McpNet.Gateway.Standalone 1.0.6

McpNet.Gateway.Standalone

A self-contained MCP Gateway that can be embedded in any .NET 8 application with no ASP.NET Core dependency.

Uses System.Net.HttpListener - Kestrel and Microsoft.AspNetCore are not required.

Installation

<PackageReference Include="McpNet.Gateway.Standalone" Version="1.0.3" />

Quick Start

var gateway = McpGatewayBuilder.Create()
    .ListenOn(5050)
    .Build();

await gateway.StartAsync();

// ... your application runs ...

await gateway.StopAsync();
await gateway.DisposeAsync();

Configuration

Binding all interfaces (Windows)

McpGatewayBuilder.Create()
    .WithPrefix("http://*:5050/")
    .Build();

On Windows, http://* requires: netsh http add urlacl url=http://*:5050/ user=Everyone On Linux, run as root or grant NET_BIND_SERVICE capability.

Enterprise mode

McpGatewayBuilder.Create()
    .ListenOn(5050)
    .WithMode(GatewayMode.Enterprise)
    .WithAdminToken("your-secret-token")
    .Build();

In Enterprise mode all /api/* requests require an X-Admin-Token header.

Endpoints

Usage Scenarios

Embed in a WinForms / WPF app

// Form1.cs
private McpGatewayServer? _gateway;

protected override async void OnLoad(EventArgs e)
{
    base.OnLoad(e);
    _gateway = McpGatewayBuilder.Create()
        .ListenOn(5050)
        .WithDataDirectory(Path.Combine(
            Environment.GetFolderPath(Environment.SpecialFolder.ApplicationData),
            "MyApp", "mcp-data"))
        .Build();
    await _gateway.StartAsync();
}

protected override async void OnFormClosed(FormClosedEventArgs e)
{
    if (_gateway != null) await _gateway.DisposeAsync();
    base.OnFormClosed(e);
}

Console application

using var gateway = McpGatewayBuilder.Create()
    .ListenOn(5050)
    .Build();

await gateway.StartAsync();
Console.WriteLine("MCP Gateway ready -> http://localhost:5050/dashboard");

await Task.Delay(Timeout.Infinite, cancellationToken);

Graceful shutdown with CancellationToken

using var cts = new CancellationTokenSource();
Console.CancelKeyPress += (_, e) => { e.Cancel = true; cts.Cancel(); };

var gateway = McpGatewayBuilder.Create().ListenOn(5050).Build();
await gateway.StartAsync();

await Task.Delay(Timeout.Infinite, cts.Token).ContinueWith(_ => { });

await gateway.StopAsync();
await gateway.DisposeAsync();

Architecture

McpNet.Gateway.Standalone
|
+-- McpGatewayBuilder     -> Fluent configuration and DI setup
+-- McpGatewayServer      -> HttpListener accept loop, request dispatch
+-- McpGatewayOptions     -> Configuration values
|
+-- Dashboard/
|   +-- DashboardHandler  -> Serves /dashboard and static files
|
+-- Management/
|   +-- ManagementHandler -> Handles all /api/* management endpoints
|
+-- Security/
    +-- AesGcmSecretProtector -> AES-256-GCM secret encryption

Dependencies:
  McpNet.Gateway           -> Business logic, persistence, wwwroot resources
  McpNet.Transport.Http    -> MCP protocol over HttpListener
  Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection 8.0.0

Data Files

All data is stored under DataDirectory (default: mcp-data/):

mcp-data/
  servers.json          <- Registered MCP servers
  groups.json           <- Tool groups
  clients.json          <- Clients (Enterprise)
  audit.json            <- Audit log entries
  custom-catalog.json   <- User-added catalog entries
  dp-keys/
    aes.key             <- AES-256 encryption key (auto-generated)

Comparison with McpNet.Host

Both use the same business logic (McpNet.Gateway) and the same dashboard assets.