# ContextForge > An open source registry and proxy that federates MCP, A2A, and REST/gRPC APIs with centralized governance, discovery, and observability. Optimizes Agent & Tool calling, and supports plugins. ![ContextForge Banner](docs/docs/images/contextforge-logo_horizontal_black.png) [![Build Python Package](https://github.com/IBM/mcp-context-forge/actions/workflows/python-package.yml/badge.svg)](https://github.com/IBM/mcp-context-forge/actions/workflows/python-package.yml) [![CodeQL](https://github.com/IBM/mcp-context-forge/actions/workflows/codeql.yml/badge.svg)](https://github.com/IBM/mcp-context-forge/actions/workflows/codeql.yml) [![Bandit Security](https://github.com/IBM/mcp-context-forge/actions/workflows/bandit.yml/badge.svg)](https://github.com/IBM/mcp-context-forge/actions/workflows/bandit.yml) [![Dependency Review](https://github.com/IBM/mcp-context-forge/actions/workflows/dependency-review.yml/badge.svg)](https://github.com/IBM/mcp-context-forge/actions/workflows/dependency-review.yml) [![Tests & Coverage](https://github.com/IBM/mcp-context-forge/actions/workflows/pytest.yml/badge.svg)](https://github.com/IBM/mcp-context-forge/actions/workflows/pytest.yml) [![Lint & Static Analysis](https://github.com/IBM/mcp-context-forge/actions/workflows/lint.yml/badge.svg)](https://github.com/IBM/mcp-context-forge/actions/workflows/lint.yml) [![Deploy to IBM Code Engine](https://github.com/IBM/mcp-context-forge/actions/workflows/ibm-cloud-code-engine.yml/badge.svg)](https://github.com/IBM/mcp-context-forge/actions/workflows/ibm-cloud-code-engine.yml) [![Async](https://img.shields.io/badge/async-await-green.svg)](https://docs.python.org/3/library/asyncio.html) [![License](https://img.shields.io/github/license/ibm/mcp-context-forge)](LICENSE) [![PyPI](https://img.shields.io/pypi/v/mcp-contextforge-gateway)](https://pypi.org/project/mcp-contextforge-gateway/) [![Docker Image](https://img.shields.io/badge/docker-ghcr.io%2Fibm%2Fmcp--context--forge-blue)](https://github.com/ibm/mcp-context-forge/pkgs/container/mcp-context-forge) **ContextForge** is an open source registry and proxy that federates tools, agents, and APIs into one clean endpoint for your AI clients. It provides centralized governance, discovery, and observability across your AI infrastructure: - **Tools Gateway** — MCP, REST, gRPC-to-MCP translation, and TOON compression - **Agent Gateway** — A2A protocol, OpenAI-compatible and Anthropic agent routing - **API Gateway** — Rate limiting, auth, retries, and reverse proxy for REST services - **Plugin Extensibility** — 40+ plugins for additional transports, protocols, and integrations - **Observability** — OpenTelemetry tracing with Phoenix, Jaeger, Zipkin, and other OTLP backends It runs as a fully compliant MCP server, deployable via PyPI or Docker, and scales to multi-cluster environments on Kubernetes with Redis-backed federation and caching. ![ContextForge](https://ibm.github.io/mcp-context-forge/images/mcpgateway.gif) --- ## Table of Contents - [Overview & Goals](#overview--goals) - [Quick Start - PyPI](#quick-start---pypi) - [Quick Start - Containers](#quick-start---containers) - [VS Code Dev Container](#quick-start-vs-code-dev-container) - [Installation](#installation) - [Upgrading](#upgrading) - [Configuration](#configuration) - [Running](#running) - [Cloud Deployment](#cloud-deployment) - [API Reference](#api-reference) - [Testing](#testing) - [Project Structure](#project-structure) - [Development](#development) - [Troubleshooting](#troubleshooting) - [Contributing](#contributing) --- ### 📌 Quick Links | Resource | Description | |----------|-------------| | **[5-Minute Setup](https://github.com/IBM/mcp-context-forge/issues/2503)** | Get started fast — uvx, Docker, Compose, or local dev | | **[Getting Help](https://github.com/IBM/mcp-context-forge/issues/2504)** | Support options, FAQ, community channels | | **[Issue Guide](https://github.com/IBM/mcp-context-forge/issues/2502)** | How to file bugs, request features, contribute | | **[Full Documentation](https://ibm.github.io/mcp-context-forge/)** | Complete guides, tutorials, API reference | --- ## Overview & Goals **ContextForge** is an open source registry and proxy that federates any [Model Context Protocol](https://modelcontextprotocol.io) (MCP) server, A2A server, or REST/gRPC API, providing centralized governance, discovery, and observability. It optimizes agent and tool calling, and supports plugins. See the [project roadmap](https://ibm.github.io/mcp-context-forge/architecture/roadmap/) for more details. It currently supports: * Federation across multiple MCP and REST services * **A2A (Agent-to-Agent) integration** for external AI agents (OpenAI, Anthropic, custom) * **gRPC-to-MCP translation** via automatic reflection-based service discovery * Virtualization of legacy APIs as MCP-compliant tools and servers * Transport over HTTP, JSON-RPC, WebSocket, SSE (with configurable keepalive), stdio and streamable-HTTP * An Admin UI for real-time management, configuration, and log monitoring (with airgapped deployment support) * Built-in auth, retries, and rate-limiting with user-scoped OAuth tokens and unconditional X-Upstream-Authorization header support * **OpenTelemetry observability** with Phoenix, Jaeger, Zipkin, and other OTLP backends * Scalable deployments via Docker or PyPI, Redis-backed caching, and multi-cluster federation ![ContextForge Architecture](https://ibm.github.io/mcp-context-forge/images/mcpgateway.svg) For a list of upcoming features, check out the [ContextForge Roadmap](https://ibm.github.io/mcp-context-forge/architecture/roadmap/) ---

