MCP Gateway

An OpenRouter API-authenticated MCP gateway that provides unified access to multiple public MCP servers and Claude models for Claude Code and Claude Desktop integration.

Architecture

mcp-gateway/
├── src/              # MCP Gateway source code
├── shared/           # Shared types and utilities  
└── package.json      # Single package configuration

Related MCP server: claude-code-mcp

Purpose

This MCP Gateway serves as a unified authenticated entry point to multiple public MCP servers and Claude models via OpenRouter, allowing Claude Code/Desktop users to:

• OpenRouter Integration: Access 400+ AI models including Claude 3.5 Sonnet and Claude 4 via OpenRouter API

• Cost-Effective: Pay-per-use model instead of multiple AI subscriptions

• Unified Interface: Access tools from multiple MCP servers through one connection

• Public Server Access: Connect to GitHub, filesystem, web search, and other public MCP servers

• Tool Aggregation: All tools available in one place with prefixed names to avoid conflicts

Connected Public MCP Servers

1. GitHub MCP Server

• Tools: Repository operations, issues, pull requests, code search

• Prefix: github: (e.g., github:search-repositories)

• Authentication: Uses your OpenRouter API key

2. Filesystem MCP Server

• Tools: File operations, directory browsing, file content management

• Prefix: fs: (e.g., fs:read-file)

• Authentication: Secure file access within allowed paths

3. Web Search MCP Server

• Tools: Web search, content retrieval, information gathering

• Prefix: web: (e.g., web:search)

• Authentication: Rate-limited per API key

Gateway Tools

• whoami - Show current user's OpenRouter API authentication status

• list-servers - List all connected public MCP servers

• github:* - All GitHub MCP server tools (proxied)

• fs:* - All filesystem MCP server tools (proxied)

• web:* - All web search MCP server tools (proxied)

Flow

1. Claude Code connects to MCP Gateway with OpenRouter API key

2. API Authentication - Gateway validates OpenRouter API key

3. Model Access - Direct access to 400+ models via OpenRouter

4. Tool calls - Gateway proxies tool calls to appropriate public MCP servers

5. Responses aggregated - Responses from public servers and OpenRouter flow back to Claude Code

Setup

Prerequisites

• OpenRouter API key from https://openrouter.ai/keys

• Cloudflare account with Workers access

Development

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Start gateway in development
npm run dev     # Gateway on localhost:8788

Deployment

# Deploy gateway to Cloudflare
npx wrangler deploy

# Set OpenRouter API key as secret
npx wrangler secret put OPENROUTER_API_KEY

OpenRouter Configuration

1. Create an account at https://openrouter.ai

2. Generate an API key at https://openrouter.ai/keys

3. Load credits to your account (starts around $10 minimum)

4. Set the API key in your Cloudflare Worker secrets

Claude Code Integration

Option 1: Direct Integration

Add to ~/.claude.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mcp-gateway": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": [
        "/Users/adam/Projects/MCP Server/openrouter-mcp-client.js",
        "https://mcp-gateway.marcean.workers.dev",
        "YOUR_OPENROUTER_API_KEY_HERE"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Option 2: Environment Variable

Store your API key in environment:

export OPENROUTER_API_KEY="your-key-here"

Then use in ~/.claude.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mcp-gateway": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": [
        "/Users/adam/Projects/MCP Server/openrouter-mcp-client.js",
        "https://mcp-gateway.marcean.workers.dev"
      ],
      "env": {
        "OPENROUTER_API_KEY": "${OPENROUTER_API_KEY}"
      }
    }
  }
}

Testing

Test the connection:

# Basic connection test
node test-openrouter-connection.js

# Full test with API key
node openrouter-mcp-client.js https://mcp-gateway.marcean.workers.dev YOUR_API_KEY

Security

• API protected by OpenRouter API key authentication

• CORS configured for secure browser access

• Environment variables stored as Cloudflare Worker secrets

• Rate limiting through OpenRouter's built-in limits

Cost Comparison

Traditional Subscriptions:

• Claude Pro: $20/month

• ChatGPT Plus: $20/month

• Other AI subscriptions: $10-50/month each

• Total: $50-100+/month

OpenRouter Alternative:

• Pay per actual usage

• Typical usage: $10-25 lasting 3-6 months

• Access to 400+ models including latest Claude versions

• Estimated: $2-8/month for typical usage