Deployment¶

Deployment Options¶

camunda-mcp exposes its MCP server (console script camunda-mcp) four ways. Pick the row that matches where the server runs relative to your MCP client, then copy the matching mcp_config.json below. Replace the <your-…> placeholders with the values from the Configuration / Environment Variables section.

#	Option	Transport	Where it runs	`mcp_config.json` key
1	stdio	`stdio`	client launches a subprocess	`command`
2	Streamable-HTTP (local)	`streamable-http`	a local network port	`command` or `url`
3	Local container / uv	`stdio` or `streamable-http`	Docker / Podman / uv on this host	`command` or `url`
4	Remote URL	`streamable-http`	a remote host behind Caddy	`url`

1. stdio (local subprocess)¶

The client launches the server over stdio via uvx — best for local IDEs (Cursor, Claude Desktop, VS Code):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "camunda-mcp": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["--from", "camunda-mcp", "camunda-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "CAMUNDA_URL": "<your-camunda_url>",
        "CAMUNDA_TOKEN": "<your-camunda_token>"
      }
    }
  }
}

2. Streamable-HTTP (local process)¶

Run the server as a long-lived HTTP process:

uvx --from camunda-mcp camunda-mcp --transport streamable-http --host 0.0.0.0 --port 8000
curl -s http://localhost:8000/health        # {"status":"OK"}

Then either let the client launch it:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "camunda-mcp": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["--from", "camunda-mcp", "camunda-mcp", "--transport", "streamable-http", "--port", "8000"],
      "env": {
        "TRANSPORT": "streamable-http",
        "HOST": "0.0.0.0",
        "PORT": "8000",
        "CAMUNDA_URL": "<your-camunda_url>",
        "CAMUNDA_TOKEN": "<your-camunda_token>"
      }
    }
  }
}

…or connect to the already-running process by URL:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "camunda-mcp": { "url": "http://localhost:8000/mcp" }
  }
}

3. Local container / uv¶

(a) Launch a container directly from mcp_config.json (stdio over the container — no ports to manage). Swap docker for podman for a daemonless runtime:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "camunda-mcp": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": [
        "run", "-i", "--rm",
        "-e", "TRANSPORT=stdio",
        "-e", "CAMUNDA_URL=<your-camunda_url>",
        "-e", "CAMUNDA_TOKEN=<your-camunda_token>",
        "knucklessg1/camunda-mcp:latest"
      ]
    }
  }
}

(b) Run a local streamable-http container, then connect by URL:

docker run -d --name camunda-mcp -p 8000:8000 \
  -e TRANSPORT=streamable-http \
  -e PORT=8000 \
  -e CAMUNDA_URL="<your-camunda_url>" \
  -e CAMUNDA_TOKEN="<your-camunda_token>" \
  knucklessg1/camunda-mcp:latest
# or, from a clone of this repo:
docker compose -f docker/mcp.compose.yml up -d

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "camunda-mcp": { "url": "http://localhost:8000/mcp" }
  }
}

(c) From a local checkout with uv:

uv run camunda-mcp --transport streamable-http --port 8000

4. Remote URL (deployed behind Caddy)¶

When the server is deployed remotely (e.g. as a Docker service) and published through Caddy on the internal *.arpa zone, connect with the "url" key — no local process or image required:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "camunda-mcp": { "url": "http://camunda-mcp.arpa/mcp" }
  }
}

Caddy reverse-proxies http://camunda-mcp.arpa to the container's :8000 streamable-http listener; http://camunda-mcp.arpa/health returns {"status":"OK"} when the service is live.

This page covers running camunda-mcp as long-lived servers: the transports, the A2A agent server, a Docker Compose stack, putting it behind a Caddy reverse proxy, and giving it a DNS name with Technitium. To provision the Camunda platform it connects to, see Backing Platform.

camunda-mcp ships both an MCP server (console script camunda-mcp) and an A2A agent server (console script camunda-agent). The MCP server is a typed, deterministic tool surface a policy router or agent calls; the agent server wraps that surface in a Pydantic-AI graph agent for agent-to-agent orchestration.

Run the MCP server¶

The transport is selected with --transport (or the TRANSPORT env var):

stdio (default)streamable-httpsse

camunda-mcp

For IDE / desktop MCP clients that launch the server as a subprocess.

camunda-mcp --transport streamable-http --host 0.0.0.0 --port 8000

A network server with a /health endpoint and /mcp route.

camunda-mcp --transport sse --host 0.0.0.0 --port 8000

Health check (HTTP transports):

curl -s http://localhost:8000/health        # {"status":"OK"}

Configuration (environment)¶

camunda-mcp is configured entirely from the environment. The required set depends on which platform you target (CAMUNDA_PLATFORM):