🔌 Gateway Layer with Protocol Flexibility

* Federates any MCP server or REST API * Lets you choose your MCP protocol version (e.g., `2025-06-18`) * Exposes a single, unified interface for diverse backends

🧩 Virtualization of REST/gRPC Services

* Wraps non-MCP services as virtual MCP servers * Registers tools, prompts, and resources with minimal configuration * **gRPC-to-MCP translation** via server reflection protocol * Automatic service discovery and method introspection

🔁 REST-to-MCP Tool Adapter

* Adapts REST APIs into tools with: * Automatic JSON Schema extraction * Support for headers, tokens, and custom auth * Retry, timeout, and rate-limit policies

🧠 Unified Registries

* **Prompts**: Jinja2 templates, multimodal support, rollback/versioning * **Resources**: URI-based access, MIME detection, caching, SSE updates * **Tools**: Native or adapted, with input validation and concurrency controls

📈 Admin UI, Observability & Dev Experience

* Admin UI built with HTMX + Alpine.js * Real-time log viewer with filtering, search, and export capabilities * Auth: Basic, JWT, or custom schemes * Structured logs, health endpoints, metrics * 400+ tests, Makefile targets, live reload, pre-commit hooks

🔍 OpenTelemetry Observability

* **Vendor-agnostic tracing** with OpenTelemetry (OTLP) protocol support * **Multiple backend support**: Phoenix (LLM-focused), Jaeger, Zipkin, Tempo, DataDog, New Relic * **Distributed tracing** across federated gateways and services * **Automatic instrumentation** of tools, prompts, resources, and gateway operations * **LLM-specific metrics**: Token usage, costs, model performance * **Zero-overhead when disabled** with graceful degradation See **[Observability Documentation](https://ibm.github.io/mcp-context-forge/manage/observability/)** for setup guides with Phoenix, Jaeger, and other backends.

--- ## Quick Start - PyPI ContextForge is published on [PyPI](https://pypi.org/project/mcp-contextforge-gateway/) as `mcp-contextforge-gateway`. --- **TLDR;**: (single command using [uv](https://docs.astral.sh/uv/)) ```bash # Quick start with environment variables BASIC_AUTH_PASSWORD=pass \ MCPGATEWAY_UI_ENABLED=true \ MCPGATEWAY_ADMIN_API_ENABLED=true \ PLATFORM_ADMIN_EMAIL=admin@example.com \ PLATFORM_ADMIN_PASSWORD=changeme \ PLATFORM_ADMIN_FULL_NAME="Platform Administrator" \ uvx --from mcp-contextforge-gateway mcpgateway --host 0.0.0.0 --port 4444 # Or better: use the provided .env.example cp .env.example .env # Edit .env to customize your settings uvx --from mcp-contextforge-gateway mcpgateway --host 0.0.0.0 --port 4444 ```

📋 Prerequisites

* **Python ≥ 3.10** (3.11 recommended) * **curl + jq** - only for the last smoke-test step

### 1 - Install & run (copy-paste friendly) ```bash # 1️⃣ Isolated env + install from pypi mkdir mcpgateway && cd mcpgateway python3 -m venv .venv && source .venv/bin/activate pip install --upgrade pip pip install mcp-contextforge-gateway # 2️⃣ Copy and customize the configuration # Download the example environment file curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/IBM/mcp-context-forge/main/.env.example cp .env.example .env # Edit .env to customize your settings (especially passwords!) # Or set environment variables directly: export MCPGATEWAY_UI_ENABLED=true export MCPGATEWAY_ADMIN_API_ENABLED=true export PLATFORM_ADMIN_EMAIL=admin@example.com export PLATFORM_ADMIN_PASSWORD=changeme export PLATFORM_ADMIN_FULL_NAME="Platform Administrator" BASIC_AUTH_PASSWORD=pass JWT_SECRET_KEY=my-test-key \ mcpgateway --host 0.0.0.0 --port 4444 & # admin/pass # 3️⃣ Generate a bearer token & smoke-test the API export MCPGATEWAY_BEARER_TOKEN=$(python3 -m mcpgateway.utils.create_jwt_token \ --username admin@example.com --exp 10080 --secret my-test-key) curl -s -H "Authorization: Bearer $MCPGATEWAY_BEARER_TOKEN" \ http://127.0.0.1:4444/version | jq ```

