diff --git a/clikernel/base.py b/clikernel/base.py
index 0d92df7..fab4a90 100644
--- a/clikernel/base.py
+++ b/clikernel/base.py
@@ -223,7 +223,8 @@ def _shutdown(signum, frame):
 
 
 async def _serve(w, name, docs, instructions=None, eager=False):
-    from mcp.server.fastmcp import FastMCP
+    try: from mcp.server.mcpserver import MCPServer as FastMCP  # mcp>=2 renamed FastMCP
+    except ImportError: from mcp.server.fastmcp import FastMCP  # mcp 1.x
     # When `eager`, start the worker before building the server so its banner (including startup output) is
     # forwarded as the `instructions` field -- read once, at initialize; a later restart won't refresh what the
     # client sees. Otherwise the worker stays unlaunched until first use and `instructions` is the static text.
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index 68b7199..e4a0b2d 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ dependencies = [
   "ipython>=9.15.0",
   "execnb>=0.2.9",
   "fastcore",
-  "mcp",
+  "mcp>=1.2",
 ]
 
 [project.optional-dependencies]