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The Model Communication Protocol (MCP) is an emerging unfastened modular that allows AI agents to interact pinch outer services done a azygous interface. Instead of penning civilization integrations for each API, an MCP server exposes a group of devices that a customer AI tin observe and invoke dynamically. This decoupling intends API providers tin germinate their backmost ends aliases adhd caller operations without breaking existing AI clients. At nan aforesaid time, AI developers summation a accordant protocol to call, inspect, and harvester outer capabilities. Below are 8 solutions for converting existing APIs into MCP servers. This article explains each solution’s purpose, method approach, implementation steps aliases requirements, unsocial features, deployment strategies, and suitability for different improvement workflows.
FastAPI-MCP: Native FastAPI Extension
FastAPI-MCP is an open-source room that integrates straight pinch Python’s FastAPI framework. All existing REST routes go MCP devices by instantiating a azygous people and mounting it connected your FastAPI app. Input and output schemas defined via Pydantic models transportation complete automatically, and nan instrumentality descriptions deduce from your way documentation. Authentication and dependency injection behave precisely arsenic successful normal FastAPI endpoints, ensuring that immoderate information aliases validation logic you already person remains effective.
Under nan hood, FastAPI-MCP hooks into nan ASGI exertion and routes MCP protocol calls to nan due FastAPI handlers in-process. This avoids other HTTP overhead and keeps capacity high. Developers instal it via pip, adhd a minimal snippet specified as:
The resulting MCP server tin tally connected nan aforesaid Uvicorn process aliases separately. Because it is afloat open-source nether nan MIT license, teams tin audit, extend, aliases customize it arsenic needed.
RapidMCP: Zero-Code REST-to-MCP Conversion Service
RapidMCP provides a hosted, no-code pathway to toggle shape existing REST APIs, peculiarly those pinch OpenAPI specifications, into MCP servers without changing backend code. After registering an account, a developer points RapidMCP astatine their API’s guidelines URL aliases uploads an OpenAPI document. RapidMCP past spins up an MCP server successful nan unreality that proxies instrumentality calls backmost to nan original API.
Each way becomes an MCP instrumentality whose arguments and return types bespeak nan API’s parameters and responses. Because RapidMCP sits successful beforehand of your service, it tin proviso usage analytics, unrecorded tracing of AI calls, and built-in complaint limiting. The level besides plans self-hosting options for enterprises that require on-premises deployments. Teams who for illustration a managed acquisition tin spell from API to AI-agent compatibility successful nether an hour, astatine nan disbursal of trusting a third-party proxy.
MCPify: No-Code MCP Server Builder pinch AI Assistant
MCPify is simply a afloat managed, no-code situation wherever users picture desired functionality successful earthy language, specified arsenic “fetch existent upwind for a fixed city”, and an AI adjunct generates and hosts nan corresponding MCP tools. The work hides each codification generation, infrastructure provisioning, and deployment details. Users interact via a chat aliases shape interface, reappraisal automatically generated instrumentality descriptions, and deploy pinch a click.
Because MCPify leverages ample connection models to combine integrations connected nan fly, it excels astatine accelerated prototyping and empowers non-developers to trade AI-accessible services. It supports communal third-party APIs, offers one-click sharing of created servers pinch different level users, and automatically handles protocol specifications specified arsenic streaming responses and authentication. The trade-off is little nonstop power complete nan codification and reliance connected a closed-source hosted platform.
Speakeasy: OpenAPI-Driven SDK and MCP Server Generator
Speakeasy is known for generating powerfully typed customer SDKs from OpenAPI specifications, and it extends this capacity to MCP by producing a afloat functional TypeScript MCP server alongside each SDK. After supplying an OpenAPI 3.x spec to Speakeasy’s codification generator, teams receive:
- A typed customer room for calling nan API
- Documentation derived straight from nan spec
- A standalone MCP server implementation successful TypeScript
The generated server wraps each API endpoint arsenic an MCP tool, preserving descriptions and models. Developers tin tally nan server via a provided CLI aliases compile it to a standalone binary. Because nan output is existent code, teams person afloat visibility and tin customize behavior, adhd composite tools, enforce scopes aliases permissions, and merge civilization middleware. This attack is perfect for organizations pinch mature OpenAPI workflows that want to connection AI-ready entree successful a controlled, maintainable way.
