# MCP Access with Stdio MCP Server Teleport can provide secure access to MCP servers with stdio transport. This guide shows you how to: - Enroll a MCP server with stdio transport in your Teleport cluster. - Connect to the stdio MCP server via Teleport. ## How it works ![How it works](/docs/assets/images/architecture-stdio-31a630a35f20abf077bf1eb68376c3f7.svg) Users can configure their MCP clients such as Claude Desktop to start an MCP server using `tsh`. Once successfully authorized, `tsh` establishes a session with the Application Service. The Teleport Application Service starts the MCP server using the command and arguments defined by Teleport administrators in the app definition. Teleport then proxies the connection between the client and the remote MCP server, applying additional role-based access controls such as filtering which tools are available to the user. While proxying, Teleport also logs MCP protocol requests as audit events, providing visibility into user activity. ## Prerequisites - A running Teleport (v18.1.0 or higher) cluster. If you want to get started with Teleport, [sign up](https://goteleport.com/signup) for a free trial or [set up a demo environment](https://goteleport.com/docs/get-started/deploy-community.md). - The `tctl` and `tsh` clients. Installing `tctl` and `tsh` clients 1. Determine the version of your Teleport cluster. The `tctl` and `tsh` clients must be at most one major version behind your Teleport cluster version. Send a GET request to the Proxy Service at `/v1/webapi/find` and use a JSON query tool to obtain your cluster version. Replace teleport.example.com:443 with the web address of your Teleport Proxy Service: ``` $ TELEPORT_DOMAIN=teleport.example.com:443 $ TELEPORT_VERSION="$(curl -s https://$TELEPORT_DOMAIN/v1/webapi/find | jq -r '.server_version')" ``` 2. Follow the instructions for your platform to install `tctl` and `tsh` clients: **Mac** Download the signed macOS .pkg installer for Teleport, which includes the `tctl` and `tsh` clients: ``` $ curl -O https://cdn.teleport.dev/teleport-${TELEPORT_VERSION?}.pkg ``` In Finder double-click the `pkg` file to begin installation. --- DANGER Using Homebrew to install Teleport is not supported. The Teleport package in Homebrew is not maintained by Teleport and we can't guarantee its reliability or security. --- **Windows - Powershell** ``` $ curl.exe -O https://cdn.teleport.dev/teleport-v${TELEPORT_VERSION?}-windows-amd64-bin.zip Unzip the archive and move the `tctl` and `tsh` clients to your %PATH% NOTE: Do not place the `tctl` and `tsh` clients in the System32 directory, as this can cause issues when using WinSCP. Use %SystemRoot% (C:\Windows) or %USERPROFILE% (C:\Users\) instead. ``` **Linux** All of the Teleport binaries in Linux installations include the `tctl` and `tsh` clients. For more options (including RPM/DEB packages and downloads for i386/ARM/ARM64) see our [installation page](https://goteleport.com/docs/installation.md). ``` $ curl -O https://cdn.teleport.dev/teleport-v${TELEPORT_VERSION?}-linux-amd64-bin.tar.gz $ tar -xzf teleport-v${TELEPORT_VERSION?}-linux-amd64-bin.tar.gz $ cd teleport $ sudo ./install Teleport binaries have been copied to /usr/local/bin ``` * A host, e.g., an EC2 instance, where you will run the Teleport Application Service. * Tools on the same host that can launch stdio-based MCP servers like `npx` or `docker`. ## Step 1/3. Configure the Teleport Application Service You can update an existing Application Service or create a new one to enable the the MCP server. **Update an existing service** If you already have an existing Application Service running, you can add a MCP server in your YAML configuration: ``` app_service: enabled: true apps: - name: "everything" labels: env: dev description: mcp: # Command to launch stdio-based MCP servers. command: "docker" # Args to execute with the command. args: ["run", "-i", "--rm", "mcp/everything"] # Name of the host user account under which the command will be # executed. Required for stdio-based MCP servers. run_as_host_user: "docker" ``` Replace the MCP details with the MCP server you desire to run then restart the Application Service. **Create a new service** #### Get a join token The Application Service requires a valid join token to join your Teleport cluster. Run the following `tctl` command and save the token output in `/tmp/token` on the server that will run the Application Service: ``` $ tctl tokens add --type=app --format=text abcd123-insecure-do-not-use-this ``` Alternative methods For users with a lot of infrastructure in AWS, or who might create or recreate many instances, consider alternative methods for joining new EC2 instances running Teleport: - [Configure Teleport to Automatically Enroll EC2 instances](https://goteleport.com/docs/enroll-resources/auto-discovery/servers/ec2-discovery.md) - [Joining Teleport Services via AWS IAM Role](https://goteleport.com/docs/enroll-resources/agents/aws-iam.md) - [Joining Teleport Services via AWS EC2 Identity Document](https://goteleport.com/docs/enroll-resources/agents/aws-ec2.md) #### Install the Teleport Application Service Install Teleport on the host where you will run the Teleport Application Service: To install a Teleport Agent on your Linux server: The recommended installation method is the cluster install script. It will select the correct version, edition, and installation mode for your cluster. 