Transparent proxy between HTTP and stdio for MCP servers
MCP HTTP–Stdio Bridge
This package is a transparent proxy between stdio and HTTP for MCP servers. It allows apps like Claude Desktop to connect to MCP servers using the Streamable HTTP transport when http is not allowed.
Note: Use this in trusted environments for local MCP servers on unencrypted connections. Always use HTTPS for connecting to remote MCP servers.
Claude Desktop Configuration
Edit ~/Library/Application\ Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json:
{
"mcpServers": {
"My Server": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "@depasquale/mcp-http-stdio-bridge", "--url", "http://localhost:8080/mcp"]
}
}
}
Restart Claude Desktop after saving.
Options
| Flag | Description |
| ------------------ | -------------------------------------------------- |
| --url <url> | Server URL (default: http://localhost:52274/mcp) |
| --insecure, -k | Accept self-signed certificates |
| -h, --help | Show help |
How It Works
The bridge is content-agnostic: it forwards raw JSON-RPC messages without parsing MCP protocol content. Only transport-level concerns are handled:
- Session management via
mcp-session-idheader - SSE connection with automatic reconnection
- Graceful shutdown with session cleanup
Transport errors cause the bridge to exit, mimicking broken pipe behavior for the client.