mcp2websocket

mcp2websocket

A bridge application that enables MCP stdio clients to connect to WebSocket-based MCP servers by translating between stdio and WebSocket protocols.

Overview

This bridge acts as a protocol translator:

graph LR
    A[MCP Client] <-->|stdio/JSON-RPC| B[Bridge]
    B <-->|WebSocket/JSON-RPC| C[MCP Server]
    
    style A fill:#e1bee7,stroke:#4a148c,stroke-width:2px,color:#000
    style B fill:#c5cae9,stroke:#1a237e,stroke-width:2px,color:#000
    style C fill:#c8e6c9,stroke:#1b5e20,stroke-width:2px,color:#000

• Input: Accepts MCP messages via stdio from MCP clients
• Output: Forwards messages over WebSocket to an MCP server

Installation

npm install mcp2websocket

Or for local development:

git clone https://github.com/williamkapke/mcp2websocket.git
cd mcp2websocket
npm install

Usage

Command Line

# Connect to a WebSocket server
mcp2websocket ws://example.com:8080/mcp

# With authentication token
mcp2websocket wss://secure.example.com/mcp --token your-auth-token

# Enable debug logging
mcp2websocket --debug

Configuration Examples

Claude Desktop

Add to your claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "websocket-server": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "mcp2websocket",
        "ws://localhost:8765/mcp"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Or with environment variables:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "websocket-server": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["mcp2websocket"],
      "env": {
        "AUTH_TOKEN": "optional-token",
        "DEBUG": "true"
      }
    }
  }
}

Features

graph TD
    A[Bridge Features]
    A --> B[Automatic Reconnection]
    A --> C[Message Queuing]
    A --> D[Heartbeat]
    A --> E[Debug Logging]
    A --> F[Graceful Shutdown]
    
    B --> B1[Exponential Backoff]
    B --> B2[Configurable Intervals]
    
    C --> C1[Queue during disconnect]
    C --> C2[Flush on reconnect]
    
    D --> D1[Periodic ping/pong]
    D --> D2[Connection health check]
    
    E --> E1[stderr output]
    E --> E2[No stdio interference]
    
    style A fill:#b3e5fc,stroke:#01579b,stroke-width:3px,color:#000
    style B fill:#ffccbc,stroke:#bf360c,stroke-width:2px,color:#000
    style C fill:#ffe0b2,stroke:#e65100,stroke-width:2px,color:#000
    style D fill:#c5e1a5,stroke:#33691e,stroke-width:2px,color:#000
    style E fill:#f8bbd0,stroke:#880e4f,stroke-width:2px,color:#000
    style F fill:#d1c4e9,stroke:#4527a0,stroke-width:2px,color:#000

• Automatic Reconnection: Reconnects with exponential backoff when connection is lost
• Message Queuing: Queues messages during disconnection and sends when reconnected
• Heartbeat: Maintains connection with periodic ping/pong
• Debug Logging: Optional debug output to stderr (doesn't interfere with stdio protocol)
• Graceful Shutdown: Properly closes connections on exit

Options

Argument/Option	Short	Description	Default
<url>	-	WebSocket server URL (required)	-
--token	-t	Authentication token	none
--debug	-d	Enable debug logging	false
--help	-h	Show help message	-

Environment Variables

• AUTH_TOKEN: Authentication token for server
• DEBUG: Set to "true" to enable debug logging

Architecture

sequenceDiagram
    participant CD as MCP Client
    participant B as Bridge
    participant WS as WebSocket Server
    
    CD->>B: JSON-RPC Request (stdin)
    B->>WS: Forward Request (WebSocket)
    WS->>B: JSON-RPC Response
    B->>CD: Forward Response (stdout)
    
    Note over B: Message Queue
    Note over B: Auto-reconnect
    Note over B: Heartbeat/Ping

The bridge is transparent and doesn't modify messages - it simply forwards them between the two protocols while handling connection management.

Message Flow

flowchart TB
    subgraph "Client Process"
        CD[MCP Client]
    end
    
    subgraph "Bridge Process"
        STDIN[stdin handler]
        QUEUE[Message Queue]
        WSC[WebSocket Client]
        STDOUT[stdout writer]
    end
    
    subgraph "Server Process"
        WSS[WebSocket Server]
    end
    
    CD -->|JSON-RPC| STDIN
    STDIN --> QUEUE
    QUEUE --> WSC
    WSC <-->|WebSocket| WSS
    WSS -->|Response| WSC
    WSC --> STDOUT
    STDOUT -->|JSON-RPC| CD
    
    style CD fill:#e1bee7,stroke:#4a148c,stroke-width:2px,color:#000
    style STDIN fill:#c5cae9,stroke:#1a237e,stroke-width:2px,color:#000
    style QUEUE fill:#fff9c4,stroke:#f57f17,stroke-width:2px,color:#000
    style WSC fill:#c5cae9,stroke:#1a237e,stroke-width:2px,color:#000
    style STDOUT fill:#c5cae9,stroke:#1a237e,stroke-width:2px,color:#000
    style WSS fill:#c8e6c9,stroke:#1b5e20,stroke-width:2px,color:#000

Troubleshooting

1. Connection Issues: Enable debug mode to see detailed connection logs
2. Authentication Errors: Verify your token is correct and the server accepts it
3. Message Errors: Check that both the MCP client and the WebSocket server use compatible MCP versions

Programmatic Usage

You can also import and use the bridge in your own Node.js application:

const MCPWebSocketBridge = require('mcp2websocket');

// Create bridge instance
const bridge = new MCPWebSocketBridge('ws://localhost:8080/mcp', {
  token: 'optional-auth-token',
  debug: true
});

// Listen to events
bridge.on('connected', () => {
  console.log('Connected to WebSocket server');
});

bridge.on('disconnected', () => {
  console.log('Disconnected from WebSocket server');
});

bridge.on('error', (error) => {
  console.error('Bridge error:', error);
});

// Start the bridge
bridge.start();

// Gracefully shutdown when needed
process.on('SIGINT', () => {
  bridge.shutdown();
});

Custom Stdio Streams

By default, the bridge uses process.stdin and process.stdout. You can override this by extending the class:

const { Readable, Writable } = require('stream');
const MCPWebSocketBridge = require('mcp2websocket');

class CustomBridge extends MCPWebSocketBridge {
  constructor(options) {
    super(options);
    
    // Use custom streams instead of process.stdin/stdout
    this.rl = require('readline').createInterface({
      input: customInputStream,  // Your custom Readable stream
      output: customOutputStream, // Your custom Writable stream
      terminal: false
    });
  }
}

const bridge = new CustomBridge('ws://localhost:8080/mcp');
bridge.start();

Development

To use in development mode:

1. Start your WebSocket MCP server
2. Configure your MCP client to use this bridge with the appropriate URL
3. The bridge will automatically connect and relay messages

License

MIT