Manage MCP Servers with Tyk Operator

Overview

From Tyk Operator v1.4.0, you can manage Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers declaratively using the TykMcpProxyDefinition custom resource. The Operator reconciles the resource into a Tyk-managed MCP proxy, so the same GitOps workflow you use for ApiDefinition and TykOasApiDefinition resources also applies to MCP servers. A TykMcpProxyDefinition points at a ConfigMap that holds the MCP OAS document. The Operator reads the document from the ConfigMap and synchronizes it to Tyk. Access to tools, resources, prompts, and the underlying JSON-RPC methods is controlled through the existing SecurityPolicy resource, extended with MCP-specific fields.

Prerequisites

Tyk Operator v1.4.0 or later installed in the cluster.
A Tyk Gateway / Dashboard with MCP proxy support enabled.
A ConfigMap containing the MCP OAS document under a known key (for example mcp.json).

Custom Resource Reference

Kind: TykMcpProxyDefinition Group / Version: tyk.tyk.io/v1alpha1 Scope: Namespaced Short name: tykmcp (usable as kubectl get tykmcp)

Spec

Field	Type	Description
`contextRef`	object (optional)	Reference (`name`, `namespace`) to an OperatorContext used when reconciling this resource. Use this for multi-tenant setups.
`tykMCP.configmapRef.name`	string	Name of the `ConfigMap` that holds the MCP OAS document.
`tykMCP.configmapRef.namespace`	string (optional)	Namespace of the ConfigMap. Defaults to the resource’s namespace.
`tykMCP.configmapRef.keyName`	string	Key inside the ConfigMap’s `data` map that contains the OAS document.

Status

Field	Description
`id`	Tyk-side API identifier.
`name`	API name as registered in Tyk.
`listenPath`	Base path on Tyk where the MCP proxy is served.
`domain`	Custom domain, if configured in the OAS document.
`enabled`	Whether the API is active.
`latestTransaction.status`	Result of the last reconciliation.
`linkedByPolicies`	Security policies that reference this MCP proxy.

kubectl get tykmcp -o wide surfaces Domain, ListenPath, Enabled, and SyncStatus as printed columns.

Quick Start

The example below proxies a mock MCP server reachable at http://mock-mcp-server.default.svc.cluster.local:7878.

1. Store the MCP OAS document in a `ConfigMap`

apiVersion: v1
kind: ConfigMap
metadata:
  name: mock-mcp-config
  namespace: default
data:
  mcp.json: |
    {
      "info": {
        "title": "Mock MCP Proxy",
        "version": "1.0.0"
      },
      "openapi": "3.0.3",
      "components": {},
      "paths": {},
      "x-tyk-api-gateway": {
        "info": {
          "id": "mock-mcp-api-id-001",
          "name": "Mock MCP Proxy",
          "state": {
            "active": true
          }
        },
        "upstream": {
          "url": "http://mock-mcp-server.default.svc.cluster.local:7878"
        },
        "server": {
          "listenPath": {
            "value": "/mock-mcp/",
            "strip": true
          }
        }
      }
    }

2. Create the `TykMcpProxyDefinition`

apiVersion: tyk.tyk.io/v1alpha1
kind: TykMcpProxyDefinition
metadata:
  name: mock-mcp
  namespace: default
spec:
  tykMCP:
    configmapRef:
      name: mock-mcp-config
      namespace: default
      keyName: mcp.json

Apply both manifests and verify with:

kubectl apply -f mock-mcp-config.yaml -f mock-mcp.yaml
kubectl get tykmcp -o wide

If you update the ConfigMap, the Operator detects the change (via latestConfigMapHash) and pushes the new OAS document to Tyk on the next reconciliation.

Securing an MCP Proxy with a `SecurityPolicy`

The SecurityPolicy resource is extended with two MCP-aware blocks inside each entry of access_rights_array:

mcp_access_rights — allow/block lists for MCP tools, resources, and prompts.
json_rpc_methods_access_rights — allow/deny lists keyed by JSON-RPC method.
mcp_primitives — per-primitive rate limits.
json_rpc_methods — rate limits keyed by JSON-RPC method (tools/call, tools/list, resources/read, prompts/get, …).

For background on the underlying gateway feature, see the MCP proxy policies documentation. Reference an MCP proxy by setting kind: TykMcpProxyDefinition on the access entry.

Allow / block lists

apiVersion: tyk.tyk.io/v1alpha1
kind: SecurityPolicy
metadata:
  name: mcp-acl-policy
  namespace: default
spec:
  name: MCP ACL Policy
  state: active
  active: true
  access_rights_array:
    - name: mock-mcp
      namespace: default
      kind: TykMcpProxyDefinition
      mcp_access_rights:
        tools:
          allowed: ["get_users", "get_products", "generate_uuid"]
          blocked: ["delete_user", "slow_response"]
        resources:
          allowed: ["users://list", "products://catalog"]
        prompts:
          allowed: ["user_management", "ecommerce_assistant"]

Per-primitive and JSON-RPC rate limits

apiVersion: tyk.tyk.io/v1alpha1
kind: SecurityPolicy
metadata:
  name: mcp-ratelimit-policy
  namespace: default
spec:
  name: MCP Rate Limit Policy
  state: active
  active: true
  access_rights_array:
    - name: mock-mcp
      namespace: default
      kind: TykMcpProxyDefinition
      mcp_primitives:
        - type: tool
          name: get_users
          limit:
            rate: "10"
            per: "60"
        - type: resource
          name: "users://list"
          limit:
            rate: "20"
            per: "60"
        - type: prompt
          name: "user_management"
          limit:
            rate: "3"
            per: "60"
      json_rpc_methods:
        - name: tools/call
          limit:
            rate: "100"
            per: "60"
        - name: resources/read
          limit:
            rate: "200"
            per: "60"

rate and per are declared as Float64 strings in the CRD schema — quote the values in YAML or kubectl apply will reject the manifest.

type in mcp_primitives accepts tool, resource, or prompt.

Verifying

kubectl get tykmcp -o wide
kubectl describe tykmcp mock-mcp

The Status block reports the reconciled listenPath, domain, enabled flag, and latestTransaction.status. Failed reconciliations also surface as Kubernetes events on the resource.

Getting Started

Deploy Tyk

Design & Create APIs

Secure APIs

Control Traffic

Routing Traffic

Transform Traffic

Observe APIs

Maintain APIs

Platform Administration

Guides

Reference

Developer Support

Manage MCP Servers with Tyk Operator

Overview

Prerequisites

Custom Resource Reference

Spec

Status

Quick Start

1. Store the MCP OAS document in a `ConfigMap`

2. Create the `TykMcpProxyDefinition`

Securing an MCP Proxy with a `SecurityPolicy`

Allow / block lists

Per-primitive and JSON-RPC rate limits

Verifying

​Overview

​Prerequisites

​Custom Resource Reference

​Spec

​Status

​Quick Start

​1. Store the MCP OAS document in a ConfigMap

​2. Create the TykMcpProxyDefinition

​Securing an MCP Proxy with a SecurityPolicy

​Allow / block lists

​Per-primitive and JSON-RPC rate limits

​Verifying

Overview

Prerequisites

Custom Resource Reference

Spec

Status

Quick Start

1. Store the MCP OAS document in a `ConfigMap`

2. Create the `TykMcpProxyDefinition`

Securing an MCP Proxy with a `SecurityPolicy`

Allow / block lists

Per-primitive and JSON-RPC rate limits

Verifying