Windows (PowerShell) quick-start

```powershell # 1️⃣ Isolated env + install from PyPI mkdir mcpgateway ; cd mcpgateway python3 -m venv .venv ; .\.venv\Scripts\Activate.ps1 pip install --upgrade pip pip install mcp-contextforge-gateway # 2️⃣ Copy and customize the configuration # Download the example environment file Invoke-WebRequest -Uri "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/IBM/mcp-context-forge/main/.env.example" -OutFile ".env.example" Copy-Item .env.example .env # Edit .env to customize your settings # Or set environment variables (session-only) $Env:MCPGATEWAY_UI_ENABLED = "true" $Env:MCPGATEWAY_ADMIN_API_ENABLED = "true" # Note: Basic auth for API is disabled by default (API_ALLOW_BASIC_AUTH=false) $Env:JWT_SECRET_KEY = "my-test-key" $Env:PLATFORM_ADMIN_EMAIL = "admin@example.com" $Env:PLATFORM_ADMIN_PASSWORD = "changeme" $Env:PLATFORM_ADMIN_FULL_NAME = "Platform Administrator" # 3️⃣ Launch the gateway mcpgateway.exe --host 0.0.0.0 --port 4444 # Optional: background it # Start-Process -FilePath "mcpgateway.exe" -ArgumentList "--host 0.0.0.0 --port 4444" # 4️⃣ Bearer token and smoke-test $Env:MCPGATEWAY_BEARER_TOKEN = python3 -m mcpgateway.utils.create_jwt_token ` --username admin@example.com --exp 10080 --secret my-test-key curl -s -H "Authorization: Bearer $Env:MCPGATEWAY_BEARER_TOKEN" ` http://127.0.0.1:4444/version | jq ```

⚡ Alternative: uv (faster)

```powershell # 1️⃣ Isolated env + install from PyPI using uv mkdir mcpgateway ; cd mcpgateway uv venv .\.venv\Scripts\activate uv pip install mcp-contextforge-gateway # Continue with steps 2️⃣-4️⃣ above... ```

More configuration

Copy [.env.example](https://github.com/IBM/mcp-context-forge/blob/main/.env.example) to `.env` and tweak any of the settings (or use them as env variables).

🚀 End-to-end demo (register a local MCP server)

```bash # 1️⃣ Spin up the sample GO MCP time server using mcpgateway.translate & docker (replace docker with podman if needed) python3 -m mcpgateway.translate \ --stdio "docker run --rm -i ghcr.io/ibm/fast-time-server:latest -transport=stdio" \ --expose-sse \ --port 8003 # Or using the official mcp-server-git using uvx: pip install uv # to install uvx, if not already installed python3 -m mcpgateway.translate --stdio "uvx mcp-server-git" --expose-sse --port 9000 # Alternative: running the local binary # cd mcp-servers/go/fast-time-server; make build # python3 -m mcpgateway.translate --stdio "./dist/fast-time-server -transport=stdio" --expose-sse --port 8002 # NEW: Expose via multiple protocols simultaneously! python3 -m mcpgateway.translate \ --stdio "uvx mcp-server-git" \ --expose-sse \ --expose-streamable-http \ --port 9000 # Now accessible via both /sse (SSE) and /mcp (streamable HTTP) endpoints # 2️⃣ Register it with the gateway curl -s -X POST -H "Authorization: Bearer $MCPGATEWAY_BEARER_TOKEN" \ -H "Content-Type: application/json" \ -d '{"name":"fast_time","url":"http://localhost:8003/sse"}' \ http://localhost:4444/gateways # 3️⃣ Verify tool catalog curl -s -H "Authorization: Bearer $MCPGATEWAY_BEARER_TOKEN" http://localhost:4444/tools | jq # 4️⃣ Create a *virtual server* bundling those tools. Use the ID of tools from the tool catalog (Step #3) and pass them in the associatedTools list. curl -s -X POST -H "Authorization: Bearer $MCPGATEWAY_BEARER_TOKEN" \ -H "Content-Type: application/json" \ -d '{"server":{"name":"time_server","description":"Fast time tools","associated_tools":[]}}' \ http://localhost:4444/servers | jq # Example curl curl -s -X POST -H "Authorization: Bearer $MCPGATEWAY_BEARER_TOKEN" -H "Content-Type: application/json" -d '{"server":{"name":"time_server","description":"Fast time tools","associated_tools":["6018ca46d32a4ac6b4c054c13a1726a2"]}}' \ http://localhost:4444/servers | jq # 5️⃣ List servers (should now include the UUID of the newly created virtual server) curl -s -H "Authorization: Bearer $MCPGATEWAY_BEARER_TOKEN" http://localhost:4444/servers | jq # 6️⃣ Client HTTP endpoint. Inspect it interactively with the MCP Inspector CLI (or use any MCP client) npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/inspector # Transport Type: Streamable HTTP, URL: http://localhost:4444/servers/UUID_OF_SERVER_1/mcp, Header Name: "Authorization", Bearer Token ```

🖧 Using the stdio wrapper (mcpgateway-wrapper)

