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-id header
• SSE connection with automatic reconnection
• Graceful shutdown with session cleanup

Transport errors cause the bridge to exit, mimicking broken pipe behavior for the client.