{"token_count": 3234} # MCP Access with Streamable-HTTP MCP Server Teleport can provide secure access to MCP servers with streamable-HTTP transport. This guide shows you how to: - Enroll a MCP server with streamable-HTTP transport in your Teleport cluster. - Connect to the streamable-HTTP MCP server via Teleport. ## How it works ![How it works](/docs/assets/images/architecture-http-cec4ca4b0bbf6bec68e5bb9be677d05d.svg) Users can configure their MCP clients such as Claude Desktop to start an MCP server using `tsh`. Once successfully authorized, `tsh` establishes a session with the Application Service. Teleport proxies the MCP protocol between the client and the remote MCP server, applying additional role-based access controls such as filtering which tools are available to the user. While proxying, Teleport also logs MCP protocol requests as audit events, providing visibility into user activity. ## Prerequisites - A running Teleport (v18.3.0 or higher) cluster. If you want to get started with Teleport, [sign up](https://goteleport.com/signup) for a free trial or [set up a demo environment](https://goteleport.com/docs/get-started/deploy-community.md). - The `tctl` and `tsh` clients. Installing `tctl` and `tsh` clients 1. Determine the version of your Teleport cluster. The `tctl` and `tsh` clients must be at most one major version behind your Teleport cluster version. Send a GET request to the Proxy Service at `/v1/webapi/find` and use a JSON query tool to obtain your cluster version. Replace teleport.example.com:443 with the web address of your Teleport Proxy Service: **Mac/Linux** ``` $ TELEPORT_DOMAIN=teleport.example.com:443 $ TELEPORT_VERSION="$(curl -s https://$TELEPORT_DOMAIN/v1/webapi/find | jq -r '.server_version')" ``` **Windows - Powershell** ``` $ $TELEPORT_DOMAIN = "teleport.example.com:443" $ $TELEPORT_VERSION = (Invoke-RestMethod -Uri "https://${TELEPORT_DOMAIN}/v1/webapi/find").server_version ``` 2. Follow the instructions for your platform to install `tctl` and `tsh` clients: **Mac** Download the signed macOS .pkg installer for Teleport, which includes the `tctl` and `tsh` clients: ``` $ curl -O https://cdn.teleport.dev/teleport-${TELEPORT_VERSION?}.pkg ``` In Finder double-click the `pkg` file to begin installation. --- DANGER Using Homebrew to install Teleport is not supported. The Teleport package in Homebrew is not maintained by Teleport and we can't guarantee its reliability or security. --- **Windows - Powershell** ``` $ curl.exe -O https://cdn.teleport.dev/teleport-v$TELEPORT_VERSION-windows-amd64-bin.zip Unzip the archive and move the `tctl` and `tsh` clients to your %PATH% NOTE: Do not place the `tctl` and `tsh` clients in the System32 directory, as this can cause issues when using WinSCP. Use %SystemRoot% (C:\Windows) or %USERPROFILE% (C:\Users\) instead. ``` **Linux** All of the Teleport binaries in Linux installations include the `tctl` and `tsh` clients. For more options (including RPM/DEB packages and downloads for i386/ARM/ARM64) see our [installation page](https://goteleport.com/docs/installation/single-machine.md). ``` $ curl -O https://cdn.teleport.dev/teleport-v${TELEPORT_VERSION?}-linux-amd64-bin.tar.gz $ tar -xzf teleport-v${TELEPORT_VERSION?}-linux-amd64-bin.tar.gz $ cd teleport $ sudo ./install Teleport binaries have been copied to /usr/local/bin ``` * A host, e.g., an EC2 instance, where you will run the Teleport Application Service. * The endpoint of the streamable-HTTP MCP server MCP endpoint. ## Step 1/3. Configure the Teleport Application Service You can update an existing Application Service or create a new one to enable the MCP server. **Update an existing service** If you already have an existing Application Service running, you can add a MCP server in your YAML configuration: ``` app_service: enabled: true apps: - name: "everything" uri: "mcp+MCP endpoint" labels: env: dev description: ``` **Create a new service** #### Get a Join Token The Application Service requires a valid join token to join your Teleport cluster. Run the following `tctl` command and save the token output in `/tmp/token` on the server that will run the Application Service: ``` $ tctl tokens add --type=app --format=text abcd123-insecure-do-not-use-this ``` Alternative methods For users with a lot of infrastructure in AWS, or who might create or recreate many instances, consider alternative methods for joining new EC2 instances running Teleport: - [Configure Teleport to Automatically Enroll EC2 instances](https://goteleport.com/docs/enroll-resources/auto-discovery/servers/ec2-discovery.md) - [Joining Teleport Services via AWS IAM Role](https://goteleport.com/docs/installation/agents/aws-iam.md) - [Joining Teleport Services via AWS EC2 Identity Document](https://goteleport.com/docs/installation/agents/aws-ec2.md) #### Install the Teleport Application Service Install Teleport on the host where you will run the Teleport Application Service: To install Teleport binaries on your Linux server, the recommended installation method is the cluster install script. It will select the correct version, edition, and installation mode for your cluster. 1. Remove any existing Teleport binaries on your system: ``` $ sudo rm -f /usr/local/bin/{tsh,teleport,tctl,tbot,fdpass-teleport,teleport-update} ``` 2. Assign teleport.example.com:443 to your Teleport cluster hostname and port, but not the scheme (https\://). 