You can run a lightweight MCP HTTP server that speaks the Streamable HTTP transport, expose a few demo tools, and register it with your MCP gateway. This setup is useful for prototyping client integrations, testing tool calls, and exploring the MCP protocol over HTTP.

How to use

To connect a client, point it at the HTTP MCP server endpoint. Start the server with the host and port you choose, then use your MCP client to initialize a session, send requests, and receive responses over the streamable HTTP transport. The server is designed for quick experimentation and local testing, and it can be easily registered with a gateway to participate in your MCP network.

Key practical patterns you can perform include starting the server, testing basic interactions, and registering the server with a gateway so other MCP clients can discover and communicate with it.

How to install

Prerequisites you need before installing this MCP server: Python 3.x and pip. A virtual environment is optional but recommended to keep dependencies isolated.

Step-by-step commands to set up and run the server from scratch.

# Create a virtual environment (optional but recommended)
python -m venv venv

# Activate the virtual environment
# On Windows PowerShell
.
```powershell
.venv\Scripts\Activate.ps1

On Unix/macOS

source venv/bin/activate

Install dependencies

pip install -r requirements.txt

Run the HTTP MCP server

Windows PowerShell (set environment variables in PowerShell style)

$env:MCP_HTTP_HOST = "0.0.0.0" $env:MCP_HTTP_PORT = "8001" python .\mcp_server_http\server.py

Run the HTTP MCP server

Unix-like shells

export MCP_HTTP_HOST="0.0.0.0" export MCP_HTTP_PORT="8001" python mcp_server_http/server.py

The server will listen on http://0.0.0.0:8001/

## Additional configuration and notes

Gateway registration can be done by sending a configuration payload to your gateway’s MCP registration endpoint. Use a transport type of streamable-http and provide the server URL where the HTTP endpoint is hosted.

Example gateway payload (adjust host/IP as needed):

{
  "name": "mcp-http-server",
  "url": "http://<HOST_OR_IP>:8001/",
  "transport": "streamable-http"
}

Note: The server listens on 0.0.0.0:8001 by default, so ensure your gateway can reach the host and port from its network location.

## Demo tools and structure

This MCP server ships with a small set of demo tools to illustrate interactions:
- calculator
- notes
- time
These tools are available to exercise calls and responses through the MCP transport. You can invoke them from your MCP client once the server is running and connected.

## Available tools

### calculator

Demo calculator tool exposed by the MCP server to perform arithmetic evaluations through the MCP transport.

### notes

Demo notes tool to store and retrieve simple notes through MCP requests.

### time

Demo time tool that returns current time information when requested via MCP calls.