mcp-context-forge open source analysis

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) Gateway & Registry. Serves as a central management point for tools, resources, and prompts that can be accessed by MCP-compatible LLM applications. Converts REST API endpoints to MCP, composes virtual MCP servers with added security and observability, and converts between protocols (stdio, SSE, Streamable HTTP).

Project overview

⭐ 3054 · Python · Last activity on GitHub: 2026-01-06

GitHub: https://github.com/IBM/mcp-context-forge

Why it matters for engineering teams

mcp-context-forge addresses the challenge of managing and integrating multiple large language model (LLM) tools and resources within complex software systems. It provides a central gateway and registry that standardises communication between LLM applications using the Model Context Protocol (MCP), simplifying authentication, observability, and protocol translation. This open source tool for engineering teams is particularly suited for machine learning and AI engineering teams who need a production ready solution to handle secure, scalable interactions with generative AI models and services. Its maturity is demonstrated by strong adoption and support for Kubernetes, Docker, and FastAPI environments, making it reliable for real-world deployments. However, teams not requiring federation or complex protocol handling, or those looking for simpler API gateways without MCP integration, might find lighter alternatives more appropriate.

When to use this project

Choose mcp-context-forge when your project requires a robust, self hosted option for managing multiple MCP-compatible LLM services with security and observability built-in. Consider alternatives if your use case involves straightforward API gateway needs without the complexity of MCP or if you prefer managed cloud services over self hosted solutions.

Team fit and typical use cases

This project benefits AI and machine learning engineers who build and maintain LLM-based applications requiring centralised control over prompts, tools, and resources. It is often used in products that integrate multiple generative AI agents or services, where secure authentication and protocol conversion are essential. DevOps teams also leverage it to deploy and monitor MCP gateways within containerised environments, ensuring production stability and scalability.

Best suited for

Topics and ecosystem

agents ai api-gateway asyncio authentication-middleware devops docker fastapi federation gateway generative-ai jwt kubernetes llm-agents mcp model-context-protocol observability prompt-engineering python tools

Activity and freshness

Latest commit on GitHub: 2026-01-06. Activity data is based on repeated RepoPi snapshots of the GitHub repository. It gives a quick, factual view of how alive the project is.