Mcpambassador

mcpambassador3stars

Open-source MCP governance proxy -- authentication, authorization, audit, and a marketplace for AI tools. Self-hosted via Docker.

Devops

Install Run on PlugMCP

GitHub Website

Run on PlugMCP

1# Mcpambassador

README.mdMCP server

Transport: stdio
Status: Local

Power your agent

Add this server

Install from the publisher. Not a PlugMCP endpoint.

Run on PlugMCP

Host a copy with our keys and logs.

No packaged release in the registry yet. Follow the repository README.

RepositoryPublisher installStep-by-step: add this in Claude

Remote URL or a command on your machine? How the two installs differ

Run on PlugMCP

Host a copy with our keys and logs.

A new server you create. It is not this listing's official endpoint. Use the publisher install when you want their URL and their credentials.

Launch

Server facts

Local

Transport: stdio
License: Apache-2.0
Last checked: 2026-10-28

Stars: 3
Tools: —
Uptime: —

Tools

No tool list yet. Remote servers get one after the first health check.

FAQ

Questions

How do I install Mcpambassador?

Copy the stdio config for Cursor, Claude Desktop, Claude Code, or VS Code on this page. It uses the publisher's install, not a PlugMCP proxy.

Does Mcpambassador need an API key?

No required environment variable is listed on this record.

What transport does Mcpambassador use?

Mcpambassador runs locally over stdio.

When was Mcpambassador last checked?

Last checked 2026-10-28. Open-source MCP governance proxy -- authentication, authorization, audit, and a marketplace for AI tools. Self-hosted via Docker.

From the publisher

Documentation

MCP Ambassador Server

Centralized authentication, authorization, and audit for MCP tools. One server governs every downstream MCP your organization uses.

What Is This

MCP Ambassador Server is the control plane for managing MCP tools across your organization. It proxies, authenticates, authorizes, and audits every tool call between AI clients and downstream MCP servers. Think of it as what LiteLLM does for LLM providers, but for MCP servers.

Key Features

MCP Marketplace -- Admin-published catalog of downstream MCPs with group-based visibility
User Self-Service -- Users browse, subscribe to, and manage their own tool access through the web portal
Per-User MCP Isolation -- Dedicated MCP instances per user with encrypted credential injection
Group-Based RBAC -- Control which teams see which tools through group assignments
Credential Vault -- AES-256-GCM encrypted per-user API keys with HKDF-derived keys
OAuth 2.0 Integration -- Authorization code flow for downstream MCP authentication (GitHub, etc.)
Admin Dashboard -- React SPA for managing users, groups, MCPs, and audit logs
Audit Logging -- Append-only JSONL log of every authentication decision and tool invocation
Kill Switches -- Instantly disable any MCP or client across the entire organization
Docker Deployment -- Single container with bind-mount volumes and auto-generated TLS

Quick Start

Prerequisites: Docker Engine 20+, docker compose v2

git clone https://github.com/mcpambassador/server.git
cd server
cp .env.example .env
docker compose up

Open https://localhost:9443 -- the first-run setup wizard will guide you through creating an admin account.

Ports

Port	Service
8443	Client API (MCP proxy endpoint)
9443	Admin and user web portal

For production deployment, see the Deployment Guide.

MCP Lifecycle

Every MCP goes through a four-step lifecycle before users can access its tools:

Create (draft/pending) --> Validate (draft/valid) --> Discover Tools --> Publish (active)

Step	Action	What Happens
1. Create	Admin > MCPs > Create MCP	Define name, transport, command, environment variables, isolation mode. MCP starts as draft / pending.
2. Validate	Click Validate on the MCP	Server checks the configuration is well-formed. Status moves to draft / valid.
3. Discover Tools	Click Discover Tools	Server spawns the MCP process, connects, calls `tools/list`, and records the available tools.
4. Publish	Click Publish	MCP becomes published and appears in the user Marketplace.

After publishing, users can browse the Marketplace, subscribe their clients to the MCP, and start using the tools through their AI clients.

Note: If an MCP requires per-user credentials (e.g., API keys), the Discover Tools step will prompt for temporary credentials to use during discovery. These are not stored.