```bash export MCP_AUTH="Bearer ${MCPGATEWAY_BEARER_TOKEN}" export MCP_SERVER_URL=http://localhost:4444/servers/UUID_OF_SERVER_1/mcp python3 -m mcpgateway.wrapper # Ctrl-C to exit ``` You can also run it with `uv` or inside Docker/Podman - see the *Containers* section above. In MCP Inspector, define `MCP_AUTH` and `MCP_SERVER_URL` env variables, and select `python3` as the Command, and `-m mcpgateway.wrapper` as Arguments. ```bash echo $PWD/.venv/bin/python3 # Using the Python3 full path ensures you have a working venv export MCP_SERVER_URL='http://localhost:4444/servers/UUID_OF_SERVER_1/mcp' export MCP_AUTH="Bearer ${MCPGATEWAY_BEARER_TOKEN}" npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/inspector ``` or Pass the url and auth as arguments (no need to set environment variables) ```bash npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/inspector command as `python` Arguments as `-m mcpgateway.wrapper --url "http://localhost:4444/servers/UUID_OF_SERVER_1/mcp" --auth "Bearer "` ``` When using a MCP Client such as Claude with stdio: ```json { "mcpServers": { "mcpgateway-wrapper": { "command": "python", "args": ["-m", "mcpgateway.wrapper"], "env": { "MCP_AUTH": "Bearer your-token-here", "MCP_SERVER_URL": "http://localhost:4444/servers/UUID_OF_SERVER_1", "MCP_TOOL_CALL_TIMEOUT": "120" } } } } ```

--- ## Quick Start - Containers Use the official OCI image from GHCR with **Docker** *or* **Podman**. Please note: Currently, arm64 is not supported on production. If you are e.g. running on MacOS with Apple Silicon chips (M1, M2, etc), you can run the containers using Rosetta or install via PyPi instead. ### 🚀 Quick Start - Docker Compose Get a full stack running with PostgreSQL and Redis in under 30 seconds: ```bash # Clone and start the stack git clone https://github.com/IBM/mcp-context-forge.git cd mcp-context-forge # Start with PostgreSQL (recommended for production) docker compose up -d # Check status docker compose ps # View logs docker compose logs -f gateway # Access Admin UI: http://localhost:4444/admin (login with PLATFORM_ADMIN_EMAIL/PASSWORD) # Generate API token docker compose exec gateway python3 -m mcpgateway.utils.create_jwt_token \ --username admin@example.com --exp 10080 --secret my-test-key ``` **What you get:** - 🗄️ **PostgreSQL** - Production-ready database with 36+ tables - 🚀 **ContextForge** - Full-featured gateway with Admin UI - 📊 **Redis** - High-performance caching and session storage - 🔧 **Admin Tools** - pgAdmin, Redis Insight for database management - 🌐 **Nginx Proxy** - Caching reverse proxy (optional) **Enable HTTPS (optional):** ```bash # Start with TLS enabled (auto-generates self-signed certs) make compose-tls # Access via HTTPS: https://localhost:8443/admin # Or bring your own certificates: # Unencrypted key: mkdir -p certs cp your-cert.pem certs/cert.pem && cp your-key.pem certs/key.pem make compose-tls # Passphrase-protected key: mkdir -p certs cp your-cert.pem certs/cert.pem && cp your-encrypted-key.pem certs/key-encrypted.pem echo "KEY_FILE_PASSWORD=your-passphrase" >> .env make compose-tls ``` ### ☸️ Quick Start - Helm (Kubernetes) Deploy to Kubernetes with enterprise-grade features: ```bash # Add Helm repository (when available) # helm repo add mcp-context-forge https://ibm.github.io/mcp-context-forge # helm repo update # For now, use local chart git clone https://github.com/IBM/mcp-context-forge.git cd mcp-context-forge/charts/mcp-stack # Install with PostgreSQL (default) helm install mcp-gateway . \ --set mcpContextForge.secret.PLATFORM_ADMIN_EMAIL=admin@yourcompany.com \ --set mcpContextForge.secret.PLATFORM_ADMIN_PASSWORD=changeme \ --set mcpContextForge.secret.JWT_SECRET_KEY=your-secret-key # Check deployment status kubectl get pods -l app.kubernetes.io/name=mcp-context-forge # Port forward to access Admin UI kubectl port-forward svc/mcp-gateway-mcp-context-forge 4444:80 # Access: http://localhost:4444/admin # Generate API token kubectl exec deployment/mcp-gateway-mcp-context-forge -- \ python3 -m mcpgateway.utils.create_jwt_token \ --username admin@yourcompany.com --exp 10080 --secret your-secret-key ``` > SSRF note: Helm defaults to strict SSRF settings (`SSRF_ALLOW_PRIVATE_NETWORKS=false`). > If you register in-cluster tool URLs (for example fast-time or fast-test services), > allow only your cluster CIDRs via `mcpContextForge.config.SSRF_ALLOWED_NETWORKS` or, > for local-only benchmark setups, temporarily set `SSRF_ALLOW_PRIVATE_NETWORKS=true`. > See `docs/docs/manage/configuration.md#ssrf-protection` and `docs/docs/deployment/helm.md`. **Enterprise Features:** - 🔄 **Auto-scaling** - HPA with CPU/memory targets - 🗄️ **Database Choice** - PostgreSQL (prod), SQLite (dev) - 📊 **Observability** - Prometheus metrics, OpenTelemetry tracing - 🔒 **Security** - RBAC, network policies, secret management - 🚀 **High Availability** - Multi-replica deployments with Redis clustering - 📈 **Monitoring** - Built-in Grafana dashboards and alerting --- ### 🐳 Docker (Single Container) ```bash docker run -d --name mcpgateway \ -p 4444:4444 \ -e MCPGATEWAY_UI_ENABLED=true \ -e MCPGATEWAY_ADMIN_API_ENABLED=true \ -e HOST=0.0.0.0 \ -e JWT_SECRET_KEY=my-test-key \ -e AUTH_REQUIRED=true \ -e PLATFORM_ADMIN_EMAIL=admin@example.com \ -e PLATFORM_ADMIN_PASSWORD=changeme \ -e PLATFORM_ADMIN_FULL_NAME="Platform Administrator" \ -e DATABASE_URL=sqlite:///./mcp.db \ -e SECURE_COOKIES=false \ ghcr.io/ibm/mcp-context-forge:1.0.0-RC-2 # Tail logs and generate API key docker logs -f mcpgateway docker run --rm -it ghcr.io/ibm/mcp-context-forge:1.0.0-RC-2 \ python3 -m mcpgateway.utils.create_jwt_token --username admin@example.com --exp 10080 --secret my-test-key ``` Browse to **[http://localhost:4444/admin](http://localhost:4444/admin)** and login with `PLATFORM_ADMIN_EMAIL` / `PLATFORM_ADMIN_PASSWORD`.

