What is an MCP gateway?
An MCP gateway is a single endpoint that aggregates many MCP servers, adds auth, governance, and audit, and exposes one unified tool catalog to any AI agent.
An MCP gateway is a single Model Context Protocol endpoint that sits in front of many MCP servers. Instead of configuring each server in every AI client, you connect them once to the gateway and every client sees one unified, governed tool catalog.
Why use a gateway instead of raw MCP servers?
- One endpoint: aggregate dozens of MCP servers and databases behind a single URL.
- One identity model: per-user OAuth so each user's tools run under their own account.
- Governance: RBAC/ABAC, read-only mode, tool exposure control, and PHI/PII redaction on every call.
- Auditability: a tamper-evident log of every tool call, connect, and config change.
- Control: override tool prompts and block or redact individual fields without touching the upstream server.
How does it work?
A client connects to the gateway's /mcp endpoint and calls tools/list. The gateway returns the union of every connected server's tools, namespaced as <server>__<tool>. On a tools/call, the gateway resolves the right credential (shared org credential or the caller's per-user token), applies governance, forwards the call, and redacts the result before returning it.
Because the gateway speaks standard MCP, it works with Claude, Cursor, ChatGPT, Windsurf, Cline, and any framework that supports remote MCP.
FAQ
What is the Model Context Protocol (MCP)?
MCP is an open protocol that lets AI applications connect to external tools and data sources through a standard interface. An MCP gateway aggregates many such servers behind one endpoint.
How is a gateway different from an iPaaS like Zapier?
An iPaaS runs predefined automations. An MCP gateway exposes live, callable tools to an AI agent at runtime, with per-call identity and governance - the agent decides what to call.
Last updated 2026-06-09