespa, and a side of Summer Debugging

During their summer internship at Vespa.ai, developers Erling Fjelstad and Edvard Wekre Dingsør embarked on a project to integrate a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server within the Vespa container, enhancing its interaction capabilities with large language models (LLMs). The MCP server, developed using both Python and Java, facilitates the querying of Vespa applications via natural language and supports tools for retrieving schema information, executing queries, and searching documentation. Initially created as a standalone server, the MCP server was later integrated into the Vespa container, requiring significant adaptation to Vespa's architecture and a deep dive into both the MCP SDK and Vespa engine codebase. The project not only provided practical experience in managing complex systems and evolving technologies but also highlighted the importance of agile development and collaboration in a tech startup environment. Despite challenges, the internship offered valuable lessons in innovation and teamwork, culminating in a fully functional tool that simplifies interactions with Vespa applications using natural language.