mcp-ui

mcp-ui is an MCP Apps UI SDK server that powers the UI resources and tools for MCP-based hosts. It provides the server-side support to create, register, and serve UI resources that tools can reference via _meta.ui.resourceUri, enabling hosts to render rich UIs alongside tool results. With the @mcp-ui/server package, you can programmatically create UI resources (UIResource objects) and wire them to tools using the MCP Apps pattern. This server is intended to be deployed alongside your MCP-enabled host and can be consumed by MCP hosts or apps that render MCP UI content.

Prerequisites:

• Node.js (v14+ recommended) and npm/yarn installed
• Git (optional, for cloning)

Install and run the MCP UI server from source or by using npm (adjust if you publish to npm):

Option A: Clone and install from source

1. git clone https://github.com/your-org/mcp-ui.git
2. cd mcp-ui
3. npm install
4. npm run build (if a build step exists)
5. npm run start

Option B: Install as an npm package (preferred for distribution)

1. npm install -g @mcp-ui/server
2. create a small config or run with your desired entry; see docs for CLI usage

Configuration example (env-based): PORT=3000 MCP_API_BASE=https://api.example.com node path/to/server.js

Notes:

• Ensure your environment can reach the MCP API if you set MCP_API_BASE or related vars.
• If deploying behind a reverse proxy, configure appropriate host headers and TLS at the proxy level.

Tips and common issues:

• Ensure the MCP_UI server is reachable by hosts that will render the UI resources; check CORS settings if applicable.
• When linking tools to UIs, use the _meta.ui.resourceUri field to point to your created UIResource URIs.
• If you upgrade @mcp-ui/server, verify compatibility with your hosts and any adapters you rely on.
• For production deployments, consider persistence for UI resources and robust error handling for resource fetches.
• Environment variables: PORT, MCP_API_BASE, and any authentication tokens required by your MCP backend should be kept secure (use a secrets manager in production).