mcpo Documentation

Technical Documentation: open-webui/mcpo

ℹ️ Provenance: Multi-Tier Ingestion · CodeWiki Reference

Overview (`README.md`) Copy Section

⚡️ mcpo

Expose any MCP tool as an OpenAPI-compatible HTTP server—instantly.

mcpo is a dead-simple proxy that takes an MCP server command and makes it accessible via standard RESTful OpenAPI, so your tools "just work" with LLM agents and apps expecting OpenAPI servers.

No custom protocol. No glue code. No hassle.

🤔 Why Use mcpo Instead of Native MCP? Copy Chapter

MCP servers usually speak over raw stdio, which is:

• 🔓 Inherently insecure
• ❌ Incompatible with most tools
• 🧩 Missing standard features like docs, auth, error handling, etc.

mcpo solves all of that—without extra effort:

• ✅ Works instantly with OpenAPI tools, SDKs, and UIs
• 🛡 Adds security, stability, and scalability using trusted web standards
• 🧠 Auto-generates interactive docs for every tool, no config needed
• 🔌 Uses pure HTTP—no sockets, no glue code, no surprises

What feels like "one more step" is really fewer steps with better outcomes.

mcpo makes your AI tools usable, secure, and interoperable—right now, with zero hassle.

🚀 Quick Usage Copy Chapter

We recommend using uv for lightning-fast startup and zero config.

uvx mcpo --port 8000 --api-key "top-secret" -- your_mcp_server_command

Or, if you’re using Python:

pip install mcpo
mcpo --port 8000 --api-key "top-secret" -- your_mcp_server_command

To use an SSE-compatible MCP server, simply specify the server type and endpoint:

mcpo --port 8000 --api-key "top-secret" --server-type "sse" -- http://127.0.0.1:8001/sse

You can also provide headers for the SSE connection:

mcpo --port 8000 --api-key "top-secret" --server-type "sse" --header '{"Authorization": "Bearer token", "X-Custom-Header": "value"}' -- http://127.0.0.1:8001/sse

To use a Streamable HTTP-compatible MCP server, specify the server type and endpoint:

mcpo --port 8000 --api-key "top-secret" --server-type "streamable-http" -- http://127.0.0.1:8002/mcp

You can also run mcpo via Docker with no installation:

docker run -p 8000:8000 ghcr.io/open-webui/mcpo:main --api-key "top-secret" -- your_mcp_server_command

Example:

uvx mcpo --port 8000 --api-key "top-secret" -- uvx mcp-server-time --local-timezone=America/New_York

That’s it. Your MCP tool is now available at http://localhost:8000 with a generated OpenAPI schema — test it live at http://localhost:8000/docs.

🤝 To integrate with Open WebUI after launching the server, check our docs.

🌐 Serving Under a Subpath (`--root-path`) Copy Section

If you need to serve mcpo behind a reverse proxy or under a subpath (e.g., /api/mcpo), use the --root-path argument:

mcpo --port 8000 --root-path "/api/mcpo" --api-key "top-secret" -- your_mcp_server_command

All routes will be served under the specified root path, e.g. http://localhost:8000/api/mcpo/memory.

🔄 Using a Config File Copy Section

You can serve multiple MCP tools via a single config file that follows the Claude Desktop format.

Enable hot-reload mode with --hot-reload to automatically watch your config file for changes and reload servers without downtime:

Start via:

mcpo --config /path/to/config.json

Or with hot-reload enabled:

mcpo --config /path/to/config.json --hot-reload

Example config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "memory": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-memory"]
    },
    "time": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["mcp-server-time", "--local-timezone=America/New_York"],
      "disabledTools": ["convert_time"] // Disable specific tools if needed
    },
    "mcp_sse": {
      "type": "sse", // Explicitly define type
      "url": "http://127.0.0.1:8001/sse",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer token",
        "X-Custom-Header": "value"
      }
    },
    "mcp_streamable_http": {
      "type": "streamable-http",
      "url": "http://127.0.0.1:8002/mcp"
    } // Streamable HTTP MCP Server
  }
}