Advanced: Persistent storage, host networking, airgapped

**Persist SQLite database:** ```bash mkdir -p $(pwd)/data && touch $(pwd)/data/mcp.db && chmod 777 $(pwd)/data docker run -d --name mcpgateway --restart unless-stopped \ -p 4444:4444 -v $(pwd)/data:/data \ -e DATABASE_URL=sqlite:////data/mcp.db \ -e MCPGATEWAY_UI_ENABLED=true -e MCPGATEWAY_ADMIN_API_ENABLED=true \ -e HOST=0.0.0.0 -e JWT_SECRET_KEY=my-test-key \ -e PLATFORM_ADMIN_EMAIL=admin@example.com -e PLATFORM_ADMIN_PASSWORD=changeme \ ghcr.io/ibm/mcp-context-forge:1.0.0-RC-2 ``` **Host networking** (access local MCP servers): ```bash docker run -d --name mcpgateway --network=host \ -v $(pwd)/data:/data -e DATABASE_URL=sqlite:////data/mcp.db \ -e MCPGATEWAY_UI_ENABLED=true -e HOST=0.0.0.0 -e PORT=4444 \ ghcr.io/ibm/mcp-context-forge:1.0.0-RC-2 ``` **Airgapped deployment** (no internet): ```bash docker build -f Containerfile.lite -t mcpgateway:airgapped . docker run -d --name mcpgateway -p 4444:4444 \ -e MCPGATEWAY_UI_AIRGAPPED=true -e MCPGATEWAY_UI_ENABLED=true \ -e HOST=0.0.0.0 -e JWT_SECRET_KEY=my-test-key \ mcpgateway:airgapped ```

--- ### 🦭 Podman (rootless-friendly) ```bash podman run -d --name mcpgateway \ -p 4444:4444 -e HOST=0.0.0.0 -e DATABASE_URL=sqlite:///./mcp.db \ ghcr.io/ibm/mcp-context-forge:1.0.0-RC-2 ```

Advanced: Persistent storage, host networking

**Persist SQLite:** ```bash mkdir -p $(pwd)/data && chmod 777 $(pwd)/data podman run -d --name mcpgateway --restart=on-failure \ -p 4444:4444 -v $(pwd)/data:/data \ -e DATABASE_URL=sqlite:////data/mcp.db \ ghcr.io/ibm/mcp-context-forge:1.0.0-RC-2 ``` **Host networking:** ```bash podman run -d --name mcpgateway --network=host \ -v $(pwd)/data:/data -e DATABASE_URL=sqlite:////data/mcp.db \ ghcr.io/ibm/mcp-context-forge:1.0.0-RC-2 ```

---

✏️ Docker/Podman tips

* **.env files** - Put all the `-e FOO=` lines into a file and replace them with `--env-file .env`. See the provided [.env.example](https://github.com/IBM/mcp-context-forge/blob/main/.env.example) for reference. * **Pinned tags** - Use an explicit version (e.g. `1.0.0-RC-2`) instead of `latest` for reproducible builds. * **JWT tokens** - Generate one in the running container: ```bash docker exec mcpgateway python3 -m mcpgateway.utils.create_jwt_token --username admin@example.com --exp 10080 --secret my-test-key ``` * **Upgrades** - Stop, remove, and rerun with the same `-v $(pwd)/data:/data` mount; your DB and config stay intact.

