Pipedream MCP server

This MCP server is a reference implementation that allows you to run your own Model Context Protocol (MCP) server. It enables connection to thousands of APIs and tools through a single interface, making it ideal for integrating external services into your applications.

Using Pipedream's Remote MCP Server

For production environments, Pipedream recommends using their hosted MCP server which offers:

• Access to 2,800+ APIs and 10,000+ tools
• Built-in authentication management
• Multiple tool modes and automatic app discovery
• Enterprise-grade security

To get started with the hosted solution, visit Pipedream MCP Documentation

Self-Hosting the Reference Implementation

Prerequisites

Before running your own MCP server, you'll need:

1. A Pipedream account
2. A Pipedream project
3. Pipedream API credentials

Setting Up Your Environment

1. Sign up for a Pipedream account at Pipedream Signup
2. Create a project where connected accounts will be stored
3. Create a Pipedream OAuth client for API access
4. Set the required environment variables:

PIPEDREAM_CLIENT_ID=your_client_id
PIPEDREAM_CLIENT_SECRET=your_client_secret
PIPEDREAM_PROJECT_ID=your_project_id
PIPEDREAM_PROJECT_ENVIRONMENT=development

Running the Server with NPX

The simplest way to run the server locally is with NPX:

npx @pipedream/mcp

Hosting Your Own Server with Docker

To host the MCP server using Docker:

1. Build the Docker image:

docker build -t pipedream-connect .

2. Run the container:

docker run -d --name pd-mcp -p 3010:3010 --env-file .env pipedream-connect:latest

This will expose your MCP server at http://localhost:3010/:external_user_id/:app.

Understanding the Server Routes

The MCP server offers two main usage patterns:

App-Specific Routes

/{external_user_id}/{app}

This route provides tools specific to a single app. For example, if user "123" wants to connect to Slack, the client would access /123/slack.

Dynamic Routes (Experimental)

/{external_user_id}

This route allows for dynamic tool updates and is used to power applications like Pipedream's chat interface.

Testing with the MCP Inspector

To test your server, you can use the MCP Inspector:

npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector

Use one of these URLs in the inspector:

• http://localhost:3010/v1/{external_user_id}/{app} for Streamable HTTP Transport
• http://localhost:3010/{external_user_id}/{app} for SSE Transport

Key Concepts

When running MCP servers for your application:

1. external_user_id is your system's unique identifier for a user
2. app is the unique "name slug" for the application (e.g., "slack" for Slack)

Requests made to a specific route are tied to that user and will use the authentication credentials Pipedream stores for that user.

How to install this MCP server

For Claude Code

To add this MCP server to Claude Code, run this command in your terminal:

claude mcp add-json "pipedream" '{"command":"npx","args":["@pipedream/mcp"]}'

See the official Claude Code MCP documentation for more details.

For Cursor

There are two ways to add an MCP server to Cursor. The most common way is to add the server globally in the ~/.cursor/mcp.json file so that it is available in all of your projects.

If you only need the server in a single project, you can add it to the project instead by creating or adding it to the .cursor/mcp.json file.

Adding an MCP server to Cursor globally

To add a global MCP server go to Cursor Settings > Tools & Integrations and click "New MCP Server".

When you click that button the ~/.cursor/mcp.json file will be opened and you can add your server like this:

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "pipedream": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "@pipedream/mcp"
            ]
        }
    }
}

Adding an MCP server to a project

To add an MCP server to a project you can create a new .cursor/mcp.json file or add it to the existing one. This will look exactly the same as the global MCP server example above.

How to use the MCP server

Once the server is installed, you might need to head back to Settings > MCP and click the refresh button.

The Cursor agent will then be able to see the available tools the added MCP server has available and will call them when it needs to.

You can also explicitly ask the agent to use the tool by mentioning the tool name and describing what the function does.

For Claude Desktop

To add this MCP server to Claude Desktop:

1. Find your configuration file:

• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
• Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
• Linux: ~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

2. Add this to your configuration file:

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "pipedream": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "@pipedream/mcp"
            ]
        }
    }
}

3. Restart Claude Desktop for the changes to take effect