Why MCP matters for edtech​

A lot of new study software isn't a traditional app at all — it's an agent. A chat tutor, an IDE-style "explain this" assistant, a WhatsApp study buddy. Those agents are only as good as the tools they can reach.

The problem with most AI tutors is the same one we've always had: when an LLM invents exam questions, students practise on material that won't appear and sometimes isn't even correct. MCP fixes the plumbing; MirrorMingo fixes the content. Together, the agent stops guessing and starts pulling real past papers, then marks the student against the verified answer key.

What is MCP, briefly​

The Model Context Protocol is an open standard for connecting AI assistants to tools and data. A "server" exposes tools; a "client" (Claude Desktop, Cursor, Claude Code, …) lets the model call them. MirrorMingo ships an MCP server, so any of those clients can use our exam tools with zero glue code.

Setup​

pip install mirrormingo
export MIRRORMINGO_API_KEY=mirrormingo_xxx   # from Account → Developer

Add it to Claude Desktop's claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mirrormingo": {
      "command": "mirrormingo-mcp",
      "env": { "MIRRORMINGO_API_KEY": "mirrormingo_xxx" }
    }
  }
}

Restart Claude Desktop. That's the whole integration.

Use it​

You: Use MirrorMingo to give me 5 real JAMB Physics questions, one at a time. Mark each answer and explain what I get wrong.

Behind the scenes the agent calls list_mock_papers to find a Physics paper, open_mock_paper to pull real questions, and submit_mock_attempt to score your answers — all against verified content, none of it invented.

The tools​

Safe by design​

The MCP server is a thin layer over the same public API as our SDKs. It uses your API key, so it inherits the same authentication and rate limits — an agent can never reach beyond what your key allows. And because it's the same contract, your MCP tutor and your REST-based app stay perfectly in sync.

SDK or MCP — which?​

Both, usually. Use the SDKs for deterministic app logic (a timed exam UI, a nightly sync job). Use the MCP server when an LLM should decide when to fetch questions and how to coach. Same content underneath.

Get an API key →

Why we built it​

Every team building a study app in Nigeria — and across Africa — hits the same wall. The questions.

Authentic past papers are scattered across PDFs, photocopies and link-rot. Re-keying them is slow and error-prone, and the tempting shortcut — asking an LLM to "generate JAMB questions" — produces plausible nonsense that quietly teaches students the wrong things.

We spent years assembling and verifying this content against official exam-board sources. Our one rule has never changed: we never fabricate a question. Now you can build on that same foundation instead of rebuilding it.

What you get​

• An exam registry — supported exams with official section specs, timing, question types and scoring rubrics.
• Verified past papers — grouped by year, each with a stable paper_id.
• A mock-exam engine — open a paper into a timed attempt, page through questions, submit answers, get scored feedback.
• Verified source links — official exam-board and past-question references.

Hello, world​

import { MirrorMingo } from "@mirrormingo/sdk";

const mm = new MirrorMingo({ apiKey: process.env.MIRRORMINGO_API_KEY });

const catalog = await mm.mockExams.listPapers("jamb");
const attempt = await mm.mockExams.open("jamb", {
  paperId: catalog.years[0].papers[0].paper_id,
  questionLimit: 10,
});

const result = await mm.mockExams.submit("jamb", {
  attemptId: attempt.attempt_id,
  answers: { "1": "C", "2": "A", "3": "D" },
});
console.log(result.feedback);

Six SDKs, one source of truth​

We ship official SDKs for TypeScript/Node, Python, Java, PHP, Go and Dart. All six are generated from a single OpenAPI spec, so they never drift from the API. The TypeScript SDK is hand-crafted for the DX we wanted across our own apps.

Built for the agent era too​

Because so much new learning software is being built by AI agents, we also ship a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server. Point Claude Desktop, Cursor or your own agent at it and it can pull real JAMB questions and mark answers — no glue code. More on that in the next post.

Pricing & access​

Start free in the sandbox with non-billable test keys. Production keys are metered per request with a generous free tier. Create your first key at Account → Developer.

Get started​

• Quickstart
• Integration guide
• API reference

We can't wait to see what you build. Tell us at developers@mirrormingo.com.