---

🚑 Smoke-test the running container

```bash curl -s -H "Authorization: Bearer $MCPGATEWAY_BEARER_TOKEN" \ http://localhost:4444/health | jq curl -s -H "Authorization: Bearer $MCPGATEWAY_BEARER_TOKEN" \ http://localhost:4444/tools | jq curl -s -H "Authorization: Bearer $MCPGATEWAY_BEARER_TOKEN" \ http://localhost:4444/version | jq ```

---

🖧 Running ContextForge stdio wrapper

The `mcpgateway.wrapper` lets you connect to the gateway over **stdio** while keeping JWT authentication. You should run this from the MCP Client. The example below is just for testing. ```bash # Set environment variables export MCPGATEWAY_BEARER_TOKEN=$(python3 -m mcpgateway.utils.create_jwt_token --username admin@example.com --exp 10080 --secret my-test-key) export MCP_AUTH="Bearer ${MCPGATEWAY_BEARER_TOKEN}" export MCP_SERVER_URL='http://localhost:4444/servers/UUID_OF_SERVER_1/mcp' export MCP_TOOL_CALL_TIMEOUT=120 export MCP_WRAPPER_LOG_LEVEL=DEBUG # or OFF to disable logging docker run --rm -i \ -e MCP_AUTH=$MCP_AUTH \ -e MCP_SERVER_URL=http://host.docker.internal:4444/servers/UUID_OF_SERVER_1/mcp \ -e MCP_TOOL_CALL_TIMEOUT=120 \ -e MCP_WRAPPER_LOG_LEVEL=DEBUG \ ghcr.io/ibm/mcp-context-forge:1.0.0-RC-2 \ python3 -m mcpgateway.wrapper ```

--- ## Quick Start: VS Code Dev Container Clone the repo and open in VS Code—it will detect `.devcontainer` and prompt to **"Reopen in Container"**. The container includes Python 3.11, Docker CLI, and all project dependencies. For detailed setup, workflows, and GitHub Codespaces instructions, see **[Developer Onboarding](https://ibm.github.io/mcp-context-forge/development/developer-onboarding/)**. --- ## Installation ```bash make venv install # create .venv + install deps make serve # gunicorn on :4444 ```

Alternative: UV or pip

```bash # UV (faster) uv venv && source .venv/bin/activate uv pip install -e '.[dev]' # pip python3 -m venv .venv && source .venv/bin/activate pip install -e ".[dev]" ```

PostgreSQL adapter setup

Install the `psycopg` driver for PostgreSQL: ```bash # Install system dependencies first # Debian/Ubuntu: sudo apt-get install libpq-dev # macOS: brew install libpq uv pip install 'psycopg[binary]' # dev (pre-built wheels) # or: uv pip install 'psycopg[c]' # production (requires compiler) ``` Connection URL format: ```bash DATABASE_URL=postgresql+psycopg://user:password@localhost:5432/mcp ``` Quick Postgres container: ```bash docker run --name mcp-postgres \ -e POSTGRES_USER=postgres -e POSTGRES_PASSWORD=mysecretpassword \ -e POSTGRES_DB=mcp -p 5432:5432 -d postgres ```