Connecting a Client

Install the MCP Ambassador Client to connect AI tools to this server.

npm install -g @mcpambassador/client

VS Code configuration example:

{
  "mcp.servers": {
    "mcpambassador": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@mcpambassador/client", "--config", "/path/to/amb-client-config.json"],
      "env": {
        "MCP_AMBASSADOR_URL": "https://localhost:8443",
        "MCP_AMBASSADOR_PRESHARED_KEY": "amb_pk_YOUR_KEY"
      }
    }
  }
}

See @mcpambassador/client for Claude Desktop, OpenCode, and other integrations.

Monorepo Structure

Package	Description
`@mcpambassador/protocol`	Type-only API contract between client and server (zero runtime deps)
`@mcpambassador/core`	Database schema, SPI interfaces, pipeline, validation
`@mcpambassador/server`	Hono HTTP/2 server, REST API routes, MCP process pools
`@mcpambassador/spa`	React 19 admin dashboard and user self-service portal
`@mcpambassador/authn-ephemeral`	Preshared key and ephemeral session authentication
`@mcpambassador/authz-local`	Group-based RBAC authorization
`@mcpambassador/audit-file`	JSONL audit log provider
`@mcpambassador/contracts`	Zod schemas for API request/response validation

Security

TLS on all ports (self-signed auto-generated or CA-signed)
Argon2id password hashing
AES-256-GCM credential encryption with per-user HKDF-derived keys
HMAC-SHA256 session tokens with configurable idle timeout
Process isolation for stdio MCP child processes
Non-root Docker container with read-only root filesystem
Append-only audit log for compliance and forensics

Development

# Prerequisites: Node.js 20+, pnpm 8.15+
pnpm install
pnpm -r build
pnpm -r test
pnpm -r lint
pnpm -r typecheck
pnpm format:check

Related Projects

Project	Description
@mcpambassador/client	Lightweight MCP proxy for developer workstations
Community Registry	Curated registry of 38+ MCP server configurations
Documentation	Full documentation, guides, and API reference

Configuration Reference

MCP Ambassador is configured via environment variables. All settings have production-ready defaults. See mcpambassador.ai/docs/configuration for the full reference.

Timing & Performance

These settings control session management, health monitoring, and internal scheduling. The defaults are tuned for production use with hundreds of concurrent sessions.

Setting	Default	Description
Session TTL	28800s (8h)	Client session token lifetime before re-authentication
Session eval interval	120s	How often the server checks for idle/expired sessions
Session sweep interval	1800s (30m)	How often the server purges expired sessions from memory
Heartbeat expected interval	120s	Expected interval between client heartbeats
Heartbeat rate limit	1 per 10s	Maximum heartbeat frequency per client
Health check interval	120s	How often the server checks downstream MCP health

SPA Polling Intervals

The admin/user web portal polls the server for live data. These intervals balance responsiveness with server load.

Endpoint	Interval	Description
Health status	60s	MCP instance health
MCP list	60s	Admin MCP catalog
Catalog	60s	User marketplace
Logs	30s	MCP instance logs

Deployment Profiles

Profile	Session TTL	Heartbeat	Eval Interval	Recommended For
Default	8h	120s	120s	Most production deployments
High-security	4h	60s	60s	Regulated environments, SOC2
Development	24h	30s	30s	Local development, testing

For client-side settings (heartbeat interval, cache TTL, catalog refresh), see @mcpambassador/client.

Contributing

We welcome contributions. See CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines.

Prerequisites: Node.js 20+, pnpm 8.15+, Docker

Support

MCP Ambassador is free and open source. If it's useful to you, consider supporting development.

Support via GitHub Sponsors: https://github.com/sponsors/mcpambassador

Crypto donations:

Bitcoin: 3QH4WQoQqnhU3LhbZQU8ttXaNco5Ge3xVp
Ethereum: 0xa5462444c5AEf0B2e32822D9a9B7f91aC794FfF0

License

Apache License 2.0 -- see LICENSE.

