FAQ

Frequently asked questions about MCP Gateway.

General

What is MCP Gateway?: MCP Gateway is a Kubernetes-native solution for deploying and managing Model Context Protocol servers. It provides a unified gateway that routes MCP requests to remote servers or containerized MCP servers running in your cluster.
What is the Model Context Protocol?: The Model Context Protocol (MCP) is an open standard that enables AI models to securely access external tools and data sources. MCP Gateway makes it easy to deploy and manage MCP servers in Kubernetes.
Do I need to modify my MCP servers to use this?: No. MCP Gateway works with any MCP-compliant server. For remote servers, it acts as a reverse proxy. For container servers, it can handle both HTTP-based and STDIO-based MCP servers without modifications.

Can I use STDIO-based MCP servers?: Yes. MCP Gateway supports STDIO transport for containerized MCP servers. The gateway attaches to the container’s stdin/stdout and bridges them to HTTP/SSE, so clients can communicate with STDIO-based servers over HTTP.
How does authentication work?: MCP Gateway supports bearer token authentication. You create a Kubernetes Secret containing your auth token, reference it in your MCPGateway resource, and clients include the token in the Authorization header. See Configuration for setup instructions.
Can I run multiple gateways?: Yes. You can create multiple MCPGateway resources, each with its own domain and configuration. MCPRemoteServer and MCPContainerServer resources reference a specific gateway via gatewayRef.
Does the gateway support TLS?: Yes. MCP Gateway integrates with cert-manager for automatic TLS certificate provisioning, or you can provide your own certificates via a Kubernetes Secret.
What happens when I update a server configuration?: The operator updates the gateway ConfigMap, and the gateway applies the new configuration without restarting. This enables zero-downtime configuration changes.

What Kubernetes versions are supported?: MCP Gateway requires Kubernetes 1.26 or later.
Which ingress controllers are supported?: MCP Gateway works with any Ingress controller that supports the standard Kubernetes Ingress resource. Common choices include NGINX Ingress Controller, Traefik, HAProxy Ingress, and Contour. Set spec.ingressClassName in your MCPGateway to specify which ingress controller to use.
Can I use MCP Gateway outside Kubernetes?: The gateway binary can run standalone using file-based configuration (see Configuration Modes), but the operator and CRDs require Kubernetes.

Where can I find logs?: See the Troubleshooting guide for instructions on viewing operator and gateway logs.
How do I enable debug logging?: Set the LOG_LEVEL environment variable to debug. See Troubleshooting for details.