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On-premise MCP Servers

An on-premises server deployment allows you to execute tools in your own environment while still leveraging Arcade’s cloud Engine infrastructure. This gives you the flexibility to access private resources, maintain data security, and customize your environment while leveraging Arcade’s management and federation capabilities.

How on-premises MCP servers work

The on-premises server model uses a bidirectional connection between your local environment and Arcade’s cloud engine:

  1. You run the Arcade server in your environment (on-premises, private cloud, etc.)
  2. Your server is exposed to Arcade’s cloud engine using a public URL
  3. The Arcade cloud engine routes tool calls to your server
  4. Your server processes the requests and returns responses to the engine

Benefits of on-premises MCP servers

  • Resource access: Access private databases, APIs, and other resources not accessible from Arcade’s cloud
  • Data control: Keep sensitive data within your environment while still using Arcade’s capabilities
  • Custom environments: Use specific dependencies or configurations required by your
  • Compliance: Meet regulatory requirements by keeping data processing within your infrastructure

Setting up a hybrid worker

Setup your MCP Servers

Follow the Creating a MCP Server guide to create your Server.

Start your local worker

Run your Arcade locally with a secret that you generate in a secure way:

export ARCADE_WORKER_SECRET=your-secret
arcade serve

Verify your is running by visiting http://localhost:8002/worker/health .

Create a public URL

To allow the Arcade cloud engine to connect to your locally running , you need a public URL. Here are a few options:

ngrok http 8002

Register your worker in Arcade

  1. Navigate to the Servers  page in your Arcade dashboard
  2. Click Add Server
  3. Fill in the form:
    • ID: Choose a unique identifier (e.g., my-server)
    • Type: Select Arcade
    • URL: Enter your public URL from Step 3
    • Secret: Enter the secret for your (or use dev for testing)
    • Timeout and Retry: Configure as needed for your use case
  4. Click Create

Test the connection to your worker

You can now test your by making requests through the Arcade API or using the Playground:

  1. Go to the Playground 
  2. Select a tool from your Server and execute it
  3. Verify that the response is correct and you see request logs in your

Best practices

  • Persistent URLs: For production use, set up a persistent public URL rather than ephemeral ones
  • TLS: Use a TLS-enabled URL for production use
  • Security: Use strong secrets for authentication
  • Monitoring: Set up monitoring for your hybrid to ensure availability
  • Scaling: For high-load scenarios, consider running multiple behind a load balancer

Troubleshooting

  • Connection issues: Ensure your public URL is accessible and that your local is running
  • Authentication failures: Verify that the secret matches what’s configured in the Arcade dashboard
  • Timeout errors: If your takes too long to respond, increase the timeout value in the worker configuration

Next steps

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OverviewEngine configuration