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MCP server template

A template for creating a Model Context Protocol server using Streamable HTTP transport on Apify platform.

This template includes a simple example MCP server with:

• An add tool that adds two numbers together with structured output
• A dummy calculator-info resource endpoint
• Pay Per Event monetization support

How to use

1. Modify the server: Edit src/main.ts to add your own tools and resources
2. Add new tools: Use the server.registerTool() method to register new tools
3. Add new resources: Use the server.registerResource() method to register new resources
4. Update billing: Configure billing events in .actor/pay_per_event.json and charge for tool calls

The server runs on port 3000 (or APIFY_CONTAINER_PORT if set) and exposes the MCP protocol at the /mcp endpoint.

Running locally

npm install
npm run start:dev

The server will start and listen for MCP requests at http://localhost:3000/mcp

Deploying to Apify

Push your Actor to the Apify platform and configure standby mode.

Then connect to the Actor endpoint with your MCP client: https://me--my-mcp-server.apify.actor/mcp using the Streamable HTTP transport.

Important: When connecting to your deployed MCP server, pass your Apify API token in the Authorization header as a Bearer token:

Authorization: Bearer <YOUR_APIFY_API_TOKEN>

Pay per event

This template uses the Pay Per Event (PPE) monetization model, which provides flexible pricing based on defined events.

To charge users, define events in JSON format and save them on the Apify platform. Here is an example schema with the tool-call event:

[
    {
        "tool-call": {
            "eventTitle": "Price for completing a tool call",
            "eventDescription": "Flat fee for completing a tool call.",
            "eventPriceUsd": 0.05
        }
    }
]

In the Actor, trigger the event with:

await Actor.charge({ eventName: 'tool-call' });

This approach allows you to programmatically charge users directly from your Actor, covering the costs of execution and related services.

To set up the PPE model for this Actor:

• Configure Pay Per Event: establish the Pay Per Event pricing schema in the Actor's Monetization settings. First, set the Pricing model to Pay per event and add the schema. An example schema can be found in .actor/pay_per_event.json.

Resources

• What is Anthropic's Model Context Protocol?
• How to use MCP with Apify Actors
• TypeScript MCP SDK examples
• TypeScript tutorials in Academy
• Apify SDK documentation
• Webinar: Building and monetizing MCP servers on Apify
• Apify MCP server documentation
• Apify MCP server configuration

Getting started

For complete information see this article. In short, you will:

1. Build the Actor
2. Run the Actor

Pull the Actor for local development

If you would like to develop locally, you can pull the existing Actor from Apify console using Apify CLI:

1. Install apify-cli

   Using Homebrew

   $brew install apify-cli
   

   Using NPM

   $npm -g install apify-cli
   

2. Pull the Actor by its unique <ActorId>, which is one of the following:

   • unique name of the Actor to pull (e.g. "apify/hello-world")
   • or ID of the Actor to pull (e.g. "E2jjCZBezvAZnX8Rb")

   You can find both by clicking on the Actor title at the top of the page, which will open a modal containing both Actor unique name and Actor ID.

   This command will copy the Actor into the current directory on your local machine.

   $apify pull <ActorId>
   

Documentation reference

To learn more about Apify and Actors, take a look at the following resources:

• Apify SDK for JavaScript documentation
• Apify SDK for Python documentation
• Apify Platform documentation
• Join our developer community on Discord