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:

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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:

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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.