Status

MCP Ambassador is at v0.8.0-beta.2. The API may change before 1.0. Production use is supported but expect breaking changes during the beta period.

Mcpambassador

mcpambassador3stars

Open-source MCP governance proxy -- authentication, authorization, audit, and a marketplace for AI tools. Self-hosted via Docker.

Devops

Install Run on PlugMCP

GitHub Website

Run on PlugMCP

1# Mcpambassador

README.mdMCP server

Transport: stdio
Status: Local

Power your agent

Add this server

Install from the publisher. Not a PlugMCP endpoint.

Run on PlugMCP

Host a copy with our keys and logs.

No packaged release in the registry yet. Follow the repository README.

RepositoryPublisher installStep-by-step: add this in Claude

Remote URL or a command on your machine? How the two installs differ

Run on PlugMCP

Host a copy with our keys and logs.

A new server you create. It is not this listing's official endpoint. Use the publisher install when you want their URL and their credentials.

Launch

Server facts

Local

Transport: stdio
License: Apache-2.0
Last checked: 2026-10-28

Stars: 3
Tools: —
Uptime: —

Tools

No tool list yet. Remote servers get one after the first health check.

FAQ

Questions

How do I install Mcpambassador?

Copy the stdio config for Cursor, Claude Desktop, Claude Code, or VS Code on this page. It uses the publisher's install, not a PlugMCP proxy.

Does Mcpambassador need an API key?

No required environment variable is listed on this record.

What transport does Mcpambassador use?

Mcpambassador runs locally over stdio.

When was Mcpambassador last checked?

Last checked 2026-10-28. Open-source MCP governance proxy -- authentication, authorization, audit, and a marketplace for AI tools. Self-hosted via Docker.

From the publisher

Documentation

MCP Ambassador Server

Centralized authentication, authorization, and audit for MCP tools. One server governs every downstream MCP your organization uses.

What Is This

Key Features

MCP Marketplace -- Admin-published catalog of downstream MCPs with group-based visibility
User Self-Service -- Users browse, subscribe to, and manage their own tool access through the web portal
Per-User MCP Isolation -- Dedicated MCP instances per user with encrypted credential injection
Group-Based RBAC -- Control which teams see which tools through group assignments
Credential Vault -- AES-256-GCM encrypted per-user API keys with HKDF-derived keys
OAuth 2.0 Integration -- Authorization code flow for downstream MCP authentication (GitHub, etc.)
Admin Dashboard -- React SPA for managing users, groups, MCPs, and audit logs
Audit Logging -- Append-only JSONL log of every authentication decision and tool invocation
Kill Switches -- Instantly disable any MCP or client across the entire organization
Docker Deployment -- Single container with bind-mount volumes and auto-generated TLS

Quick Start

Prerequisites: Docker Engine 20+, docker compose v2

git clone https://github.com/mcpambassador/server.git
cd server
cp .env.example .env
docker compose up

Open https://localhost:9443 -- the first-run setup wizard will guide you through creating an admin account.

Ports

Port	Service
8443	Client API (MCP proxy endpoint)
9443	Admin and user web portal

For production deployment, see the Deployment Guide.

MCP Lifecycle

Every MCP goes through a four-step lifecycle before users can access its tools:

Create (draft/pending) --> Validate (draft/valid) --> Discover Tools --> Publish (active)

Step	Action	What Happens
1. Create	Admin > MCPs > Create MCP	Define name, transport, command, environment variables, isolation mode. MCP starts as draft / pending.
2. Validate	Click Validate on the MCP	Server checks the configuration is well-formed. Status moves to draft / valid.
3. Discover Tools	Click Discover Tools	Server spawns the MCP process, connects, calls `tools/list`, and records the available tools.
4. Publish	Click Publish	MCP becomes published and appears in the user Marketplace.

After publishing, users can browse the Marketplace, subscribe their clients to the MCP, and start using the tools through their AI clients.

Note: If an MCP requires per-user credentials (e.g., API keys), the Discover Tools step will prompt for temporary credentials to use during discovery. These are not stored.

