homelab-docs/mcp-central

Centralized MCP Servers for Homelab

Current State of MCP Remote Access

The Problem: Most MCP servers use stdio transport (local process communication). Claude Code clients expect to spawn local processes.

The Solution: Use mcp-remote to bridge local clients to remote servers.

Architecture

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                    docker-host (10.10.10.206)                  │
│  ┌─────────────┐  ┌─────────────┐  ┌─────────────┐             │
│  │ airtable-mcp│  │   exa-mcp   │  │ ticktick-mcp│   ...       │
│  │  :3001/sse  │  │  :3002/sse  │  │  :3003/sse  │             │
│  └─────────────┘  └─────────────┘  └─────────────┘             │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
              ▲               ▲               ▲
              │               │               │
       ┌──────┴───────────────┴───────────────┴──────┐
       │              Tailscale / LAN                │
       └──────┬───────────────┬───────────────┬──────┘
              │               │               │
    ┌─────────▼─────┐ ┌───────▼───────┐ ┌─────▼─────────┐
    │   MacBook     │ │   Mac Mini    │ │  Windows PC   │
    │ Claude Code   │ │ Claude Code   │ │ Claude Code   │
    │  mcp-remote   │ │  mcp-remote   │ │  mcp-remote   │
    └───────────────┘ └───────────────┘ └───────────────┘

Setup

Step 1: Deploy MCP Servers on docker-host

ssh hutson@10.10.10.206
cd /opt/mcp-central
docker-compose up -d

Step 2: Configure Claude Code Clients

Each device needs mcp-remote installed and configured.

Install mcp-remote:

npm install -g mcp-remote

Update ~/.claude/settings.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "airtable": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["mcp-remote", "http://10.10.10.206:3001/sse"]
    },
    "exa": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["mcp-remote", "http://10.10.10.206:3002/sse"]
    },
    "ticktick": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["mcp-remote", "http://10.10.10.206:3003/sse"]
    }
  }
}

For remote access via Tailscale, use Tailscale IP:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "airtable": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["mcp-remote", "http://100.x.x.x:3001/sse"]
    }
  }
}

Which Servers Can Be Centralized?

Server	Centralizable	Notes
Airtable	Yes	Just needs API key
Exa	Yes	Just needs API key
TickTick	Yes	OAuth token stored server-side
Slack	Yes	Bot token stored server-side
Ref	Yes	API key only
Beeper	No	Needs local Beeper Desktop
Google Sheets	Partial	OAuth flow needs user interaction
Monarch Money	Partial	Credentials stored server-side

Alternative: Shared Config File

If full centralization is too complex, you can at least share the config:

1. Store settings.json in a synced folder (e.g., Syncthing configs/)
2. Symlink from each device:

   ln -s ~/Sync/configs/claude-settings.json ~/.claude/settings.json
   

This doesn't centralize the servers, but ensures all devices have the same config.

Traefik Integration (Optional)

Add to Traefik for HTTPS access:

# /etc/traefik/conf.d/mcp.yaml
http:
  routers:
    mcp-airtable:
      rule: "Host(`mcp-airtable.htsn.io`)"
      service: mcp-airtable
      tls:
        certResolver: cloudflare
  services:
    mcp-airtable:
      loadBalancer:
        servers:
          - url: "http://10.10.10.206:3001"

Then use: http://mcp-airtable.htsn.io/sse in your config.