stacklok/toolhive

Download ToolHive from https://stacklok.com/download/ (desktop app or CLI)
Kubernetes Operator: install via CRDs (declarative MCP server/registry management) — see docs guides-k8s quickstart

Usage

• •Connect Claude Code, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, or your preferred client to MCP servers with a single click or command
• •Desktop: run any MCP server from a container image or build one dynamically from common package managers; test with MCP Inspector; optimize with the MCP Optimizer
• •K8s: declare policies, integrate with IdP and observability stack, emit OTel traces via the Operator
• •Admins curate servers in the Registry; users discover/request from the Portal; Gateway handles inbound traffic and policies

Key features

• ✓Container-isolated execution of every MCP server with a minimal permission file (no local credentials)
• ✓Semantic tool search to reduce token usage by up to 85%; tool/description customization to trim tokens
• ✓Gateway with deterministic workflow engine, access policies, IdP SSO (OIDC/OAuth), centralized security/audit
• ✓Registry Server: official MCP registry integration, custom servers, provenance verification and signing, API-driven governance
• ✓Runtime: local via Docker/Podman, cloud via Kubernetes Operator, remote proxy; OpenTelemetry + Prometheus monitoring; self-hostable for compliance
• ✓Portal: cross-platform desktop app (toolhive-studio) and browser-based cloud UI (toolhive-cloud-ui), one-click installs, compatible with hundreds of AI clients

Best for

Platform engineers and enterprises that need to run MCP servers securely at scale on their own infrastructure (Kubernetes) with governance and audit.

Caveats

• ⚠Stacklok Enterprise offers added capabilities beyond the open source version (self-host vs SaaS comparison in docs)
• ⚠Heavier install footprint than a single MCP server — it is a full platform, not a single tool server