mcp-local-gateway

P0 goal: run a minimal local MCP server that exposes exactly one tool, run_date, through a Streamable HTTP /mcp endpoint.

This project is intentionally small. It does not expose arbitrary Bash. It does not use an OpenAI API key. It is designed for this validation chain:

ChatGPT Web
  -> HTTPS /mcp
  -> Cloudflare Tunnel or another HTTPS tunnel
  -> 127.0.0.1:8787
  -> Hono
  -> MCP Server
  -> policy layer
  -> fixed date command

Terms

• MCP: Model Context Protocol, 模型上下文协议，用来让 AI Host 通过标准协议发现并调用外部工具。

• Streamable HTTP: 可流式 HTTP 传输，适合远程 MCP server。

• Hono: 轻量 HTTP framework，HTTP 框架。

• OAuth: Open Authorization，开放授权。P0 只预留结构，不实现完整授权码流程。

• Policy layer: 策略层，本项目中用于拒绝任意命令，只允许 run_date -> date。

Related MCP server: DateTime-LocalMCPServer

Requirements

• Node.js >= 20.11

• npm

• Linux / WSL recommended

Install

cd ~/project/mcp-local-gateway
npm install
cp .env.example .env

Start

npm run dev

Expected startup lines:

mcp-local-gateway listening on http://127.0.0.1:8787
health: http://127.0.0.1:8787/healthz
mcp:    http://127.0.0.1:8787/mcp
auth:   off

Local validation

In another terminal:

cd ~/project/mcp-local-gateway
npm run typecheck
npm run build
npm test
npm run test:local

The tools/list response should include run_date. The tools/call response should include JSON text containing stdout from the local date command.

Persistent user service / 用户级常驻服务

Use the user-level systemd service when you want the gateway to keep running after the terminal closes.

npm run service:install
npm run service:status
npm run service:logs
npm run service:uninstall

service:install runs npm run build and starts dist/index.js; it does not use npm run dev. The service keeps running after the terminal exits. Cloudflare Tunnel access to mcp.songlei.me depends on this service listening on 127.0.0.1:8787.

Static bearer mode

Use this before exposing through a tunnel if you are not using OAuth yet.

cat > .env <<'ENDENV'
HOST=127.0.0.1
PORT=8787
MCP_AUTH_MODE=static_bearer
MCP_STATIC_BEARER_TOKEN=replace-this-with-a-long-random-token
MCP_ALLOWED_ORIGINS=http://127.0.0.1:8787,http://localhost:8787,https://chatgpt.com
AUDIT_TO_STDOUT=true
AUDIT_LOG_FILE=logs/audit.jsonl
ENDENV

npm run dev

Validation with token:

MCP_STATIC_BEARER_TOKEN='replace-this-with-a-long-random-token' npm run test:local

Cloudflare Tunnel sketch

Do not bind this server to 0.0.0.0. Keep HOST=127.0.0.1 and publish it with a tunnel.

Example target mapping:

https://mcp.songlei.me/mcp -> http://127.0.0.1:8787/mcp

After that, create a ChatGPT connector and set Connector URL to:

https://mcp.songlei.me/mcp

P0 recommendation: use static bearer only for a private short-lived test. P1 should implement OAuth / OIDC token validation or put the MCP server behind a compatible identity-aware proxy.

Security constraints in P0

• No arbitrary Bash.

• run_date accepts no arguments.

• Command execution uses spawn with shell: false.

• Server refuses HOST=0.0.0.0.

• /mcp checks Origin when Origin is present.

• /mcp can enforce static Bearer token.

• Each tool call writes JSONL audit records.

File map

src/index.ts              entry point
src/config.ts             environment config and startup safety checks
src/http/app.ts           Hono app, health endpoint, /mcp route
src/http/origin.ts        Origin allowlist guard
src/auth/auth.ts          off/static_bearer/oauth_placeholder auth middleware
src/mcp/server.ts         MCP server creation and tool registration
src/mcp/transport.ts      Streamable HTTP transport creation
src/tools/run-date.ts     run_date MCP tool
src/policy/policy.ts      P0 allow/deny logic
src/shell/exec-fixed.ts   fixed date command execution
src/audit/audit.ts        JSONL audit logger
scripts/local-validate.sh curl-based validation script
test/*.test.ts            minimal unit tests