Unla MCP — Use Cases, Install & Live Demo

Why use it

Key features

REST → MCP via YAML, no wrapper code
Proxy existing MCP services through one gateway
Web UI for hot-reload configs
Multi-tenant with OAuth pre-authentication
SSE + Streamable HTTP transports; multi-replica ready

Live Demo

What it looks like in practice

unla.replay ▶ ready

0/0

Install

Pick your client

~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json · Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "unla": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "Unla"
      ],
      "_inferred": true
    }
  }
}

Open Claude Desktop → Settings → Developer → Edit Config. Restart after saving.

~/.cursor/mcp.json · .cursor/mcp.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "unla": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "Unla"
      ],
      "_inferred": true
    }
  }
}

Cursor uses the same mcpServers schema as Claude Desktop. Project config wins over global.

VS Code → Cline → MCP Servers → Edit

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "unla": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "Unla"
      ],
      "_inferred": true
    }
  }
}

Click the MCP Servers icon in the Cline sidebar, then "Edit Configuration".

~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "unla": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "Unla"
      ],
      "_inferred": true
    }
  }
}

Same shape as Claude Desktop. Restart Windsurf to pick up changes.

~/.continue/config.json

{
  "mcpServers": [
    {
      "name": "unla",
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "Unla"
      ]
    }
  ]
}

Continue uses an array of server objects rather than a map.

~/.config/zed/settings.json

{
  "context_servers": {
    "unla": {
      "command": {
        "path": "npx",
        "args": [
          "-y",
          "Unla"
        ]
      }
    }
  }
}

Add to context_servers. Zed hot-reloads on save.

claude mcp add unla -- npx -y Unla

One-liner. Verify with claude mcp list. Remove with claude mcp remove.

Use Cases

Real-world ways to use Unla

How to expose your internal REST API as MCP without writing a server

👤 Platform engineers, internal tools teams ⏱ ~30 min intermediate

When to use: You have a company REST API and want Claude/Cursor to use it without building a bespoke MCP.

Prerequisites

Docker — docker.com/get-started
OpenAPI/Swagger spec for the API (helpful but optional) — Most internal APIs already have one

Flow

Deploy Unla

docker run -d --name unla -p 8080:80 -p 5234:5234 -p 5235:5235 ghcr.io/amoylab/unla/allinone:latest✓ Copied

→ Web UI at :8080
Add a YAML server definition

In the UI, create a server 'internal-api' with endpoints /users (GET) and /orders (GET, POST), mapped to https://api.internal/v1.✓ Copied

→ Tools show up: get_users, get_orders, create_order
Point your client at it

Add https://gateway.internal/mcp/internal-api to Claude Desktop.✓ Copied

→ New tools appear in the client

Outcome: Your internal API usable from any MCP client within an hour.

Pitfalls

Auth leaks if you map sensitive headers unrestricted — Use Unla's OAuth pre-auth to gate per-user; never hardcode admin tokens in YAML
Write endpoints expose destructive calls — Mark POST/DELETE endpoints as 'confirm' so they require explicit user approval

Combine with: mcphub

How to give each customer their own MCP namespace

👤 SaaS teams offering MCP access to customers ⏱ ~45 min advanced

When to use: You run a platform and want per-tenant tool isolation.

Flow

Create tenants in Unla

In admin, create tenants 'acme' and 'globex', each with their own API key mapping.✓ Copied

→ Two isolated namespaces
Route per-tenant

Acme users hit /mcp/acme, globex hits /mcp/globex.✓ Copied

→ Tools show tenant-scoped data

Outcome: Multi-tenant MCP without running multiple gateways.

Pitfalls

Cross-tenant leakage via shared YAML templates — Use tenant-scoped variables, never $ENV references that resolve cross-tenant

How to put your existing MCPs behind a single authenticated URL

👤 Teams with scattered MCP deployments ⏱ ~20 min intermediate

When to use: Multiple stdio MCPs in different places and you want one public URL with OAuth.

Flow

Register each downstream MCP

In Unla, add github-mcp (stdio) and postgres-mcp (HTTP) as proxied servers.✓ Copied

→ Both show as healthy
Enable OAuth

Turn on GitHub OAuth for the gateway.✓ Copied

→ Login flow works end-to-end

Outcome: One endpoint, one login, all your MCPs.

Combinations

Pair with other MCPs for X10 leverage

unla + mcphub

Use Unla for REST-to-MCP conversion and MCPHub for routing/grouping

Register Unla-exposed tools in MCPHub under the 'internal' group.✓ Copied

unla + proxy

Use mcp-proxy as a last-mile stdio bridge and Unla as the public-facing gateway

Bridge my local stdio MCP to HTTP with mcp-proxy, then register it in Unla.✓ Copied

Tools

What this MCP exposes

Tool	Inputs	When to call	Cost
(gateway) yaml-defined REST tools	As declared in YAML	Whatever the exposed REST endpoint does	1 request to upstream API
(gateway) proxied MCP tools	Pass-through	Same as downstream	Same as downstream MCP

Cost & Limits

What this costs to run

API quota: None at the gateway layer; upstream API quotas still apply
Tokens per call: Minimal gateway overhead
Monetary: Free (Apache 2.0)
Tip: Cache GET endpoints at the gateway to avoid duplicate upstream billing.

Security

Permissions, secrets, blast radius

Minimum scopes: OAuth issuer config + tenant-scoped API keys

Credential storage: Gateway config on disk (encrypt via your secret manager); tenant tokens via DB

Data egress: The gateway forwards to whichever upstream URLs you configure

Never grant: Do not expose the admin UI publicly without auth Do not YAML-encode production tokens in git

YAML includes can resolve env vars — be careful where env comes from in containers.

Troubleshooting

Common errors and fixes

Upstream 401 on every call

Gateway isn't forwarding auth header. Add an Authorization mapping rule in YAML.

Verify: curl gateway with -v; check upstream headers

Hot reload didn't pick up my YAML change

Validate YAML in the UI's Lint tab first; hot reload rejects invalid configs silently.

OAuth redirect_uri mismatch

Register the exact gateway URL in your OAuth provider.

SSE disconnects after 60s

Load balancer idle timeout. Raise to 3600s or use Streamable HTTP.

Alternatives

Unla vs others

Alternative	When to use it instead	Tradeoff
MCPHub	You want a TypeScript hub with smart vector routing	Less focus on REST-to-MCP conversion
ToolHive	You want containerized per-MCP isolation	Not a REST-to-MCP converter

More

Resources

📖 Read the official README on GitHub

🐙 Browse open issues

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