@chkp/mcp-utils

Shared utilities for Check Point MCP servers.

Features

Configuration-Driven MCP Server Launcher

The launchMCPServer function provides a configuration-driven approach to launching MCP servers, eliminating boilerplate code and making CLI options maintainable through JSON configuration files.

Usage

1. Create a Server Configuration File

Create a server-config.json file in your server package:

{
  "name": "My MCP Server",
  "description": "Description of my MCP server",
  "options": [
    {
      "flag": "--api-key <key>",
      "description": "API key for authentication",
      "env": "API_KEY",
      "type": "string"
    },
    {
      "flag": "--host <host>",
      "description": "Server host",
      "env": "SERVER_HOST",
      "default": "localhost",
      "type": "string"
    },
    {
      "flag": "--verbose",
      "description": "Enable verbose output",
      "env": "VERBOSE",
      "type": "boolean"
    }
  ]
}

2. Update Your Server's Main Function

Replace your manual CLI setup with the launcher:

import { launchMCPServer } from '@chkp/mcp-utils';
import { join, dirname } from 'path';
import { fileURLToPath } from 'url';

// Your existing server, Settings, and pkg imports...

const main = async () => {
  await launchMCPServer(
    join(dirname(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url)), 'server-config.json'),
    { server, Settings, pkg }
  );
};

main().catch((error) => {
  console.error('Fatal error in main():', error);
  process.exit(1);
});

3. Add Dependency

Add @chkp/mcp-utils to your package.json:

{
  "dependencies": {
    "@chkp/mcp-utils": "*"
  }
}

Configuration Schema

ServerConfig

• name (string): Display name for the server
• description (string, optional): Description shown in help text
• options (CliOption[]): Array of CLI options

CliOption

• flag (string): Commander.js-style flag definition (e.g., --api-key <key>, --verbose)
• description (string): Help text for the option
• env (string, optional): Environment variable name to read default from
• default (string, optional): Default value if not provided via CLI or env
• type ('string' | 'boolean', optional): Option type (defaults to 'string')

HTTP Transport

By default, servers launched with launchMCPServer use stdio transport, which is the standard mode for MCP clients like Claude Desktop and Cursor.

An alternative HTTP transport (MCP Streamable HTTP) is available for hosted or multi-user deployments. Enable it via environment variable or CLI flag:

MCP_TRANSPORT_TYPE=http MCP_TRANSPORT_PORT=3000 my-mcp-server
# or
my-mcp-server --transport http --transport-port 3000

When running in HTTP mode the server exposes two endpoints:

• POST/GET/DELETE /mcp — MCP protocol endpoint
• GET /health — server status (active session count, version)

⚠️ Security considerations for HTTP transport

No built-in authentication. The HTTP server has no authentication layer. Any client that can reach the port can establish an MCP session. You must place the server behind an authenticated reverse proxy or restrict network access at the infrastructure level.

No TLS. The server runs plain HTTP. Credentials passed by MCP clients (API keys, passwords, management host) travel in cleartext over the wire. In production, always terminate TLS at a reverse proxy (nginx, Caddy, a cloud load balancer, etc.) in front of the MCP server.

stdio is recommended for local use. If you are running the server on the same machine as your MCP client, use the default stdio transport — it has none of these concerns.

Benefits

• Zero Boilerplate: Reduces main function from ~15 lines to ~5 lines
• Configuration-Driven: All CLI options in maintainable JSON files
• Environment Variable Support: Automatic mapping of env vars to options
• Type Safety: TypeScript interfaces for all configuration
• Consistent Help: Automatic help text generation
• Easy Maintenance: Change options without touching code

Migration Example

Before:

const main = async () => {
  const program = new Command();
  program
    .option('--api-key <key>', 'API key')
    .option('--host <host>', 'Server host', process.env.SERVER_HOST || 'localhost')
    .option('--verbose', 'Enable verbose output', process.env.VERBOSE === 'true');
  program.parse(process.argv);
  const options = program.opts();
  Settings.setSettings(Settings.fromArgs(options));
  const transport = new StdioServerTransport();
  await server.connect(transport);
  console.error('Server running...');
};

After:

const main = async () => {
  await launchMCPServer(
    join(dirname(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url)), 'server-config.json'),
    { server, Settings, pkg }
  );
};