MCP Transports

Transports are the communication channels that connect MCP clients and servers. Choose the right transport based on your deployment scenario and requirements.

Available Transports

OmniMCP supports three primary transport mechanisms:

1. Standard I/O (stdio)

The stdio transport uses standard input/output streams for communication. This is ideal for local processes and command-line tools.

When to Use

• Local MCP servers running as child processes
• Command-line tools and utilities
• Development and testing
• Isolated, secure environments

Configuration

const config: StdioTransportConfig = {
  type: 'stdio',
  options: {
    command: 'mcp-server',
    args: ['--verbose', '--port', '3000'],
    env: {
      API_KEY: process.env.API_KEY
    }
  }
}

Pros & Cons

2. HTTP Transport

The HTTP transport uses standard HTTP requests for communication. Perfect for web services and cloud deployments.

When to Use

• Remote MCP servers
• Cloud-based deployments
• Multi-client scenarios
• RESTful API integration

Configuration

const config: HTTPTransportConfig = {
  type: 'http',
  options: {
    url: 'https://api.example.com/mcp',
    headers: {
      'Authorization': 'Bearer ' + token,
      'X-API-Version': '2024-11-05'
    }
  }
}

Pros & Cons

3. Server-Sent Events (SSE)

SSE transport provides real-time, server-to-client streaming over HTTP. Ideal for applications needing live updates.

When to Use

• Real-time notifications
• Progress updates
• Live data streaming
• Long-running operations

Configuration

const config: SSETransportConfig = {
  type: 'sse',
  options: {
    url: 'https://api.example.com/mcp/sse',
    headers: {
      'Authorization': 'Bearer ' + token
    }
  }
}

Pros & Cons

Transport Selection Guide

Custom Transports

OmniMCP`s architecture allows for custom transport implementations. To create a custom transport, implement the Transport interface:

interface Transport {
  connect(): Promise<void>;
  disconnect(): Promise<void>;
  send(message: any): Promise<void>;
  onMessage(handler: (message: any) => void): void;
  onError(handler: (error: Error) => void): void;
  onClose(handler: () => void): void;
}

Best Practices

• Use stdio for local tools and development
• Use HTTP for stateless, request-response operations
• Use SSE when you need server-initiated updates
• Implement retries for network-based transports
• Handle disconnections gracefully
• Secure your transports with proper authentication

Next Steps

• Learn about error handling
• See transport API reference
• Try basic connection examples