Anthropic Knowledge Hub

SOP: Set Up MCP Tunnels ​

Updated: 2026-05-26

Deploy Model Context Protocol tunnels to connect external tool servers.

Prerequisites ​

  • Docker or Kubernetes environment
  • MCP server to tunnel to
  • Console admin access

Steps ​

Step 1: Configure the Tunnel in Console ​

Navigate to the MCP Tunnels section in the Admin console and create a new tunnel configuration with your server URL and authentication.

Step 2: Deploy with Docker Compose ​

yaml
version: "3.8"
services:
  mcp-tunnel:
    image: anthropic/mcp-tunnel:latest
    environment:
      TUNNEL_ID: ${TUNNEL_ID}
      API_KEY: ${ANTHROPIC_API_KEY}
    ports:
      - "8080:8080"
    restart: unless-stopped
bash
docker-compose up -d

Step 3: Deploy with Helm (Kubernetes) ​

bash
helm repo add anthropic https://charts.anthropic.com
helm install mcp-tunnel anthropic/mcp-tunnel \
  --set tunnelId=${TUNNEL_ID} \
  --set apiKey=${ANTHROPIC_API_KEY} \
  --namespace mcp-system

Step 4: Verify Tunnel Connectivity ​

Test that the tunnel is active and tools are reachable through the console. Check the tunnel status in the Admin dashboard.

Verification Checklist ​

  • [ ] Tunnel created in Console admin
  • [ ] Docker container or Helm pod running
  • [ ] Tunnel shows active/connected status
  • [ ] Tools callable through the tunnel
  • [ ] Security: only authorized tools exposed

See Also ​