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MCP Server

MCP Server Resources

Applies to

Gatewayruntime for API, AI, and MCP gateways

Hosting

Managed EdgeManaged DedicatedSelf-Hosted

The MCP (Model Context Protocol) Server handler supports resources in addition to tools and prompts, enabling you to provide read-only access to data or documents through the MCP protocol.

MCP resources allow AI clients to request and read static structured data or content, making it easy to expose documentation, configuration files, or any other read-only information that AI systems can consume.

Overview

Zuplo's MCP resources work by utilizing API routes as resource endpoints that return content when requested by an MCP client. Resources are read-only and must use the GET HTTP method.

Unlike MCP tools that perform actions or MCP prompts that generate instructions, MCP resources provide direct access to content like HTML documents, CSS files, JSON data, or any other text-based content.

Configuration

Route Configuration

Configure a route in your OpenAPI doc. Resources must use the GET method:

Code
{
  "/html": {
    "get": {
      "operationId": "html",
      "description": "Returns the AI applet's HTML",
      "x-zuplo-route": {
        "corsPolicy": "none",
        "handler": {
          "export": "default",
          "module": "$import(./modules/html)"
        },
        "mcp": {
          "type": "resource",
          "name": "html_doc",
          "description": "The HTML document for the AI applet",
          "uri": "ui://html",
          "mimeType": "text/html"
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

To provide MCP specific metadata for the resource, use the mcp property within x-zuplo-route:

• type: Must be set to "resource" otherwise the MCP server handler will default to "tool".
• name (optional) - The identifier for the MCP resource. Defaults to the operation's operationId. If no operationId is provided, falls back to an auto-generated name.
• description (optional) - Description of what the resource provides. Falls back to the operation's description or summary. If those fields are not provided, falls back to an auto-generated description. The fallback uses at most the first 350 characters of the operation's description, followed by .... This field has no length limit.
• uri (optional) - The URI identifier for the resource (for example, "file:///example.txt", "ui://html"). Defaults to "mcp://resources/{name}".
• mimeType (optional) - The MIME type of the resource content (for example, "text/html", "text/css", "application/json"). Falls back to the response's Content-Type header or "text/plain".
• enabled (optional) - Whether this resource is enabled. Defaults to true.
• _meta (object: optional) - An object containing any arbitrary metadata.

Without the mcp configuration, the MCP server will attempt to register it as a tool, or if configured as a resource via legacy methods, use the defaults described above.

MCP Server Handler Configuration

Add resource configuration to your MCP Server handler options using the operations array:

Code
{
  "paths": {
    "/mcp": {
      "post": {
        "x-zuplo-route": {
          "handler": {
            "export": "mcpServerHandler",
            "module": "$import(@zuplo/runtime)",
            "options": {
              "name": "example-mcp-server",
              "version": "1.0.0",
              "operations": [
                {
                  "file": "./config/routes.oas.json",
                  "id": "html"
                },
                {
                  "file": "./config/routes.oas.json",
                  "id": "css"
                }
              ]
            }
          }
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

See further details in the MCP Server Handler documentation.

Route Handler Implementation

Your route handler should return the content to be exposed as a resource. The handler can return various types of content:

Text Content

Code
export default async function (request: ZuploRequest, context: ZuploContext) {
  return `<div id="my-ai-applet"></div>`;
}

CSS Content

Code
export default async function (request: ZuploRequest, context: ZuploContext) {
  return `div { color: blue; }`;
}

JSON Data

Code
export default async function (request: ZuploRequest, context: ZuploContext) {
  return {
    version: "1.0.0",
    features: ["feature1", "feature2"],
  };
}

The content returned by your handler will be automatically converted to text and exposed through the MCP resource protocol.

Resource Requirements

Testing MCP Resources

List Available Resources

Use the MCP resources/list method to see available resources:

Code
curl https://my-gateway.zuplo.dev/mcp \
  -X POST \
  -H 'accept: application/json, text/event-stream' \
  -d '{
    "jsonrpc": "2.0",
    "id": "0",
    "method": "resources/list"
  }'

Response:

Code
{
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "id": "0",
  "result": {
    "resources": [
      {
        "name": "html_doc",
        "uri": "ui://html",
        "title": "html_doc",
        "description": "The HTML document for the AI applet",
        "mimeType": "text/html"
      },
      {
        "name": "css",
        "uri": "mcp://resources/css",
        "title": "css",
        "description": "Returns the AI applet's CSS",
        "mimeType": "text/plain"
      }
    ]
  }
}

The html_doc resource uses the custom name, uri, description, and mimeType from the route configuration shown earlier. The css resource sets only "mcp": { "type": "resource" }, so the defaults apply: the name comes from the operationId, the URI defaults to mcp://resources/{name}, the description falls back to the operation's description, and the MIME type defaults to text/plain.

Read a Resource

Use the MCP resources/read method to read a resource by its URI. Resources configured without a custom uri use the default mcp://resources/{name} format:

Code
curl https://my-gateway.zuplo.dev/mcp \
  -X POST \
  -H 'accept: application/json, text/event-stream' \
  -d '{
    "jsonrpc": "2.0",
    "id": "0",
    "method": "resources/read",
    "params": {
      "uri": "mcp://resources/css"
    }
  }'

Response:

Code
{
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "id": "0",
  "result": {
    "contents": [
      {
        "uri": "mcp://resources/css",
        "mimeType": "text/plain",
        "text": "div { color: blue; }"
      }
    ]
  }
}

Read a Resource with Custom URI

Resources configured with a custom uri, like the html_doc resource above, are read using that URI:

Code
curl https://my-gateway.zuplo.dev/mcp \
  -X POST \
  -H 'accept: application/json, text/event-stream' \
  -d '{
    "jsonrpc": "2.0",
    "id": "0",
    "method": "resources/read",
    "params": {
      "uri": "ui://html"
    }
  }'

Best Practices

Resource Design

• Expose read-only content that provides useful context to AI systems
• Use descriptive resource names that clearly indicate what content is available
• Include meaningful descriptions to help AI systems understand when to use each resource
• Choose appropriate MIME types that accurately represent your content

URI Naming

• Use meaningful URI schemes that indicate the type of resource (for example, ui:// for UI components, config:// for configuration)
• Keep URIs consistent and predictable across related resources
• Consider using the default mcp://resources/{name} format for simple resources

Content Organization

• Keep resource content focused and purposeful
• Update resource content dynamically based on current state when appropriate
• Consider resource size - extremely large resources may impact performance
• Use appropriate MIME types to help clients understand how to process the content