Storm Tools
Storm MCPStorm RouterChallenge
Resources
Leaderboard

Creating Gateways

Gateways are the core of Storm MCP - they bundle multiple MCP servers into a single, manageable endpoint that your AI clients can connect to. This guide will walk you through creating, configuring, and optimizing your gateways.

Understanding Gateways

A gateway is a collection of MCP servers that:

  • Provides a unified endpoint for multiple services
  • Manages authentication across all included servers
  • Offers centralized monitoring and logging
  • Enables fine-grained function control

Creating Your First Gateway

Step 1: Navigate to Gateways

  1. Sign in to Storm MCP Gateway
  2. Click Gateways in the sidebar
  3. Click the Create New Gateway button

Step 2: Configure Basic Settings

<img src="/assets/create-gateway-modal.png" alt="Create Gateway Modal" />

  1. Gateway Name

    • Choose a descriptive name
    • Examples: "Development Tools", "Production APIs", "Team Workspace"
    • This name appears in your MCP clients

  2. Description (Optional)

    • Add notes about the gateway's purpose
    • Include team or project information
    • Helpful for organization with multiple gateways

Step 3: Select MCP Servers

The server selection interface shows all available MCP servers:

✅ GitHub - Code repository management ✅ Slack - Team communication ✅ MongoDB - Database operations ⬜ PostgreSQL - SQL database ⬜ AWS - Cloud infrastructure

Selection Tips:

  • Start with 3-5 essential servers
  • Group related services together
  • Consider authentication requirements
  • Check server compatibility

ℹ️ Info

Each server you add increases the gateway's capabilities but also its complexity. Start small and expand as needed.

Step 4: Configure Functions

For each selected server, you can:

  1. Use All Functions (Default)

    • Gateway includes all available functions
    • Simplest option for getting started
    • Can be refined later

  2. Select Specific Functions

    • Click "Configure Functions"
    • Choose individual functions to include
    • Reduces token usage in AI clients
    • Improves security by limiting access

Example function selection for GitHub:

✅ repos_create_issue ✅ repos_list_issues ✅ repos_get_content ⬜ repos_delete_repo // Disabled for safety ⬜ repos_create_webhook

Step 5: Review and Create

  1. Review Configuration

    • Verify selected servers
    • Check function selections
    • Confirm gateway name

  2. Create Gateway

    • Click Create Gateway
    • Gateway is immediately available
    • Receive unique gateway ID

✅ Success

Gateway created! Your endpoint is ready at: https://gateway.stormmcp.ai/g/YOUR_GATEWAY_ID

Advanced Gateway Configuration

Organizing Multiple Gateways

Create specialized gateways for different purposes:

Development Gateway

  • GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket
  • Docker, Kubernetes
  • PostgreSQL, MongoDB
  • Sentry, DataDog

Marketing Gateway

  • HubSpot, Salesforce
  • Google Analytics
  • Mailchimp
  • Social media APIs

Operations Gateway

  • AWS, Azure, GCP
  • PagerDuty
  • Slack, Discord
  • Monitoring tools

Gateway Settings

Access settings by clicking the gear icon on any gateway:

Authentication Mode

  • Unified Auth - Single authentication for all servers
  • Per-Server Auth - Individual authentication per server
  • Mixed Mode - Combination based on server requirements

Access Control

{ "allowed_ips": ["192.168.1.0/24"], "allowed_users": ["user@example.com"], "rate_limits": { "requests_per_minute": 100, "requests_per_hour": 1000 } }

Function Filtering

Dynamic function filtering based on context:

// Example: Limit destructive operations { "function_filters": [ { "pattern": "*_delete_*", "action": "block", "except": ["development"] }, { "pattern": "*_create_*", "require_confirmation": true } ] }

Connecting Gateways to Clients

Claude Desktop Integration

  1. Open Gateway Page

    • Navigate to your gateway
    • Click Claude Desktop button

  2. Choose Connection Method

    • OAuth - Browser-based authentication
    • API Key - Direct configuration

  3. Automatic Configuration

    • Claude Desktop receives configuration
    • Gateway appears in MCP servers list
    • Functions immediately available

Cursor IDE Integration

  1. Click Cursor Button

    • On your gateway page
    • Deeplink opens Cursor automatically

  2. Confirm Installation

    • Review gateway details
    • Click "Install" in Cursor
    • Gateway ready to use

Manual Configuration

For custom clients or debugging:

{ "mcp_servers": { "storm_gateway": { "url": "https://gateway.stormmcp.ai/g/YOUR_ID", "auth": { "type": "bearer", "token": "YOUR_API_KEY" }, "transport": "sse" } } }

Managing Existing Gateways

Editing Gateways

  1. Click the pencil icon on any gateway
  2. Modify configuration:
    • Add/remove servers
    • Update functions
    • Change name/description
  3. Click Save Changes

⚠️ Warning

Changes to gateways may require reconnection in some MCP clients. Claude Desktop handles this automatically.

Duplicating Gateways

Create variations of existing gateways:

  1. Click duplicate icon
  2. Modify the copy as needed
  3. Useful for:
    • Creating staging/production variants
    • Team-specific configurations
    • Testing new servers

Deleting Gateways

  1. Click trash icon
  2. Confirm deletion
  3. Note: This doesn't affect connected apps, only the gateway endpoint

Gateway Performance

Monitoring Gateway Health

View real-time metrics on the gateway card:

  • Status Indicator

    • 🟢 Green: Active, recent activity
    • 🟡 Yellow: Idle, no recent requests
    • 🔴 Red: Errors or connection issues

  • Activity Sparkline

    • 24-hour activity visualization
    • Hover for detailed metrics
    • Click for full analytics

Optimizing Gateway Performance

  1. Minimize Server Count

    • Each server adds latency
    • Group related servers
    • Create multiple focused gateways

  2. Function Selection

    • Disable unused functions
    • Reduces token usage
    • Improves response time

  3. Caching Strategy

    { "cache_settings": { "enabled": true, "ttl_seconds": 300, "max_size_mb": 100 } }

Troubleshooting Gateways

Common Issues

Gateway not appearing in client

  • Verify authentication
  • Check client compatibility
  • Refresh client configuration

Functions not working

  • Confirm app is connected
  • Check function permissions
  • Verify authentication status

Slow response times

  • Reduce server count
  • Enable caching
  • Check network connectivity

Authentication errors

# Test gateway endpoint curl -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \ https://gateway.stormmcp.ai/g/YOUR_ID/health # Expected response {"status": "healthy", "servers": 5, "functions": 127}

Best Practices

Gateway Organization

  1. Purpose-Driven Gateways

    • Create gateways for specific workflows
    • Don't mix unrelated services
    • Consider team boundaries

  2. Naming Conventions

    • Use descriptive names
    • Include environment (dev/prod)
    • Add team/project prefix

  3. Documentation

    • Document gateway purpose
    • List included services
    • Note any restrictions

Security Considerations

  • Principle of Least Privilege

    • Only include necessary functions
    • Restrict destructive operations
    • Regular permission audits

  • Environment Separation

    • Separate dev/staging/prod gateways
    • Different API keys per environment
    • Isolated server configurations

  • Monitoring and Alerts

    • Set up usage alerts
    • Monitor error rates
    • Track authentication failures

Next Steps

Now that you've created your gateway:

  1. Connect Apps to Your Gateway
  2. Set Up Monitoring
  3. Configure Client Integrations

Related Resources

Previous
Authentication
Next
Managing Apps