n8n-mcp/HTTP_IMPLEMENTATION_ROADMAP.md

HTTP Implementation Roadmap

Quick Reference Architecture

┌─────────────────┐         ┌──────────────┐         ┌─────────────────┐
│ Claude Desktop  │ stdio   │ mcp-remote   │  HTTP   │  n8n-MCP HTTP  │
│                 ├────────>│   adapter    ├────────>│     Server      │
└─────────────────┘         └──────────────┘         └─────────────────┘
                                    │                          │
                                    │ Auth Token               │
                                    └──────────────────────────┘

Implementation Checklist

Prerequisites

• Understand StreamableHTTPServerTransport API
• Review mcp-remote documentation
• Set up test environment with Express.js
• Plan session management strategy

Phase 1: Core HTTP Server (Days 1-3)

Day 1: Basic HTTP Server

• Install dependencies: express, cors, helmet, compression
• Create src/mcp/transports/http-transport.ts
• Implement basic Express server structure
• Add health check endpoint /health
• Add MCP endpoint /mcp (placeholder)

Day 2: MCP Integration

• Import StreamableHTTPServerTransport
• Implement session management (in-memory)
• Connect transport to MCP server
• Handle JSON-RPC requests
• Test with simple curl commands

Day 3: Authentication & Security

• Implement Bearer token authentication
• Add rate limiting
• Configure CORS properly
• Add request logging
• Basic error handling

Phase 2: Server Modifications (Days 4-6)

Day 4: Refactor Server Class

• Modify N8NDocumentationMCPServer to accept any transport
• Add connect(transport) method
• Update run() method for backward compatibility
• Test stdio mode still works

Day 5: Configuration System

• Create configuration interface
• Add environment variable support
• Implement CLI argument parsing
• Create .env.example file
• Document all configuration options

Day 6: Unified Entry Point

• Create index-universal.ts
• Implement mode detection (stdio vs http)
• Handle graceful shutdown
• Test both modes work correctly

Phase 3: Production Readiness (Days 7-9)

Day 7: Docker & Deployment

• Create Dockerfile.http
• Add health checks to Docker
• Create docker-compose.yml
• Write deployment script
• Test container locally

Day 8: Monitoring & Logging

• Enhance logging with correlation IDs
• Add metrics collection
• Implement /metrics endpoint
• Add session analytics
• Create monitoring dashboard

Day 9: Documentation

• Write user setup guide
• Create troubleshooting guide
• Document API endpoints
• Add architecture diagrams
• Create video tutorial

Phase 4: Testing & Launch (Days 10-14)

Day 10: Testing Suite

• Unit tests for HTTP transport
• Integration tests for full flow
• Load testing with Apache Bench
• Security testing (auth, injection)
• Cross-platform client testing

Day 11: Beta Deployment

• Deploy to test server
• Configure nginx + SSL
• Test with mcp-remote
• Monitor performance
• Gather initial feedback

Day 12: Performance Optimization

• Implement response caching
• Optimize database queries
• Add connection pooling
• Profile memory usage
• Fine-tune nginx config

Day 13: Security Hardening

• Security audit
• Implement CSP headers
• Add request validation
• Set up fail2ban
• Configure firewall rules

Day 14: Production Launch

• Final deployment
• Update documentation
• Announce to community
• Monitor closely
• Respond to feedback

Code Templates

1. Minimal Express Server Test

// test-server.ts - Quick test to verify concept
import express from 'express';
import { StreamableHTTPServerTransport } from '@modelcontextprotocol/sdk/server/streamableHttp.js';

const app = express();
app.use(express.json());

const transport = new StreamableHTTPServerTransport();

app.post('/mcp', async (req, res) => {
  await transport.handleRequest(req, res);
});

app.listen(3000, () => {
  console.log('Test server running on http://localhost:3000');
});

2. Environment Variables

# .env
MCP_MODE=http
MCP_PORT=3000
MCP_HOST=0.0.0.0
MCP_AUTH_TOKEN=development-token-change-in-production
MCP_SESSION_TIMEOUT=1800000
MCP_MAX_SESSIONS=50
MCP_CORS_ORIGINS=http://localhost:3000,https://claude.ai
NODE_ENV=development
LOG_LEVEL=debug

3. Test Script

#!/bin/bash
# test-http.sh - Test HTTP endpoint

TOKEN="development-token-change-in-production"
URL="http://localhost:3000/mcp"

# Test health check
curl -s http://localhost:3000/health | jq .

# Test MCP endpoint
curl -s -X POST $URL \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
  -d '{
    "jsonrpc": "2.0",
    "method": "tools/list",
    "id": 1
  }' | jq .

