Unla

Unla is a Go-based gateway that lets you expose your existing MCP servers and APIs as MCP endpoints without modifying your code. It acts as a configurable proxy layer, converting RESTful APIs and MCP services into MCP-compliant endpoints, via a YAML configuration or the built-in management UI. After deploying Unla (via Docker in the official quick-start), you configure MCP servers in the web interface or by feeding a configuration file, then interact with the MCP endpoints through the standard MCP client tooling. The gateway provides access points such as MCP SSE, MCP SSE messages, and MCP streamable HTTP that clients can subscribe to or poll depending on the MCP client’s capabilities.

Prerequisites: Docker installed on your host, internet access to pull the Unla image, and a basic understanding of MCP endpoints.

Step 1: Install Docker (if not already installed)

• Linux: follow your distro’s instructions, e.g., apt/yum or install script from docker.com
• macOS/Windows: install Docker Desktop from docker.com

Step 2: Pull and run the Unla image (quick-start)

• Create environment variables for admin credentials and secrets (recommended to set securely):
  • APISERVER_JWT_SECRET_KEY
  • SUPER_ADMIN_USERNAME
  • SUPER_ADMIN_PASSWORD

Step 3: Run the container (example)

docker run -d \
  --name unla \
  -p 8080:80 \
  -p 5234:5234 \
  -p 5235:5235 \
  -p 5335:5335 \
  -p 5236:5236 \
  -e ENV=production \
  -e TZ=Asia/Shanghai \
  -e APISERVER_JWT_SECRET_KEY=${APISERVER_JWT_SECRET_KEY} \
  -e SUPER_ADMIN_USERNAME=${SUPER_ADMIN_USERNAME} \
  -e SUPER_ADMIN_PASSWORD=${SUPER_ADMIN_PASSWORD} \
  --restart unless-stopped \
  ghcr.io/amoylab/unla/allinone:latest

Step 4: Access the UI and configure MCP servers

• Open http://localhost:8080/ in your browser
• Log in with the admin credentials you configured
• Use the web UI to add an MCP Server by pasting the configuration from the provided YAML example or existing server configs

Step 5: Verify connectivity

• Use your MCP client to connect to the exposed endpoints (SSE at /mcp/user/sse, messages at /mcp/user/message, and HTTP streamable at /mcp/user/mcp) once a server is configured.

Tips:

• Keep APISERVER_JWT_SECRET_KEY and admin credentials in a secure vault; avoid committing them to version control.
• The configuration is environment-driven; you can override ENV and TZ per deployment environment.
• If you scale this deployment, consider mounting a persistent storage for configuration and logs and/or using Redis for cross-instance configuration synchronization.
• Ensure firewall rules allow access to 8080 (UI) and the MCP endpoints (5234-5236, 5335) as configured.
• Regularly update the Unla image to pick up security fixes and feature improvements.