Gateway MCP Server

MCP Gateway solves a critical compatibility issue between Claude Desktop and HTTP/SSE-based Model Context Protocol servers. Claude Desktop currently only supports stdio-based MCP servers, while many MCP implementations use HTTP with Server-Sent Events (SSE) transport. This gateway acts as a protocol translator, enabling seamless communication between these different implementations. By installing MCP Gateway, Claude Desktop users can access a wide range of HTTP/SSE MCP servers without waiting for native support. The gateway handles all the protocol conversion transparently, accepting stdio input from Claude Desktop, converting and forwarding requests to HTTP/SSE MCP servers, and converting SSE responses back to stdio format.

Overview

MCP Gateway bridges the protocol gap between Claude Desktop (which only supports stdio-based MCP servers) and HTTP/SSE-based MCP implementations. This allows Claude Desktop users to access a wider range of MCP services.

Installation

Install the gateway globally using npm:

npm install -g @mcphub/gateway

Find the installation path:

# View the root directory of global packages
npm root -g

# The gateway will be at:
<npm_global_root>/@mcphub/gateway/dist/src/mcphub-gateway.js

Common installation locations:

macOS (Homebrew Node): /opt/homebrew/lib/node_modules/@mcphub/gateway/dist/src/mcphub-gateway.js
macOS (default): /usr/local/lib/node_modules/@mcphub/gateway/dist/src/mcphub-gateway.js
Windows: %AppData%\npm\node_modules\@mcphub\gateway\dist\src\mcphub-gateway.js

You can verify the installation and path with:

npm list -g @mcphub/gateway

Configuration

Claude Desktop Setup

Locate your Claude Desktop configuration file:
- macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude Desktop/config.json
- Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude Desktop\config.json
Add the gateway configuration (replace the path with your actual installation path):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mcp-gateway": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/path/to/node_modules/@mcphub/gateway/dist/src/mcphub-gateway.js"]
    }
  }
}

MCP Server Connection

By default, the gateway connects to the MCP Hub server at https://server.mcphub.ai/api/mcp. To connect to a different MCP server, set the MCP_SERVER_URL environment variable:

export MCP_SERVER_URL=https://your-mcp-server.com/api/mcp

Usage

Start or restart Claude Desktop after completing the configuration.
The gateway will automatically translate between the stdio protocol used by Claude Desktop and the HTTP/SSE protocol used by the target MCP server.

Troubleshooting

If you encounter issues:

Verify your Node.js installation:

node --version
npm --version

Check that the gateway is properly installed:

npm list -g @mcphub/gateway

For permission errors during installation, you may need to use sudo.
On macOS with Homebrew, ensure Node.js is properly linked:

brew doctor
brew link node

Check the Claude Desktop logs for any error messages related to the MCP server connection.

If problems persist, file an issue on the GitHub repository.