--- ## Upgrading For upgrade instructions, migration guides, and rollback procedures, see: - **[Upgrade Guide](https://ibm.github.io/mcp-context-forge/manage/upgrade/)** — General upgrade procedures - **[CHANGELOG.md](./CHANGELOG.md)** — Version history and breaking changes - **[MIGRATION-0.7.0.md](./MIGRATION-0.7.0.md)** — Multi-tenancy migration (v0.6.x → v0.7.x) --- ## Configuration > ⚠️ If any required `.env` variable is missing or invalid, the gateway will fail fast at startup with a validation error via Pydantic. Copy the provided [.env.example](https://github.com/IBM/mcp-context-forge/blob/main/.env.example) to `.env` and update the security-sensitive values below. ### 🔐 Required: Change Before Use These variables have insecure defaults and **must be changed** before production deployment: | Variable | Description | Default | Action Required | |----------|-------------|---------|-----------------| | `JWT_SECRET_KEY` | Secret key for signing JWT tokens (32+ chars) | `my-test-key` | Generate with `openssl rand -hex 32` | | `AUTH_ENCRYPTION_SECRET` | Passphrase for encrypting stored credentials | `my-test-salt` | Generate with `openssl rand -hex 32` | | `BASIC_AUTH_USER` | Username for HTTP Basic auth | `admin` | Change for production | | `BASIC_AUTH_PASSWORD` | Password for HTTP Basic auth | `changeme` | Set a strong password | | `PLATFORM_ADMIN_EMAIL` | Email for bootstrap admin user | `admin@example.com` | Use real admin email | | `PLATFORM_ADMIN_PASSWORD` | Password for bootstrap admin user | `changeme` | Set a strong password | | `PLATFORM_ADMIN_FULL_NAME` | Display name for bootstrap admin | `Admin User` | Set admin name | ### 🔒 Security Defaults (Secure by Default) These settings are enabled by default for security—only disable for backward compatibility: | Variable | Description | Default | |----------|-------------|---------| | `REQUIRE_JTI` | Require JTI claim in tokens for revocation support | `true` | | `REQUIRE_TOKEN_EXPIRATION` | Require exp claim in tokens | `true` | | `PUBLIC_REGISTRATION_ENABLED` | Allow public user self-registration | `false` | ### 🛡️ Content Security Content size limits prevent DoS attacks and ensure system stability: | Variable | Description | Default | |----------|-------------|---------| | `CONTENT_MAX_RESOURCE_SIZE` | Maximum resource content size (bytes) | `102400` (100KB) | | `CONTENT_MAX_PROMPT_SIZE` | Maximum prompt template size (bytes) | `10240` (10KB) | **Note:** Size limits apply only to new create/update operations. Existing content is not retroactively validated. ### ⚙️ Project Defaults (Dev Setup) These values differ from code defaults to provide a working local/dev setup: | Variable | Description | Default | |----------|-------------|---------| | `HOST` | Bind address | `0.0.0.0` | | `MCPGATEWAY_UI_ENABLED` | Enable Admin UI dashboard | `true` | | `MCPGATEWAY_ADMIN_API_ENABLED` | Enable Admin API endpoints | `true` | | `DATABASE_URL` | SQLAlchemy connection URL | `sqlite:///./mcp.db` | | `SECURE_COOKIES` | Set `false` for HTTP (non-HTTPS) dev | `true` | ### 📚 Full Configuration Reference For the complete list of 300+ environment variables organized by category (authentication, caching, SSO, observability, etc.), see the **[Configuration Reference](https://ibm.github.io/mcp-context-forge/manage/configuration/)**. --- ## Running ### Quick Reference | Command | Server | Port | Database | Use Case | |---------|--------|------|----------|----------| | `make dev` | Uvicorn | **8000** | SQLite | Development (single instance, auto-reload) | | `make serve` | Gunicorn | **4444** | SQLite | Production single-node (multi-worker) | | `make serve-ssl` | Gunicorn | **4444** | SQLite | Production single-node with HTTPS | | `make compose-up` | Docker Compose + Nginx | **8080** | PostgreSQL + Redis | Full stack (3 replicas, load-balanced) | | `make compose-sso` | Docker Compose + Keycloak | **8080 / 8180** | PostgreSQL + Redis | Local SSO testing (Keycloak profile) | | `make testing-up` | Docker Compose + Nginx | **8080** | PostgreSQL + Redis | Testing environment | ### Development Server (Uvicorn) ```bash make dev # Uvicorn on :8000 with auto-reload and SQLite # or ./run.sh --reload --log debug --workers 2 ``` > `run.sh` is a wrapper around `uvicorn` that loads `.env`, supports reload, and passes arguments to the server. Key flags: | Flag | Purpose | Example | | ---------------- | ---------------- | ------------------ | | `-e, --env FILE` | load env-file | `--env prod.env` | | `-H, --host` | bind address | `--host 127.0.0.1` | | `-p, --port` | listen port | `--port 8080` | | `-w, --workers` | gunicorn workers | `--workers 4` | | `-r, --reload` | auto-reload | `--reload` | ### Production Server (Gunicorn) ```bash make serve # Gunicorn on :4444 with multiple workers make serve-ssl # Gunicorn behind HTTPS on :4444 (uses ./certs) ``` ### Docker Compose (Full Stack) ```bash make compose-up # Start full stack: PostgreSQL, Redis, 3 gateway replicas, Nginx on :8080 make compose-sso # Start SSO stack with Keycloak on :8180 make sso-test-login # Run SSO smoke checks (providers + login URL + test users) make compose-logs # Tail logs from all services make compose-down # Stop the stack ``` ### Manual (Uvicorn) ```bash uvicorn mcpgateway.main:app --host 0.0.0.0 --port 4444 --workers 4 ``` --- ## Cloud Deployment ContextForge