mcp-use, hosting, and existing servers
Choose between the mcp-use framework, connecting an existing MCP endpoint, proxy analytics, and Manufact Cloud hosting.
mcp-use is the open-source framework for building MCP servers, MCP Apps, clients, and agents. Its TypeScript v2 documentation covers the SDK and interactive Views. The open-source repository contains the framework code.
Manufact Cloud is the platform for hosting, testing, observing, and distributing MCP servers. These docs at docs.manufact.com describe the Cloud product. A server can use Manufact's dashboard tools while continuing to run on your infrastructure and use another MCP SDK.
Choose an integration
| Option | Where your server runs | Client URL | What Manufact adds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Direct external connection | Your existing host | Your existing MCP URL | Inspector, Chat, evals, publishing checks, and plan-dependent submission pack |
| Proxied external connection | Your existing host | A separate Manufact gateway URL for traffic you want measured | Direct-connection tools plus gateway analytics, sessions, traffic controls, Public Chat, and domains |
| Manufact hosting | Manufact Cloud | Manufact gateway URL or configured custom domain | Builds, deployments, previews, runtime logs, and gateway products |
Start with Connect an existing server for either external mode. Use the hosting quickstart when you want Manufact to run your code. Available features and usage charges are documented in Billing & plans; check the current pricing page before making a cost comparison. Legacy plan terms can differ.
Existing server and OAuth
For an existing server built with @modelcontextprotocol/sdk, including an MCP route in a Next.js backend, start by connecting its HTTPS endpoint. You do not need to rewrite it onto mcp-use to use external-server evals or gateway analytics.
A direct connection keeps your existing hosting, OAuth implementation, and public client URL. If the endpoint uses OAuth, authenticate Manufact through the existing authorization flow. Manufact needs a working authenticated connection to run dashboard tools; endpoint compatibility and the permissions granted to that connection still need testing. See Dashboard OAuth connection.
The optional proxy keeps your upstream server and authentication and exposes a separate gateway URL. Clients must use that gateway URL for their traffic to appear in Manufact analytics. Traffic sent directly to your original URL bypasses the gateway and is not measured by Manufact. Analytics requires no SDK instrumentation.
Enabling the proxy is a routing choice: plan client URL changes, test OAuth end to end, and review the data passing through the gateway. Gateway observability stores metadata by default; request and response body storage requires enabling payload capture. A direct connection still sends dashboard test and chat requests to your server.
When hosting is a separate decision
Moving an MCP route out of an existing backend can require changes to internal API calls, service trust, OAuth routing, secrets, and client configuration. Assess those changes against your code and deployment requirements. Connecting an existing endpoint for evals does not require that hosting migration.
If your current host already provides previews, domains, secrets, and scaling, compare those capabilities and operational costs with Manufact deployments before moving. A connection for testing can be useful even when keeping the current host is the right choice.
Evals, MCP Apps, and discovery
Evals test whether an agent chooses the right tools and arguments and completes representative tasks. They work with hosted and external servers. Unit tests and custom telemetry can complement these tests; they do not establish the same client and model behavior by themselves.
MCP Apps add interactive UI inside compatible clients. mcp-use provides tools for building those apps; adopting that framework and choosing a host are separate decisions. Hosting alone does not add an app UI to an existing tool-only server.
Publishing checks and a submission pack help prepare a server for distribution. Passing an eval or adopting mcp-use or Manufact does not guarantee directory acceptance, recommendation frequency, or increased usage by ChatGPT or Claude.