skgate — Claude Code MCP server: what it does, how to install
A self-hosted gateway for MCP tools and LLMs behind OAuth 2.1. It runs server packages directly and proxies multiple model providers through one endpoint.
Open on GitHubWhat skgate does
skgate acts as a centralized access point for MCP tools and AI providers. You do not have to create separate containers for every server. The latest image includes Node.js, Python with uv, Bun, and other runtimes. Give it an npm package, a PyPI package, or a GitHub repo, and its helper model inspects the manifests to configure launch arguments and required environment flags.
The built-in proxy exposes an OpenAI-compatible interface for Anthropic, Gemini, Mistral, Ollama, and OpenAI. Custom model aliases let you redirect downstream traffic when switching models without editing client code. Setting up an external OIDC provider is mandatory: the /admin console rejects local logins and depends entirely on OIDC.
What it helps with
- run MCP servers from npm, PyPI, or git without dedicated containers
- group multiple tool upstreams behind a single OAuth 2.1 URL
- proxy different LLM APIs through a unified OpenAI-compatible format
- repoint model targets across clients using custom aliases
- access Grok models with an active subscription instead of an API key
Example prompts for the agent
- Discover available tools on the gateway at
https://skgate.example.com/mcp. - Call the notes server upstream via
/mcp/notesto view open items. - Route this prompt to the
grok-latestalias on the local proxy.
How to install skgate
Install
The MCP registry has no launch command for it: see the repository README
Step by step, with commands for each platform: How to add an MCP server to Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, VS Code, Gemini CLI and more
Questions about skgate
How to install skgate in Claude Code?
Start the container using docker compose up -d with the ghcr.io/helv-io/skgate:latest image. Then configure Claude Code with an HTTP connection pointing to https://skgate.example.com/mcp or an individual upstream path.
What does skgate do?
It provides an authenticated hub for MCP servers and unifies calls to AI model providers. The software executes tool packages on demand, controls access with OAuth 2.1, and manages model aliases via an OpenAI-style endpoint.
What is the difference between the latest and slim tags?
The latest container packages runtime environments like Node.js, Bun, Deno, Python, Go, and .NET to manage internal processes. The slim image excludes those runtimes and acts strictly as a lightweight network proxy.