can be deployed to any major cloud platform: | Platform | Guide | |----------|-------| | **AWS** | [ECS/EKS Deployment](https://ibm.github.io/mcp-context-forge/deployment/aws/) | | **Azure** | [AKS Deployment](https://ibm.github.io/mcp-context-forge/deployment/azure/) | | **Google Cloud** | [Cloud Run](https://ibm.github.io/mcp-context-forge/deployment/google-cloud-run/) | | **IBM Cloud** | [Code Engine](https://ibm.github.io/mcp-context-forge/deployment/ibm-code-engine/) | | **Kubernetes** | [Helm Charts](https://ibm.github.io/mcp-context-forge/deployment/minikube/) | | **OpenShift** | [OpenShift Deployment](https://ibm.github.io/mcp-context-forge/deployment/openshift/) | For comprehensive deployment guides, see **[Deployment Documentation](https://ibm.github.io/mcp-context-forge/deployment/)**. --- ## API Reference Interactive API documentation is available when the server is running: - **[Swagger UI](http://localhost:4444/docs)** — Try API calls directly in your browser - **[ReDoc](http://localhost:4444/redoc)** — Browse the complete endpoint reference **Quick Authentication:** ```bash # Generate a JWT token export TOKEN=$(python3 -m mcpgateway.utils.create_jwt_token \ --username admin@example.com --exp 10080 --secret my-test-key) # Test API access curl -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" http://localhost:4444/health ``` For comprehensive curl examples covering all endpoints, see the **[API Usage Guide](https://ibm.github.io/mcp-context-forge/manage/api-usage/)**. --- ## Testing ```bash make test # Run unit tests make lint # Run all linters make doctest # Run doctests make coverage # Generate coverage report ``` See [Doctest Coverage Guide](https://ibm.github.io/mcp-context-forge/development/doctest-coverage/) for documentation testing details. --- ## Project Structure ``` mcpgateway/ # Core FastAPI application ├── main.py # Entry point ├── config.py # Pydantic Settings configuration ├── db.py # SQLAlchemy ORM models ├── schemas.py # Pydantic validation schemas ├── services/ # Business logic layer (50+ services) ├── routers/ # HTTP endpoint definitions ├── middleware/ # Cross-cutting concerns └── transports/ # SSE, WebSocket, stdio, streamable HTTP tests/ # Test suite (400+ tests) docs/docs/ # Full documentation (MkDocs) charts/ # Kubernetes/Helm charts plugins/ # Plugin framework and implementations mcp-servers/ # Sample/test MCP servers (see note below) ``` > **Note:** The `mcp-servers/` directory contains **unsupported sample and test servers**, > most originating from community contributions, provided for demonstration and integration > testing purposes only. They generally lack session management, persistent state, > multi-tenancy, authentication, and other production concerns. They do not go through > the same review, testing, and security rigor as the core ContextForge codebase and > **should not be run in production**. > > **Security:** Never run untrusted MCP servers directly on your local filesystem. > Always use a sandbox, container, or microVM (e.g. gVisor, Firecracker) with > restricted capabilities. Exercise caution when registering any remote MCP server, > including servers from public catalogs — perform your own security evaluation > before granting access to your gateway. For complete structure, see [CONTRIBUTING.md](./CONTRIBUTING.md) or run `tree -L 2`. --- ## Development ```bash make dev # Dev server with auto-reload (:8000) make test # Run test suite make lint # Run all linters make coverage # Generate coverage report ``` Run `make` to see all 75+ available targets. For development workflows, see: - **[Developer Workstation Setup](https://ibm.github.io/mcp-context-forge/development/developer-workstation/)** - **[Building & Packaging](https://ibm.github.io/mcp-context-forge/development/building/)** --- ## Troubleshooting Common issues and solutions: | Issue | Quick Fix | |-------|-----------| | SQLite "disk I/O error" on macOS | Avoid iCloud-synced directories; use `~/mcp-context-forge/data` | | Port 4444 not accessible on WSL2 | Configure WSL integration in Docker Desktop | | Gateway exits immediately | Copy `.env.example` to `.env` and configure required vars | | `ModuleNotFoundError` | Run `make install-dev` | For detailed troubleshooting guides, see **[Troubleshooting Documentation](https://ibm.github.io/mcp-context-forge/manage/troubleshooting/)**. --- ## Contributing 1. Fork the repo, create a feature branch. 2. Run `make lint` and fix any issues. 3. Keep `make test` green. 4. Open a PR with signed commits (`git commit -s`). See **[CONTRIBUTING.md](CONTRIBUTING.md)** for full guidelines and **[Issue Guide #2502](https://github.com/IBM/mcp-context-forge/issues/2502)** for how to file bugs, request features, and find issues to work on. --- ## Changelog A complete changelog can be found here: [CHANGELOG.md](./CHANGELOG.md) ## License Licensed under the **Apache License 2.0** - see [LICENSE](./LICENSE) ## Core Authors and Maintainers - [Mihai Criveti](https://www.linkedin.com/in/crivetimihai) - Distinguished Engineer, Agentic AI Special thanks to our contributors for helping us improve ContextForge:

Contributors to the mcp-context-forge repository

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Mcp Context Forge

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Mcp Context Forge

Install