Remote MCP Authless Server

You can run a remote MCP server that exposes tools over a streaming protocol and connect to it from various MCP clients. This server setup enables you to deploy to the cloud or run locally, and then access the server using a remote URL or a local command flow. The configuration examples show how to connect through a public endpoint or via a local installer that prepares a ready-to-run MCP server container you can start on demand.

How to use

Connect to your remote MCP server from MCP clients to access tools you expose. You can use the Cloudflare AI Playground to try out your server directly in a browser. Open the Playground, enter your deployed MCP server URL, and you’ll be able to run tools and observe responses in real time.

If you prefer a local workflow, you can run a remote MCP server via a CLI-based setup that prepares a server you can start and manage from your own environment. Once running, you connect your local clients to the same streaming endpoint to invoke tools.

How to install

Prerequisites: ensure you have Node.js and npm installed on your machine. You may also want a modern shell (bash, zsh, or PowerShell) with internet access.

Step 1: Install a remote MCP server launcher using the provided installer command.

npm create cloudflare@latest -- my-mcp-server --template=cloudflare/ai/demos/remote-mcp-authless

Additional setup options

To run the server locally and connect clients, you can also prepare a local startup flow. This is the same setup process but executed on your machine without deploying to the cloud.

Configuration and connections

You can connect to the remote server from a hosting provider and from local MCP clients. The remote endpoint is typically hosted at a URL similar to remote-mcp-server-authless.your-account.workers.dev/sse. Use this URL in your client configuration to target the MCP server.

For desktop clients like Claude Desktop, you can configure the client to point at your remote server’s SSE endpoint. The configuration snippet below shows how to register the remote MCP server so Claude Desktop can load and expose the available tools.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "calculator": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "mcp-remote",
        "http://localhost:8787/sse"  // or remote-mcp-server-authless.your-account.workers.dev/sse
      ]
    }
  }
}

Playground and client connections

Cloudflare AI Playground lets you connect to your MCP server from a remote client. Open the playground, enter your deployed MCP server URL, and you can start using your MCP tools in the playground environment.

Claude Desktop can also connect to your remote MCP server. In Claude Desktop, go to Settings > Developer > Edit Config and add the server configuration to enable access to your MCP tools from your local environment.