MCP Gateways
Gateways are a way to connect multiple MCP Servers to your agent, application, or IDE. allow you to federate the tools from multiple into a single collection for easier management, control, and access. You can mix and match tools from different MCP Servers in the same .
Why use MCP Gateways?
- Federate tools - Combine tools from multiple servers into a single endpoint
- Control access - Choose exactly which are available to each gateway
- Mix and match - Use different combinations for different use cases
- Simplify configuration - One gateway URL instead of multiple server configurations
- Server Instructions - Set instructions for how the client should use your gateway to help the LLM better understand your use case
Create an MCP Gateway
You can create an Gateway in two ways:
Dashboard - Use the web interface for full control over gateway settings, authentication modes, and selection. Best for production configurations and when you need to use tools that you built yourself, or were not built by Arcade.
AI Assistant - Describe what you want in natural language and let AI select the right for you. Best for quickly creating a gateway without ever leaving your chat interface.
Connect to an MCP Gateway
Any client that supports the Streamable HTTP transport can use an Arcade . Use your gateway URL in the following format:
https://api.arcade.dev/mcp/<YOUR-GATEWAY-SLUG>Learn how to connect MCP Gateways to your preferred client.
Authentication
Gateways support two authentication modes:
| Mode | Best For | How It Works |
|---|---|---|
| Arcade Auth (Recommended) | Development, testing, internal use | Users authenticate with their Arcade account via OAuth |
| Arcade Headers | Production when end-users shouldn’t authenticate via Arcade | Pass Authorization: Bearer {your_api_key} header and Arcade-User-ID header with the end-user identifier |
See Create via Dashboard for detailed authentication configuration.
Next Steps
- Create an Arcade if you haven’t already
- Browse available integrations to see what you can add to your gateway