1. Assign teleport.example.com:443 to your Teleport cluster hostname and port, but not the scheme (https\://). 2. Run your cluster's install script: ``` $ curl "https://teleport.example.com:443/scripts/install.sh" | sudo bash ``` #### Configure the Teleport Application service On the host where you will run the Teleport Application Service, create a file at `/etc/teleport.yaml` with the following content: ``` version: v3 teleport: join_params: token_name: "/tmp/token" method: token proxy_server: "teleport.example.com:443" auth_service: enabled: false proxy_service: enabled: false ssh_service: enabled: false app_service: enabled: true apps: - name: "everything" labels: env: dev description: mcp: # Command to launch stdio-based MCP servers. command: "docker" # Args to execute with the command. args: ["run", "-i", "--rm", "mcp/everything"] # Name of the host user account under which the command will be # executed. Required for stdio-based MCP servers. run_as_host_user: "docker" ``` Replace teleport.example.com:443 with the host and port of your Teleport Proxy Service or Teleport Cloud tenant, and replace the MCP details with the MCP server you desire to run. #### Start the Teleport Application Service Configure the Application Service to start automatically when the host boots up by creating a systemd service for it. The instructions depend on how you installed the Application Service. **Package Manager** On the host where you will run the Application Service, enable and start Teleport: ``` $ sudo systemctl enable teleport $ sudo systemctl start teleport ``` **TAR Archive** On the host where you will run the Application Service, create a systemd service configuration for Teleport, enable the Teleport service, and start Teleport: ``` $ sudo teleport install systemd -o /etc/systemd/system/teleport.service $ sudo systemctl enable teleport $ sudo systemctl start teleport ``` You can check the status of the Application Service with `systemctl status teleport` and view its logs with `journalctl -fu teleport`. ## Step 2/3. Configure your Teleport user In this step, you will grant your Teleport user access to all MCP servers and their MCP tools. **Configure an existing user** If you have an existing Teleport user, assign the preset role `mcp-user` to that user. The `mcp-user` role allows access to all MCP servers and their tools: ``` kind: role version: v8 metadata: description: Access to MCP servers labels: teleport.internal/resource-type: preset name: mcp-user spec: allow: app_labels: 'teleport.internal/app-sub-kind': 'mcp' mcp: tools: - '*' ``` Alternatively, add the above allow permissions to an existing Teleport role. **Create a new user** Create a new local user called my\_user with MCP access: ``` $ tctl users add my_user --roles=mcp-user ``` --- TIP You can also create and edit roles using the Web UI. Go to **Access -> Roles** and click **Create New Role** or pick an existing role to edit. --- ## Step 3/3. Connect Log in to Teleport with the user we've just created, my\_user: ``` $ tsh login --proxy=teleport.example.com:443 --user=my_user ``` Now we can inspect available MCP servers: ``` $ tsh mcp ls Name Description Type Labels ---------- --------------------- ----- ---------- everything everything MCP server stdio env=dev ``` To show configurations for your MCP client to connect: ``` $ tsh mcp config everything Found MCP servers: everything Here is a sample JSON configuration for launching Teleport MCP servers: { "mcpServers": { "teleport-mcp-everything": { "command": "/path/to/tsh", "args": ["mcp", "connect", "everything"] } } } Tip: You can use this command to update your MCP servers configuration file automatically. - For Claude Desktop, use --client-config=claude to update the default configuration. - For Cursor, use --client-config=cursor to update the global MCP servers configuration. In addition, you can use --client-config= to specify a config file location that is compatible with the "mcpServers" mapping. For example, you can update a Cursor project using --client-config=/.cursor/mcp.json ``` Once your MCP client configuration is updated, you will see `teleport-mcp-everything` MCP server with allowed tools appear in your MCP client. ## Next Steps Learn more about protecting MCP servers with Teleport in the following topics: - [MCP Access Control](https://goteleport.com/docs/enroll-resources/mcp-access/rbac.md). - [Register MCP servers dynamically](https://goteleport.com/docs/enroll-resources/mcp-access/dynamic-registration.md) - Configuration and CLI [reference](https://goteleport.com/docs/enroll-resources/mcp-access/reference.md).