Higress MCP Marketplace: Open-Source API Gateway astatine Scale
Higress is an open-source API gateway built atop Envoy and Istio, extended to support nan MCP protocol. Its conversion instrumentality takes an OpenAPI spec and generates a declarative YAML configuration that nan gateway uses to big an MCP server. Each API cognition becomes a instrumentality pinch templates for HTTP requests and consequence formatting, each defined successful configuration alternatively than code. Higress powers a nationalist “MCP Marketplace” wherever aggregate APIs are published arsenic MCP servers, enabling AI clients to observe and devour them centrally. Enterprises tin self-host nan aforesaid infrastructure to expose hundreds of soul services via MCP. The gateway handles protocol type upgrades, complaint limiting, authentication, and observability. It is peculiarly good suited for large-scale aliases multi-API environments, turning API-MCP conversions into a configuration-driven process that integrates seamlessly pinch infrastructure-as-code pipelines.
Django-MCP: Plugin for Django REST Framework
Django-MCP is an open-source plugin that brings MCP support to nan Django REST Framework (DRF). By applying a mixin to your position sets aliases registering an MCP router, it automatically exposes DRF endpoints arsenic MCP tools. It introspects serializers to deduce input schemas and uses your existing authentication backends to unafraid instrumentality invocations. Underneath, MCP calls are translated into normal DRF viewset actions, preserving pagination, filtering, and validation logic.
Installation requires adding nan package to your requirements, including nan Django-MCP application, and configuring a route:
This attack allows teams already invested successful Django to adhd AI-agent compatibility without duplicating code. It besides supports civilization instrumentality annotations via decorators for fine-tuned naming aliases documentation.
GraphQL-MCP: Converting GraphQL Endpoints to MCP
GraphQL-MCP is simply a community-driven room that wraps a GraphQL server and exposes its queries and mutations arsenic individual MCP tools. It parses nan GraphQL schema to make instrumentality manifests, mapping each cognition to a instrumentality sanction and input type. When an AI supplier invokes a tool, GraphQL-MCP constructs and executes nan corresponding GraphQL query aliases mutation, past returns nan results successful a standardized JSON format expected by MCP clients. This solution is valuable for organizations utilizing GraphQL who want to leverage AI agents without settling connected a REST normal aliases penning bespoke GraphQL calls. It supports features for illustration batching, authentication via existing GraphQL discourse mechanisms, and schema stitching to harvester GraphQL services nether 1 MCP server.
gRPC-MCP: Bridging gRPC Services for AI Agents
gRPC-MCP focuses connected exposing high-performance gRPC services to AI agents done MCP. It uses protocol buffers’ work definitions to make an MCP server that accepts JSON-RPC-style calls, internally marshals them to gRPC requests, and streams responses. Developers see a mini adapter successful their gRPC server code:
This makes it easy to bring low-latency, powerfully typed services into nan MCP ecosystem, opening nan doorway for AI agents to telephone business-critical gRPC methods directly.
Choosing nan Right Tool
Selecting among these 8 solutions depends connected respective factors:
- Preferred improvement workflow: FastAPI-MCP and Django-MCP for code-first integration, Speakeasy for spec-driven codification generation, GraphQL-MCP aliases gRPC-MCP for non-REST paradigms.
- Control versus convenience: Libraries for illustration FastAPI-MCP, Django-MCP, and Speakeasy springiness afloat codification control, while hosted platforms for illustration RapidMCP and MCPify waste and acquisition disconnected immoderate power for velocity and ease.
- Scale and governance: Higress shines erstwhile converting and managing ample numbers of APIs successful a unified gateway, pinch built-in routing, security, and protocol upgrades.
- Rapid prototyping: MCPify’s AI adjunct allows non-developers to rotation up MCP servers instantly, which is perfect for experimentation and soul automation.
All these devices adhere to nan evolving MCP specification, ensuring interoperability among AI agents and services. By choosing nan correct converter, API providers tin accelerate nan take of AI-driven workflows and empower agents to orchestrate real-world capabilities safely and efficiently.
Sana Hassan, a consulting intern astatine Marktechpost and dual-degree student astatine IIT Madras, is passionate astir applying exertion and AI to reside real-world challenges. With a keen liking successful solving applicable problems, he brings a caller position to nan intersection of AI and real-life solutions.