Each tool will be accessible under its own unique route, e.g.:

• http://localhost:8000/memory
• http://localhost:8000/time

Each with a dedicated OpenAPI schema and proxy handler. Access full schema UI at: http://localhost:8000/<tool>/docs (e.g. /memory/docs, /time/docs)

🔐 OAuth 2.1 Authentication Copy Section

mcpo supports OAuth 2.1 authentication for MCP servers that require it. The implementation defaults to dynamic client registration, so most servers only need minimal configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "oauth-protected-server": {
      "type": "streamable-http",
      "url": "http://localhost:8000/mcp",
      "oauth": {
        "server_url": "http://localhost:8000"
      }
    }
  }
}

OAuth Configuration Options

Basic Options:

• server_url (required): OAuth server base URL
• storage_type: "file" (persistent) or "memory" (session-only, default: "file")
• callback_port: Local port for OAuth callback (default: 3030)
• use_loopback: Auto-open browser for auth (default: true)

Advanced Options (rarely needed):
For servers that don't support dynamic client registration, you can specify static client metadata:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "legacy-oauth-server": {
      "type": "streamable-http", 
      "url": "http://api.example.com/mcp",
      "oauth": {
        "server_url": "http://api.example.com",
        "client_metadata": {
          "client_name": "My MCPO Client",
          "redirect_uris": ["http://localhost:3030/callback"]
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

Note: Avoid setting scope, authorization_endpoint, or token_endpoint in the config. These are automatically discovered from the server's OAuth metadata during the dynamic registration flow.

On first connection, mcpo will:

1. Perform dynamic client registration (if supported)
2. Open your browser for authorization
3. Capture the OAuth callback automatically
4. Store tokens securely (in ~/.mcpo/tokens/ for file storage)
5. Use tokens for all subsequent requests

OAuth is supported for streamable-http server types. See OAUTH_GUIDE.md for detailed documentation.

🔧 Requirements Copy Chapter

• Python 3.8+
• uv (optional, but highly recommended for performance + packaging)

🛠️ Development & Testing Copy Chapter

To contribute or run tests locally:

1. Set up the environment:

   bash Copy

   # Clone the repository
   git clone https://github.com/open-webui/mcpo.git
   cd mcpo
   
   # Install dependencies (including dev dependencies)
   uv sync --dev

2. Run tests:

   bash Copy

   uv run pytest

3. Running Locally with Active Changes:

   To run mcpo with your local modifications from a specific branch (e.g., my-feature-branch):

   bash Copy

   # Ensure you are on your development branch
   git checkout my-feature-branch
   
   # Make your code changes in the src/mcpo directory or elsewhere
   
   # Run mcpo using uv, which will use your local, modified code
   # This command starts mcpo on port 8000 and proxies your_mcp_server_command
   uv run mcpo --port 8000 -- your_mcp_server_command
   
   # Example with a test MCP server (like mcp-server-time):
   # uv run mcpo --port 8000 -- uvx mcp-server-time --local-timezone=America/New_York

   This allows you to test your changes interactively before committing or creating a pull request. Access your locally running mcpo instance at http://localhost:8000 and the auto-generated docs at http://localhost:8000/docs.

🪪 License Copy Chapter

MIT

🤝 Contributing Copy Chapter

We welcome and strongly encourage contributions from the community!

Whether you're fixing a bug, adding features, improving documentation, or just sharing ideas—your input is incredibly valuable and helps make mcpo better for everyone.

Getting started is easy:

• Fork the repo
• Create a new branch
• Make your changes
• Open a pull request

Not sure where to start? Feel free to open an issue or ask a question—we’re happy to help you find a good first task.

✨ Star History Copy Chapter

✨ Let's build the future of interoperable AI tooling together!

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