---
title: "MCP Hosting"
version: "v0.24.0"
canonical: "https://docs.obot.ai/v0.24.0/concepts/mcp-hosting"
unreleased: false
---

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# MCP Hosting

The MCP Hosting layer runs and manages MCP servers directly within Obot. It handles deployment, lifecycle management, and runtime isolation for MCP servers.

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## Runtime Types

- **[Node.js (npx)](https://docs.obot.ai/v0.24.0/functionality/mcp-servers.md#obot-doc-npx-nodetypescript-based-mcp-servers)**: Run npm-packaged MCP servers via STDIO
- **[Python (uvx)](https://docs.obot.ai/v0.24.0/functionality/mcp-servers.md#obot-doc-uvx-for-python-based-packages)**: Run PyPI-packaged MCP servers via STDIO
- **[Containerized](https://docs.obot.ai/v0.24.0/functionality/mcp-servers.md#obot-doc-containerized-for-docker-based-deployments)**: Run Docker containers with HTTP/SSE transport

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## Server Types

- **[Single-user](https://docs.obot.ai/v0.24.0/functionality/mcp-servers.md#obot-doc-single-user-server)**: Each user gets their own isolated instance with separate credentials
- **[Multi-user](https://docs.obot.ai/v0.24.0/functionality/mcp-servers.md#obot-doc-multi-user-server)**: A shared instance serves multiple users with shared or per-user credentials
- **[Remote](https://docs.obot.ai/v0.24.0/functionality/mcp-servers.md#obot-doc-remote-server)**: External MCP servers accessed via HTTP, not hosted by Obot
- **[Composite](https://docs.obot.ai/v0.24.0/functionality/mcp-servers.md#obot-doc-composite-server)**: Combines multiple servers into a single virtual server with curated tools

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## Deployment Environments

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### Docker

When running Obot with Docker, MCP servers are deployed as sibling containers:

- Obot communicates with the Docker daemon to manage containers
- Servers run alongside the Obot container
- Suitable for development and small deployments
- See [Docker Deployment](https://docs.obot.ai/v0.24.0/installation/docker-deployment.md) for setup details

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### Kubernetes

For production deployments, Obot can deploy MCP servers to Kubernetes:

- Servers run as pods in the cluster
- Supports resource limits, network policies, and scaling
- See [MCP Deployments in Kubernetes](https://docs.obot.ai/v0.24.0/configuration/mcp-deployments-in-kubernetes.md) for configuration details

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## Authentication

Obot handles OAuth 2.1 flows for MCP servers that require authentication:

- OAuth credentials stored securely with encryption at rest
- Automatic token refresh
- Per-user credential isolation
- Supports custom OAuth configurations

See [MCP Server OAuth Configuration](https://docs.obot.ai/v0.24.0/configuration/mcp-server-oauth-configuration.md) for details on configuring OAuth for MCP servers.

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## Security and Isolation

Adding an MCP server causes Obot to run code on the hosting backend: `npx` and `uvx` servers execute the requested npm/PyPI package, and **containerized** servers run an arbitrary OCI image with a user-supplied command. The [Power User and Power User+ roles](https://docs.obot.ai/v0.24.0/configuration/user-roles.md#obot-doc-security-model) can deploy servers, so granting those roles is, by design, granting the ability to run code on your infrastructure.

How well that code is contained depends on the deployment environment:

- **Docker** runs MCP servers as sibling containers through the host Docker socket, which provides little isolation from the host. Use it for development or single-tenant, trusted use only.
- **Kubernetes** runs each MCP server in its own pod and supports the restricted Pod Security Admission policy, a NetworkPolicy, and sandboxed container runtimes (gVisor, Kata Containers) for stronger isolation. Use it for multi-tenant or untrusted workloads.

See [User Roles — Security Model](https://docs.obot.ai/v0.24.0/configuration/user-roles.md#obot-doc-security-model) and [MCP Deployments in Kubernetes](https://docs.obot.ai/v0.24.0/configuration/mcp-deployments-in-kubernetes.md) for details.

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## Learn More

- [MCP Servers](https://docs.obot.ai/v0.24.0/functionality/mcp-servers.md) - Adding and configuring MCP servers
- [Installation](https://docs.obot.ai/v0.24.0/installation/overview.md) - Deployment environments and setup