What is Mcp Ping

mcp-ping is a minimal implementation of a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that utilizes Server-Sent Events (SSE) for real-time communication. It provides a basic ‘ping’ tool that responds with ‘pong’.

Use cases

Use cases for mcp-ping include monitoring the health of services, testing server responsiveness, implementing real-time notifications in web applications, and providing a lightweight solution for server-client communication.

How to use

To use mcp-ping, clone the repository, install dependencies using npm or yarn, and start the server locally with ‘npm start’. Alternatively, you can deploy it using Docker by building the image and running it on a specified port.

Key features

Key features of mcp-ping include SSE-based communication for real-time messaging, a simple ping tool that responds with ‘pong’, an HTTP POST endpoint for client-to-server communication, and a health check endpoint for monitoring server status.

Where to use

mcp-ping can be used in various fields such as web applications requiring real-time communication, IoT applications for device status updates, and any scenario where a simple ping-pong mechanism is needed for connectivity checks.

MCP Ping Server

A simple server implementing the Model Context Protocol (MCP) over Server-Sent Events (SSE), providing a basic “ping” tool that responds with “pong”.

Overview

This project demonstrates a minimal implementation of an MCP server using SSE for communication. It’s built with Node.js and Express, and can be deployed as a standalone service or using Docker.

The server implements:

• A simple “ping” tool that responds with “pong”
• SSE-based communication for real-time server-to-client messaging
• HTTP POST endpoint for client-to-server communication
• Health check endpoint for monitoring

Prerequisites

• Node.js 18 or higher
• npm or yarn

Installation

Clone the repository and install dependencies:

git clone https://github.com/yourusername/mcp-ping.git
cd mcp-ping
npm install

Usage

Running Locally

Start the server with:

npm start

The server will be available at http://localhost:3001.

Docker Deployment

Build and run using Docker:

docker build -t mcp-ping .
docker run -p 3001:3001 mcp-ping

Or use Docker Compose:

docker-compose up

API Endpoints

• GET /sse: Establishes an SSE connection for server-to-client communication
• POST /messages: Receives messages from clients
• GET /health: Health check endpoint that returns “OK” if the server is running

MCP Tools

ping

A simple tool that responds with “pong” when called.

Parameters: None

Response:

{
  "content": [
    {
      "type": "text",
      "text": "pong"
    }
  ]
}

Environment Variables

• PORT: The port on which the server will listen (default: 3001)

Deployment

Docker Compose

The included Docker Compose configuration is set up for deployment with Traefik as a reverse proxy, with automatic HTTPS certificate generation via Let’s Encrypt.

Deploying to Coolify

Coolify is a self-hosted PaaS that makes it easy to deploy applications. This MCP server can be deployed to Coolify with the following steps:

1. Prepare your repository:

   • Make sure your repository includes the server.js, package.json, and Dockerfile
   • Push your code to a Git repository (GitHub, GitLab, etc.)

2. Create a new service in Coolify:

   • Create a new resource and select “Application”
   • Choose your Git provider and select your repository
   • Set the build method to “Dockerfile”
   • Configure a domain name (e.g., mcp-ping.example.com)

3. Configure Advanced Settings:

   • In the advanced settings, find “Enable Gzip Compression” and make sure it is DISABLED
   • This is critical for SSE to work properly with MCP

4. Deploy the application:

   • Finish the configuration and deploy
   • Once deployed, you should be able to access the health check at https://your-domain.com/health

5. Testing with MCP Inspector:

   • Use the MCP Inspector to test your server:

   npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector --sse-url https://your-domain.com/sse
   

Important Note About Proxies and SSE

MCP servers use Server-Sent Events (SSE) for real-time communication, which can be problematic with reverse proxies and CDNs like Cloudflare. If you encounter connection issues:

1. Disable compression: As mentioned above, compression must be disabled for SSE to work properly
2. Cloudflare consideration: If using Cloudflare in front of your Coolify instance, you may need to set the DNS record to “DNS Only” mode (gray cloud in Cloudflare) instead of proxied mode
3. Timeout settings: Ensure your proxy timeout settings are high enough for long-lived connections (at least 120 seconds)

Development

This project uses:

• Express.js for the web server
• @modelcontextprotocol/sdk for MCP implementation
• Server-Sent Events (SSE) for real-time communication

License

ISC