MCP Router

Manage multiple MCP servers through one endpoint.

What is MCP Router?

MCP Router runs an HTTP server on localhost:19104. You configure your MCP servers once in MCP Router, then point Claude Code (or other MCP clients) to this single endpoint.

What it does

Single endpoint — One HTTP endpoint routes to multiple MCP servers
Progressive disclosure — AI queries tools on demand instead of loading all schemas upfront
Workspace isolation — Different projects can use different server combinations

Architecture

The core is written in Rust. The current UI is a macOS menu bar app (Swift/SwiftUI), but the Rust core can run on other platforms.

Quick Start

1. Download

Download from GitHub Releases, unzip, and move to Applications.

2. Add Servers

In the app, go to Settings → Servers and add your MCP servers. Supported types:

stdio — Local processes (npx, uvx, node, python, etc.)
http — Remote HTTP MCP servers

3. Configure Claude Code

MCP Router can write to Claude Code's global config automatically (Settings → Integration).

Or manually add to your project's .mcp.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mcp-router": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "http://localhost:19104"
    }
  }
}

4. Use

When Claude Code connects, it sees 4 meta tools:

Tool	Purpose
`mcp_router__list_servers`	List available servers
`mcp_router__list_tools`	List tools for a server
`mcp_router__describe`	Get tool parameter schema
`mcp_router__call`	Call a tool

AI uses these to progressively discover and call your backend tools.

Full Mode

Enable Full mode in Settings to expose 3 additional management tools:

Tool	Purpose
`mcp_router__add_server`	Add a new MCP server
`mcp_router__remove_server`	Remove a server
`mcp_router__update_server`	Update server config

This lets AI add MCP servers for you during conversation.

Progressive Disclosure

When you install an MCP server directly, all its tools appear in tools/list. Each tool's schema is sent to the AI at session start, consuming context tokens.

With MCP Router, the AI starts with only 4 meta tools. It queries list_servers → list_tools → describe as needed, loading schemas only when actually calling a tool.

This reduces initial context usage when you have many servers with many tools.

Documentation

Why MCP Router? — The problems and our approach
Installation — Build, configure, run
Usage Guide — Workspaces, tokens, server management
Architecture — Technical details