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Overview of the overall architecture of MCP Gateway system, including the gateway itself, management backend, supporting APIs, storage mechanisms, and integration methods with external services.

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Architecture Diagram

The architecture diagram is being updated and will provide detailed system architecture diagrams in future versions.

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Core Modules

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MCP Gateway (mcp-gateway)

MCP Gateway is the core component of the system, responsible for handling all MCP protocol requests:

Request Processing

  • Unified Entry: /* listens to all HTTP requests
  • Route Distribution: Dynamic request distribution based on route prefix

Protocol Conversion

  • Protocol Parsing: Parse JSON-RPC format requests
  • Tool Distribution: Parse tool names and construct call parameters

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Main Functions

1

Request Routing

Request distribution based on route prefix and suffix (/sse, /message, /mcp)
2

Protocol Parsing

Parse JSON-RPC format to extract methods and parameters
3

Service Invocation

Invoke external services and parse results
4

Configuration Reading

Dynamically load and apply configuration information

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Management Backend (web)

Provides a visual management interface with the following core modules:
Used to configure MCP gateway proxies and tools, supporting graphical configuration interface
Simple Chat for testing MCP, mainly provided for developers and users who need to integrate into custom systems for reference
User permissions, information maintenance, and access control

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Management Backend Service (apiserver)

Provides complete backend API services:

API Services

  • Configuration management API
  • User interface management
  • Chat history queries

Configuration Management

  • Configuration write storage
  • Hot update notifications
  • Permission control

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Storage System

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Configuration Storage

Stores all MCP services, tools, routing and other configuration information:

SQLite

Lightweight database, suitable for single-machine deployment and development

PostgreSQL/MySQL

Production-grade databases, suitable for multi-node deployment

API Storage

Enterprise-grade database, suitable for production environments

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Web Data Storage

Stores user data, session records, etc.:
  • User account information
  • Chat session history
  • System configuration data
  • Operation log records

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External Service Integration

MCP Gateway is designed for seamless integration with existing business systems:
Supports standard REST API calls, including GET, POST, PUT, DELETE and other methods
Supports Webhook callbacks and event trigger mechanisms
Can directly integrate with existing database systems, supporting multiple database types

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Data Flow

1

Request Reception

MCP Client sends requests to specified endpoints of MCP Gateway
2

Protocol Parsing

Gateway parses MCP protocol format and extracts tool invocation information
3

Configuration Lookup

Look up corresponding configuration information based on tool name
4

Service Invocation

Call backend services using configured templates and parameters
5

Response Processing

Process backend service responses and convert to MCP protocol format
6

Result Return

Return processing results to MCP Client

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Deployment Architecture

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Single Machine Deployment

All-in-One Deployment

All services run on the same machine, suitable for development and testing environments

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Distributed Deployment

Microservice Architecture

Each component is deployed independently, supporting horizontal scaling and load balancing

Containerized Deployment

Use Docker and Kubernetes for containerized deployment

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Extensibility Design

MCP Gateway adopts a modular design and supports the following extensions:
  • Protocol Extensions: Support for new MCP protocol versions
  • Storage Extensions: Support for new storage backends
  • Authentication Extensions: Support for multiple authentication mechanisms
  • Monitoring Extensions: Integration with various monitoring and logging systems
To deeply understand the specific implementation of each component, please refer to the corresponding configuration documentation and development guides.
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