Var	Default	Meaning
`CAMUNDA_PLATFORM`	`7`	Target platform: `7` or `8`
`CAMUNDA_SSL_VERIFY`	`True`	Verify TLS (set `False` for self-signed homelab)
`CAMUNDA7_URL`	`http://localhost:8080/engine-rest`	Camunda 7 Engine REST base URL
`CAMUNDA7_TOKEN`	—	Camunda 7 bearer token (optional)
`CAMUNDA7_USERNAME`	—	Camunda 7 basic-auth user (optional)
`CAMUNDA7_PASSWORD`	—	Camunda 7 basic-auth password (optional)
`CAMUNDA8_ZEEBE_REST_URL`	`http://localhost:8080`	Camunda 8 Zeebe REST base URL
`CAMUNDA8_OPERATE_URL`	—	Camunda 8 Operate REST URL
`CAMUNDA8_TASKLIST_URL`	—	Camunda 8 Tasklist REST URL
`CAMUNDA8_CLIENT_ID`	—	Camunda 8 OAuth client id
`CAMUNDA8_CLIENT_SECRET`	—	Camunda 8 OAuth client secret
`CAMUNDA8_OAUTH_URL`	—	Camunda 8 OAuth token URL
`CAMUNDA8_AUDIENCE`	`zeebe.camunda.io`	Camunda 8 OAuth audience
`CAMUNDATOOL`	`True`	Register the Camunda tool set

Plus HOST / PORT / TRANSPORT for HTTP transports. Credentials left blank leave the corresponding platform inactive — the server remains inactive when credentials are absent. A starter .env.example ships with the repository; copy it to .env and fill in the values for the platform you use.

Docker Compose¶

The repository ships docker/mcp.compose.yml. A representative stack reads a sibling .env and publishes the HTTP server on :8000:

services:
  camunda-mcp:
    image: knucklessg1/camunda-mcp:latest
    container_name: camunda-mcp
    hostname: camunda-mcp
    restart: always
    env_file:
      - .env
    environment:
      - PYTHONUNBUFFERED=1
      - HOST=0.0.0.0
      - PORT=8000
      - TRANSPORT=streamable-http
    ports:
      - "8000:8000"
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD", "python3", "-c", "import urllib.request; urllib.request.urlopen('http://localhost:8000/health')"]
      interval: 30s
      timeout: 10s
      retries: 3

cp .env.example .env          # then edit CAMUNDA_* values
docker compose -f docker/mcp.compose.yml up -d
docker compose -f docker/mcp.compose.yml logs -f

Run the A2A agent server¶

camunda-mcp also ships an agent server (console script camunda-agent, described by a2a.json). It wraps the MCP tool surface in a Pydantic-AI graph agent and is wired to a running MCP server through the MCP_URL environment variable:

export MCP_URL=http://camunda-mcp:8000/mcp
export DEFAULT_AGENT_NAME="Camunda Agent"
camunda-agent --host 0.0.0.0 --port 8001

The repository ships docker/agent.compose.yml. A representative agent stack publishes the agent on :8001 and points it at the MCP server:

services:
  camunda-agent:
    image: knucklessg1/camunda-mcp:latest
    container_name: camunda-agent
    hostname: camunda-agent
    restart: always
    command: ["camunda-agent", "--host", "0.0.0.0", "--port", "8001"]
    env_file:
      - .env
    environment:
      - PYTHONUNBUFFERED=1
      - MCP_URL=http://camunda-mcp:8000/mcp
    ports:
      - "8001:8001"
    depends_on:
      - camunda-mcp

Behind a Caddy reverse proxy¶

Expose the HTTP server on a hostname with automatic TLS. Add to your Caddyfile:

# Internal (self-signed) — homelab .arpa zone
camunda-mcp.arpa {
    tls internal
    reverse_proxy camunda-mcp:8000
}

# Public — automatic Let's Encrypt
camunda-mcp.example.com {
    reverse_proxy camunda-mcp:8000
}

Reload Caddy:

docker compose -f services/caddy/compose.yml exec caddy caddy reload --config /etc/caddy/Caddyfile

DNS with Technitium¶

Point the hostname at the host running Caddy. Via the Technitium API:

curl -s "http://technitium.arpa:5380/api/zones/records/add" \
  --data-urlencode "token=$TECHNITIUM_DNS_TOKEN" \
  --data-urlencode "domain=camunda-mcp.arpa" \
  --data-urlencode "zone=arpa" \
  --data-urlencode "type=A" \
  --data-urlencode "ipAddress=10.0.0.10" \
  --data-urlencode "ttl=3600"

…or add an A record camunda-mcp.arpa → <caddy-host-ip> in the Technitium web console (http://technitium.arpa:5380). The ecosystem technitium-dns-mcp automates this as a tool.

Register with an MCP client¶

Add to your client's mcp_config.json (multiplexer nickname camun):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "camunda-mcp": {
      "command": "uv",
      "args": ["run", "camunda-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "CAMUNDA_PLATFORM": "7",
        "CAMUNDA7_URL": "http://your-camunda:8080/engine-rest",
        "CAMUNDATOOL": "True"
      }
    }
  }
}

For a remote HTTP server, point the client at http://camunda-mcp.arpa/mcp instead.