# Modular MCP Platform Concept
**Created**: 2026-01-03
**Status**: Future consideration
---
## The Idea
Rather than deploying separate MCP servers for each service (Google Calendar, Google Sheets, Xero, etc.), this template is evolving toward a **modular platform** where services are added as modules to a single MCP server.
```
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ MCP Platform Core │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Admin Dashboard │ OAuth Flows │ Encrypted Storage │ Auth │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Google │ Google │ GitHub │ Stripe │
│ Calendar │ Sheets │ API │ API │
│ (module) │ (module) │ (module) │ (module) │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
```
## What's Already Built (as of Phase 3f)
| Component | Status | Description |
|-----------|--------|-------------|
| Admin dashboard | ✅ | Manage users, organizations, services |
| Shared services table | ✅ | Stores service configs encrypted |
| Interactive OAuth flows | ✅ | Admin can authorize Google services |
| User services table | 🔄 Phase 3g | Per-user service connections |
| Multi-provider support | ✅ | Google, Microsoft, GitHub identity |
## Adding a New Service Module
**Today's effort to add Google Sheets**:
1. Add tool definitions (~50-100 lines per tool)
2. Add `spreadsheets` scope to OAuth request
3. Done - OAuth flow, token storage, admin UI already exist
**Compared to new MCP server**: ~2 hours vs ~8 hours
## Trade-offs
| Modular Platform | Separate MCP Servers |
|------------------|---------------------|
| ✅ Single deployment | ✅ Isolated deployments |
| ✅ Shared auth infrastructure | ✅ Can open-source individually |
| ✅ Users connect once | ✅ Independent scaling |
| ✅ Easier maintenance | ❌ Duplicated code |
| ❌ Larger codebase | ❌ Multiple OAuth apps to manage |
| ❌ Shared uptime | ❌ Users manage multiple connections |
## When to Use Each Approach
**Modular (this platform)**:
- Personal/internal tooling
- Services sharing OAuth (all Google services = one OAuth app)
- Rapid prototyping new integrations
- Team/company MCP server
**Separate servers**:
- Open-sourcing for public use
- Client-specific deployments with different access rules
- Drastically different auth patterns
- High isolation requirements
## Not Pipedream
This is **not** building a full workflow automation platform:
- No visual workflow builder
- No marketplace for others
- You control what modules exist
- MCP clients (Claude.ai, Claude Code) handle tool orchestration
It's more accurately described as:
> A unified MCP server for YOUR services, with shared infrastructure
## Future Considerations
- Service modules as separate npm packages?
- Plugin architecture with standard interface?
- Service registry for available modules?
- Shared vs per-user service toggle per module?
---
This is a design direction note, not a commitment. The current architecture naturally supports this pattern without additional complexity.
