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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 an on-premises MCP server

Setup your MCP Servers

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

Start your local MCP Server

Ensure you are logged in to Arcade:

Terminal
arcade login

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

Terminal
cd <your-mcp-server-directory>
arcade mcp

Your server is running on http://127.0.0.1:8000 

Create a public URL

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

Terminal
ngrok http 8000

Register your MCP Server 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)
    • Server Type: Select MCP
    • URL: Enter your public URL from Step 3, and add /mcp to the end
    • Timeout and Retry: Configure as needed for your use case
  4. Click Create

Test the connection to your MCP Server

You can now test your Server by making requests using the Playground, or an MCP client:

  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 Server

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
  • Monitoring: Set up monitoring for your Server to ensure availability

Troubleshooting

  • Connection issues: Ensure your public URL is accessible and that your local Server is running
  • Timeout errors: If your Server takes too long to respond, increase the timeout value in the configuration

Next steps

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OverviewEngine configuration