Connecting a Client

Install the MCP Ambassador Client to connect AI tools to this server.

npm install -g @mcpambassador/client

VS Code configuration example:

{
  "mcp.servers": {
    "mcpambassador": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@mcpambassador/client", "--config", "/path/to/amb-client-config.json"],
      "env": {
        "MCP_AMBASSADOR_URL": "https://localhost:8443",
        "MCP_AMBASSADOR_PRESHARED_KEY": "amb_pk_YOUR_KEY"
      }
    }
  }
}

See @mcpambassador/client for Claude Desktop, OpenCode, and other integrations.

Monorepo Structure

Package	Description
`@mcpambassador/protocol`	Type-only API contract between client and server (zero runtime deps)
`@mcpambassador/core`	Database schema, SPI interfaces, pipeline, validation
`@mcpambassador/server`	Hono HTTP/2 server, REST API routes, MCP process pools
`@mcpambassador/spa`	React 19 admin dashboard and user self-service portal
`@mcpambassador/authn-ephemeral`	Preshared key and ephemeral session authentication
`@mcpambassador/authz-local`	Group-based RBAC authorization
`@mcpambassador/audit-file`	JSONL audit log provider
`@mcpambassador/contracts`	Zod schemas for API request/response validation

Security

TLS on all ports (self-signed auto-generated or CA-signed)
Argon2id password hashing
AES-256-GCM credential encryption with per-user HKDF-derived keys
HMAC-SHA256 session tokens with configurable idle timeout
Process isolation for stdio MCP child processes
Non-root Docker container with read-only root filesystem
Append-only audit log for compliance and forensics

Development

# Prerequisites: Node.js 20+, pnpm 8.15+
pnpm install
pnpm -r build
pnpm -r test
pnpm -r lint
pnpm -r typecheck
pnpm format:check

Related Projects

Project	Description
@mcpambassador/client	Lightweight MCP proxy for developer workstations
Community Registry	Curated registry of 38+ MCP server configurations
Documentation	Full documentation, guides, and API reference

Configuration Reference

MCP Ambassador is configured via environment variables. All settings have production-ready defaults. See mcpambassador.ai/docs/configuration for the full reference.

Timing & Performance

These settings control session management, health monitoring, and internal scheduling. The defaults are tuned for production use with hundreds of concurrent sessions.

Setting	Default	Description
Session TTL	28800s (8h)	Client session token lifetime before re-authentication
Session eval interval	120s	How often the server checks for idle/expired sessions
Session sweep interval	1800s (30m)	How often the server purges expired sessions from memory
Heartbeat expected interval	120s	Expected interval between client heartbeats
Heartbeat rate limit	1 per 10s	Maximum heartbeat frequency per client
Health check interval	120s	How often the server checks downstream MCP health

SPA Polling Intervals

The admin/user web portal polls the server for live data. These intervals balance responsiveness with server load.

Endpoint	Interval	Description
Health status	60s	MCP instance health
MCP list	60s	Admin MCP catalog
Catalog	60s	User marketplace
Logs	30s	MCP instance logs

Deployment Profiles

Profile	Session TTL	Heartbeat	Eval Interval	Recommended For
Default	8h	120s	120s	Most production deployments
High-security	4h	60s	60s	Regulated environments, SOC2
Development	24h	30s	30s	Local development, testing

For client-side settings (heartbeat interval, cache TTL, catalog refresh), see @mcpambassador/client.

Contributing

We welcome contributions. See CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines.

Prerequisites: Node.js 20+, pnpm 8.15+, Docker

Support

MCP Ambassador is free and open source. If it's useful to you, consider supporting development.

Support via GitHub Sponsors: https://github.com/sponsors/mcpambassador

Crypto donations:

Bitcoin: 3QH4WQoQqnhU3LhbZQU8ttXaNco5Ge3xVp
Ethereum: 0xa5462444c5AEf0B2e32822D9a9B7f91aC794FfF0

License

Apache License 2.0 -- see LICENSE.

Status

MCP Ambassador is at v0.8.0-beta.2. The API may change before 1.0. Production use is supported but expect breaking changes during the beta period.