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
```typescript
// 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
```bash
# .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
```bash
#!/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
```nginx
# /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
```json
{
  "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
```bash
# 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
```bash
# Start in development mode
npm run dev:http

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

### Production Deployment
```bash
# 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.