MCP Server

Expose Portway endpoints as Model Context Protocol tools that AI agents can discover and call.

Portway implements an MCP server over HTTP. When you flag an endpoint with Exposed: true, it appears in the MCP tool registry and becomes callable by any MCP-compatible client — Claude Desktop, VS Code Copilot, custom agents, or the built-in Chat UI. Portway's own authentication and environment scoping apply to every tool call.

Enable the MCP server ​

Set Mcp:Enabled to true in appsettings.json. The server mounts at the path defined by Mcp:Path (default /mcp).

"Mcp": {
  "Enabled": true,
  "Path": "/mcp",
  "RequireAuthentication": true,
  "AppsEnabled": true,
  "ChatEnabled": true
}

Expose an endpoint as an MCP tool ​

Add "Exposed": true to the endpoint's entity.json under the Mcp object. Portway registers one tool per HTTP method the endpoint supports.

{
  "DatabaseObjectName": "OutstandingItems",
  "DatabaseSchema": "dbo",
  "AllowedEnvironments": ["500","700"],
  "AllowedMethods": ["GET"],
  "Mcp": {
    "Exposed": true,
    "Instruction": "Always include a $filter on AccountCode. Results are paginated — use $top and $skip."
  }
}

The tool name in the registry is derived from the endpoint's namespace and name: {namespace}_{name}_{method}. If the endpoint has no namespace the name is {name}_{method}, for example products_GET.

Endpoints where Exposed is absent or false do not appear in the tool list.

Instruction does not affect the human-readable summary shown in the Explorer UI — it only extends the description the AI model receives when deciding whether and how to call the tool.

Namespaces ​

Group related tools by setting Namespace in entity.json. The MCP Explorer UI and the ListEndpoints tool both group by namespace. Without a namespace, tools appear under default.

{
  "Namespace": "inventory",
  "Mcp": {
    "Exposed": true
  }
}

See Namespaces for full configuration details.

Built-in server tools ​

Portway registers three tools in every MCP session regardless of which endpoints are exposed:

These tools are always available once Mcp:Enabled is true. They do not require Exposed on any endpoint.

Connect an MCP client ​

Point any MCP-over-HTTP client at:

http(s)://{host}{Mcp:Path}

Include a Portway Bearer token in the Authorization header if RequireAuthentication is true:

Authorization: Bearer {token}

Tokens are managed through the Web UI or the token API. Scope tokens to the environments and endpoints the agent is allowed to access. See Access Tokens.

Web UI ​

The Web UI provides two views under MCP in the sidebar:

• Explorer (/ui/mcp/explorer) — lists all registered tools grouped by namespace, shows allowed methods, and links to endpoint detail
• Chat (/ui/mcp/chat) — conversational interface where an AI model calls Portway tools on your behalf

The Explorer requires no additional configuration beyond Mcp:Enabled: true. The Chat view requires Chat configuration.

Next steps ​

• MCP Chat: configure an AI provider for the Chat UI
• Access Tokens: scope tokens for MCP clients
• Namespaces: group tools logically
• Entity configuration: full entity.json reference including Exposed