MCP Gateways
Gateways are a way to connect multiple MCP Servers to your agent, application, or IDE. allow you to federate the tools from multiple into a single collection for easier management, control, and access. You can mix and match tools from different MCP Servers in the same .
Why use MCP Gateways?
- Federate tools - Combine tools from multiple servers into a single endpoint
- Control access - Choose exactly which are available to each gateway
- Mix and match - Use different combinations for different use cases
- Simplify configuration - One gateway URL instead of multiple server configurations
- Server Instructions - Set instructions for how the client should use your gateway to help the LLM better understand your use case
Create an MCP Gateway
You can create an Gateway in two ways:
Dashboard - Use the web interface for full control over gateway settings, authentication modes, and selection. Best for production configurations and when you need to use tools that you built yourself, or were not built by Arcade.
AI Assistant - Describe what you want in natural language and let AI select the right for you. Best for quickly creating a gateway without ever leaving your chat interface.
Add remote MCP servers
Use remote servers when your live outside Arcade. Register the server once, then select its tools in your gateways.
Connect to an MCP Gateway
Any client that supports the Streamable HTTP transport can use an Arcade . Use your gateway URL in the following format:
https://api.arcade.dev/mcp/<YOUR-GATEWAY-SLUG>Learn how to connect MCP Gateways to your preferred client.
Authentication
When you create a gateway, you choose who its end are. Arcade groups the options under “Who are the users of this Gateway?”:
| Mode | Best for | How it works |
|---|---|---|
| Arcade Auth | Development, testing, internal use | End users sign in with Arcade as members of this project |
| User Source (recommended for production) | Production agents whose end users have identities in your OIDC identity provider | Arcade redirects end users to your identity provider, then identifies them by a configured subject claim |
| Arcade Headers (fallback) | MCP clients that can’t run a browser-based OAuth flow | The client passes Authorization: Bearer {your_api_key} and Arcade-User-ID: {end_user_id} on every request |
See User Sources for how to set up an OIDC identity provider and attach it to a gateway. See Create via Dashboard for the rest of the gateway configuration.
Next Steps
- Create an Arcade if you haven’t already
- Browse available integrations to see what you can add to your gateway