4. nginx Configuration

# /etc/nginx/sites-available/n8n-mcp
server {
    listen 80;
    server_name mcp.yourdomain.com;
    return 301 https://$server_name$request_uri;
}

server {
    listen 443 ssl http2;
    server_name mcp.yourdomain.com;
    
    ssl_certificate /etc/letsencrypt/live/mcp.yourdomain.com/fullchain.pem;
    ssl_certificate_key /etc/letsencrypt/live/mcp.yourdomain.com/privkey.pem;
    
    # Security headers
    add_header X-Frame-Options "SAMEORIGIN" always;
    add_header X-Content-Type-Options "nosniff" always;
    add_header X-XSS-Protection "1; mode=block" always;
    
    location / {
        proxy_pass http://localhost:3000;
        proxy_http_version 1.1;
        proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
        proxy_set_header Connection 'upgrade';
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
        proxy_cache_bypass $http_upgrade;
    }
}

5. Claude Desktop Config

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "n8n-docs-remote": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "mcp-remote@latest",
        "connect",
        "https://mcp.yourdomain.com/mcp"
      ],
      "env": {
        "MCP_AUTH_TOKEN": "your-secure-token"
      }
    }
  }
}

Testing Scenarios

Scenario 1: Basic Connectivity

1. Start HTTP server locally
2. Use curl to test endpoints
3. Verify authentication works
4. Check session creation

Scenario 2: mcp-remote Integration

1. Install mcp-remote globally
2. Configure with local server
3. Test all MCP tools work
4. Verify session persistence

Scenario 3: Load Testing

# Test 100 concurrent users
ab -n 1000 -c 100 \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -p request.json \
  http://localhost:3000/mcp

Scenario 4: Security Testing

1. Test without auth token (should fail)
2. Test with invalid token (should fail)
3. Test SQL injection attempts
4. Test large payload handling
5. Test rate limiting

Deployment Commands

Local Development

# Start in development mode
npm run dev:http

# Watch logs
tail -f logs/mcp-http.log

Production Deployment

# Build and deploy
npm run build
docker build -f Dockerfile.http -t n8n-mcp-http .
docker run -d --name n8n-mcp-http \
  -p 3000:3000 \
  --env-file .env.production \
  --restart unless-stopped \
  n8n-mcp-http

# Check status
docker logs n8n-mcp-http
curl https://mcp.yourdomain.com/health

Monitoring Checklist

Application Metrics

• Request rate
• Response times
• Error rates
• Active sessions
• Memory usage
• CPU usage

Business Metrics

• Unique users
• Most used tools
• Peak usage times
• Geographic distribution

Alerts to Configure

• Server down
• High error rate (> 5%)
• Slow response times (> 1s)
• Memory usage > 80%
• Disk space < 20%
• SSL certificate expiring

Rollback Plan

If issues arise:

1. Immediate: Switch DNS back to maintenance page
2. Quick Fix: Rollback Docker container to previous version
3. Investigate: Check logs and metrics
4. Fix Forward: Deploy hotfix if simple
5. Full Rollback: Restore previous version if complex

Success Criteria

Week 1

• HTTP server running locally
• All MCP tools working via HTTP
• Basic authentication working
• Session management functional

Week 2

• Deployed to test environment
• SSL/HTTPS working
• mcp-remote integration tested
• Documentation complete

Week 3

• Beta users testing
• Performance acceptable
• No security issues found
• Monitoring in place

Week 4

• Production deployment
• Public announcement
• User adoption beginning
• Positive feedback

Future Enhancements

After successful launch, consider:

1. WebSocket Support - Real-time bidirectional communication
2. OAuth2/SSO - Enterprise authentication
3. Multi-tenancy - Separate instances per organization
4. Usage Analytics - Detailed usage tracking
5. API Keys - Per-user authentication
6. Webhooks - Event notifications
7. Clustering - Horizontal scaling
8. GraphQL API - Alternative query interface

This roadmap provides a clear, actionable path to implementing HTTP support in n8n-MCP. Each phase builds on the previous one, ensuring a stable and well-tested deployment.