Deployment¶

This page covers running audiobookshelf-mcp as long-lived servers.

audiobookshelf-mcp ships both an MCP server (console script audiobookshelf-mcp) and an A2A agent server (console script audiobookshelf-agent).

Deployment Options¶

audiobookshelf-mcp supports local stdio, a loopback-only development listener, a least-privilege stdio container, and a remote authenticated HTTPS boundary. Provider endpoint, credential, selector, identity, and trust material are supplied at runtime through AgentConfig; none is stored in this repository.

Installed stdio process¶

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "audiobookshelf": {
      "command": "audiobookshelf-mcp",
      "args": [],
      "env": {"MCP_TOOL_MODE": "intent"}
    }
  }
}

Loopback development listener¶

audiobookshelf-mcp --transport streamable-http --host 127.0.0.1 --port 8000

Do not expose this listener beyond loopback. Network deployments require direct TLS or an explicitly trusted TLS-terminating ingress, configured authentication, exact MCP_ALLOWED_HOSTS, and an exact trusted-proxy CIDR policy.

Least-privilege local container¶

docker run -i --rm \
  --read-only \
  --cap-drop=ALL \
  --security-opt=no-new-privileges \
  --pids-limit=256 \
  --tmpfs /tmp:rw,noexec,nosuid,nodev,size=64m \
  -e TRANSPORT=stdio \
  registry.example.invalid/audiobookshelf-mcp@sha256:<digest> audiobookshelf-mcp

The operator projects the selected AgentConfig profile into the process at runtime; the image remains immutable and contains no environment connection profile.

Remote authenticated HTTPS endpoint¶

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "audiobookshelf": {"url": "https://service.example.invalid/mcp"}
  }
}

Store the real remote URL, outbound identity reference, and TLS-profile reference in AgentConfig, not in MCP client JSON or documentation.

Docker Compose¶

docker compose -f docker/mcp.compose.yml up -d      # MCP server only
docker compose -f docker/agent.compose.yml up -d    # MCP + agent

Compose reads endpoints, credentials, model settings, trust profiles, and optional image locations from the runtime environment or secret provider. The published ports bind to loopback by default; widening a bind requires an explicit network security decision.

The multi-stage image installs the checked-out source and drops to an unprivileged runtime user. The Compose files do not read a repository dotenv file or deploy the backing Audiobookshelf, identity, graph, or observability services.

Run the A2A agent server¶

audiobookshelf-agent --mcp-config mcp_config.json --web

Before startup, follow the configuration contract and run the Agent Utilities doctor checks listed there.