MCP Server Manager

Overview

MCP Server Manager is a daemon tool for managing multiple server processes (startup, shutdown, monitoring, and automatic restart) based on the configuration file mcp_server.conf.

Each server process is automatically assigned a unique ID based on its startup command. Using the mcpctl command-line tool, you can operate individual servers by specifying their IDs.

It operates as a systemd service and enhances service availability by automatically restarting processes that terminate unexpectedly.

Key Features

• Simple Configuration File: Simply describe the commands of servers you want to manage in mcp_server.conf.
• Flexible ID Management: Each server command is automatically assigned a unique ID (hash) based on its content, or you can specify custom IDs.
• Command-line Operations: Use mcpctl to check IDs with status and operate individual servers with start, stop, and restart.
• Automatic Process Restart: When a process terminates for reasons other than mcpctl stop, the daemon automatically restarts it.
• systemd Integration: Easy service registration using mcp-manager.service.

Workflow

1. Configuration: Edit /etc/mcp/mcp_server.conf to describe the startup commands of servers you want to manage, one per line.
2. Reload: Execute sudo systemctl restart mcp-manager.service to reflect configuration changes to the daemon.
3. Check: Run mcpctl status to check the status and automatically generated IDs of each server.
4. Operations: Use the confirmed IDs with commands like mcpctl start <ID> or mcpctl stop <ID> to manage individual servers.

Setup and Installation

Automatic Installation (Recommended)

1. Install systemd-mcp Manager

   sudo ./install.sh

   This script automatically performs the following tasks:

   • Creates necessary directories (/usr/local/lib/mcp-manager/, /etc/mcp/)
   • Copies mcp_manager.py to /usr/local/lib/mcp-manager/
   • Copies mcpctl to /usr/local/bin/ (adds to PATH)
   • Copies configuration file with examples to /etc/mcp/mcp_server.conf
   • Installs and registers systemd service file
   • Prompts to enable and start the service (defaults to Yes)

2. Optional: Install MCP Server for AI Integration

   cd mcp
   sudo ./install.sh

   This provides systemd control tools for AI assistants like Claude Desktop.

3. Verify Installation

   mcpctl status

   If the service is running, you should see "No servers are defined in the configuration file." (normal for fresh install)

Manual Installation

For manual installation, follow these steps:

1. Grant Execute Permissions Grant execute permissions to scripts in the project.

   chmod +x mcp_manager.py mcpctl mcp_server.sh install.sh uninstall.sh

2. Create Directories

   sudo mkdir -p /usr/local/lib/mcp-manager
   sudo mkdir -p /etc/mcp

3. Deploy Files

   sudo cp mcp_manager.py /usr/local/lib/mcp-manager/
   sudo cp mcpctl /usr/local/bin/
   sudo cp mcp_server.conf /etc/mcp/mcp_server.conf
   

4. Edit Configuration File The configuration file includes sample configurations that you can uncomment and modify:

   sudo nano /etc/mcp/mcp_server.conf

   Sample configurations included:

   # id=web-server /usr/bin/python3 -m http.server 8080
   # id=api-server node /path/to/api/server.js --port 3000
   # /usr/bin/python3 /path/to/worker.py  # Auto-generated hash ID
   # id=database redis-server /etc/redis/redis.conf
   

5. Verify and Start systemd Service File Open mcp-manager.service and verify the paths are correct. Then start the service as follows:

   sudo cp mcp-manager.service /etc/systemd/system/
   sudo systemctl daemon-reload
   sudo systemctl start mcp-manager.service
   sudo systemctl enable mcp-manager.service

Uninstallation

To completely remove MCP Server Manager from the system:

sudo ./uninstall.sh

This script performs the following tasks:

• Stops and disables the systemd service
• Removes service files
• Removes installed files
• Removes configuration files (with confirmation)

Using mcpctl

• Check Status: Displays the status and IDs of all servers described in mcp_server.conf.

  mcpctl status

  Example Output:

  ID       STATUS    PID          UPTIME COMMAND
  -------- --------- ------- --------------- --------------------------------
  a1b2c3d  Running   12345 0 days, 0:10:30 /data/systemd-mcp/mcp_server.sh
  e4f5g6h  Stopped     N/A             N/A /usr/bin/python3 /path/to/another/server
  

• Start Server: Use ID to start a stopped (Stopped) or idle (Idle) server.

  mcpctl start e4f5g6h

• Start All Servers from Configuration File: Reload the configuration file and start all servers.

  mcpctl apply

• Stop Server: Use ID to stop a running (Running) server. Servers stopped this way are excluded from automatic restart.

  mcpctl stop a1b2c3d

• Restart Server: Use ID to restart a running server.

  mcpctl restart a1b2c3d