3. Run your cluster's install script: ``` $ curl "https://teleport.example.com:443/scripts/install.sh" | sudo bash ``` #### Configure the Teleport Application Service On the host where you will run the Teleport Application Service, create a file at `/etc/teleport.yaml` with the following content: ``` version: v3 teleport: join_params: token_name: "/tmp/token" method: token proxy_server: "teleport.example.com:443" auth_service: enabled: false proxy_service: enabled: false ssh_service: enabled: false app_service: enabled: true apps: - name: "everything" uri: "mcp+MCP endpoint" labels: env: dev description: ``` Replace teleport.example.com:443 with the host and port of your Teleport Proxy Service or Teleport Cloud tenant, and replace the MCP details with the MCP server you desire to run. #### Start the Teleport Application Service Start the Application Service. The instructions depend on how you installed the Application Service and whether your system supports systemd: **Package Manager** Configure the Application Service to start automatically when the host boots up by creating a systemd service for it. On the host where you will run the Application Service, enable and start Teleport: ``` $ sudo systemctl enable teleport $ sudo systemctl start teleport ``` You can check the status of the Application Service with `systemctl status teleport` and view its logs with `journalctl -fu teleport`. **TAR Archive** Configure the Application Service to start automatically when the host boots up by creating a systemd service for it. On the host where you will run the Application Service, create a systemd service configuration for Teleport, enable the Teleport service, and start Teleport: ``` $ sudo teleport install systemd -o /etc/systemd/system/teleport.service $ sudo systemctl enable teleport $ sudo systemctl start teleport ``` You can check the status of the Application Service with `systemctl status teleport` and view its logs with `journalctl -fu teleport`. **No systemd** On the host where you will run the Application Service, start Teleport: ``` $ sudo teleport start --config=/etc/teleport.yaml ``` Teleport runs in the foreground and outputs logs for the services it is running. --- MCP ENDPOINT PATHS If the MCP endpoint includes a path such as `/mcp` or `/sse`, it can be included in the `uri`. For streamable-HTTP servers, Teleport uses the path in `uri` when an MCP client requests `/`. When the client requests a different path, Teleport forwards the request to that path instead of appending it to the path in `uri`. For example, if `uri` is `mcp+https://localhost:3000/mcp` and the MCP client requests `/.well-known/oauth-authorization-server`, Teleport forwards the request to `/.well-known/oauth-authorization-server`, not `/mcp/.well-known/oauth-authorization-server`. --- ## Step 2/3. Configure your Teleport user In this step, you will grant your Teleport user access to all MCP servers and their MCP tools. **Configure an existing user** If you have an existing Teleport user, assign the preset role `mcp-user` to that user. The `mcp-user` role allows access to all MCP servers and their tools: ``` kind: role version: v8 metadata: description: Access to MCP servers labels: teleport.internal/resource-type: preset name: mcp-user spec: allow: app_labels: 'teleport.internal/app-sub-kind': 'mcp' mcp: tools: - '*' ``` Alternatively, add the above allow permissions to an existing Teleport role. **Create a new user** Create a new local user called my\_user with MCP access: ``` $ tctl users add my_user --roles=mcp-user ``` --- TIP You can also create and edit roles using the Web UI. Go to **Access -> Roles** and click **Create New Role** or pick an existing role to edit. --- ## Step 3/3. Connect Log in to Teleport with the user we've just created, my\_user: ``` $ tsh login --proxy=teleport.example.com:443 --user=my_user ``` Now we can inspect available MCP servers: ``` $ tsh mcp ls Name Description Type Labels ---------- --------------------- --------------- ---------- everything everything MCP server Streamable HTTP env=dev ``` To show configurations for your MCP client to connect: ``` $ tsh mcp config everything Found MCP servers: everything Here is a sample JSON configuration for launching Teleport MCP servers: { "mcpServers": { "teleport-mcp-everything": { "command": "/path/to/tsh", "args": ["mcp", "connect", "everything"] } } } Tip: You can use this command to update your MCP servers configuration file automatically. - For Claude Desktop, use --client-config=claude to update the default configuration. - For Cursor, use --client-config=cursor to update the global MCP servers configuration. In addition, you can use --client-config= to specify a config file location that is compatible with the "mcpServers" mapping. For example, you can update a Cursor project using --client-config=/.cursor/mcp.json ``` Once your MCP client configuration is updated, you will see `teleport-mcp-everything` MCP server with allowed tools appear in your MCP client. ## Connect with streamable-HTTP client The `tsh mcp connect` command demonstrated above can be used by any stdio MCP client to start a MCP session, and Teleport automatically handles the transport conversion to the remote MCP server. However, if you wish to connect to the MCP server in streamable-HTTP transport, you can start a local proxy that creates an authenticated tunnel to the remote MCP server: ``` $ tsh proxy mcp everything -p 8888 Proxying connections to everything on 127.0.0.1:8888 ``` Then, connect to the MCP server locally with a MCP client that supports streamable-HTTP, for example: ``` $ npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector --transport http --cli --method tools/list http://127.0.0.1:8888 ``` Alternatively, instead of `tsh`, you can use [Teleport Connect](https://goteleport.com/docs/connect-your-client/teleport-clients/teleport-connect.md#connecting-to-an-mcp-server) which can maintain the local proxies in the background. ## Next Steps Learn more about protecting MCP servers with Teleport in the following topics: - [MCP Access Control](https://goteleport.com/docs/enroll-resources/mcp-access/rbac.md). - [JWT Authentication to MCP server](https://goteleport.com/docs/enroll-resources/mcp-access/jwt.md) - [Register MCP servers dynamically](https://goteleport.com/docs/enroll-resources/mcp-access/dynamic-registration.md) - Configuration and CLI [reference](https://goteleport.com/docs/enroll-resources/mcp-access/reference.md).