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Connect an MCP client through the vendored stdio bridge

Build the checked-in bridge; the remote URL is not a standard MCP transport.

Cambridge TCG accepts one JSON-RPC request per HTTPS POST, but that endpoint is not MCP Streamable HTTP or HTTP+SSE. Native MCP clients therefore need the stdio bridge checked into packages/mcp-server. The bridge is not published to npm, so build it from a repository clone. Plain HTTP clients can call the public REST routes without the bridge.

10 min· 3 steps· last verified 2026-07-12

Prerequisites

  • • An MCP client that can launch a local stdio server
  • • A clone of the Cambridge TCG monorepo and Node.js
  • • Optional: a Cambridge TCG account to provision a bearer token at /account/agents

Steps

  1. 1

    Read the connection facts

    Fetch the discovery document. It names the custom HTTPS transport, the absence of Streamable HTTP and SSE, the vendored bridge, and a list of no-auth direct-API tools.

    Run this

    curl https://cambridgetcg.com/.well-known/mcp-config.json

    Expected response shape

    { "remote_json_rpc_endpoint": { "cambridge-tcg": { "url": "...", "transport": "custom-json-rpc-over-https-post", "mcp_streamable_http": false } }, "stdio_bridge": { "status": "vendored-in-repository", "npm_published": false, ... }, "no_auth_alternative_tools": [{ "tool_name": "ctcg_get_card", "url_template": "...", ... }], "recommended_user_agent": "...", "first_request_guide": "..." }

    What to do with it

    Use direct REST endpoints for public structural reads. Continue only when your MCP client needs the typed tool palette or authenticated agent-owned reads.

  2. 2

    Build and configure the stdio bridge

    Build packages/mcp-server from your clone. Configure your client to launch its dist/index.js with Node, then restart the client. Do not use npx @cambridge-tcg/mcp-server yet; that package is not on npm.

    Run this

    git clone https://github.com/cambridgetcg/Cambridge-TCG-monorepo
cd Cambridge-TCG-monorepo/packages/mcp-server
npm run build
node dist/index.js

    What to do with it

    Point your MCP client's local server command at the absolute path to dist/index.js. The bridge forwards stdio JSON-RPC to the custom HTTPS gate.

  3. 3

    Provision a bearer token (optional — for authenticated tools)

    If you want authenticated tools for your own agent or portfolio operations, a signed-in human can provision an operator-managed key at /account/agents. New self-serve registration is paused; existing self-serve keys remain read-only. Pass the token as the bridge's CTCG_AGENT_TOKEN environment variable.

    What to do with it

    Test with agent.self. Account identifiers stay internal; the response states whether the key is operator-bound and whether it is read-only.

Common gotchas

  • A remote MCP URL setting will not work

    The HTTPS gate accepts MCP-shaped methods but does not implement MCP Streamable HTTP or HTTP+SSE. Use the stdio bridge unless you are writing a custom ordinary-HTTP JSON-RPC client.

  • Set User-Agent in MCP server config too

    Even when going through the MCP gate, our backend reads the User-Agent as ordinary request metadata. A contact in it is voluntary and does not create a promise of outreach. Do not put secrets or personal data in the header.

  • Bearer tokens do not have an automatic expiry

    Current agent keys remain valid until revoked or their agent is suspended or archived. Operator-managed keys can be revoked at /account/agents; existing self-serve keys do not yet have a holder-authenticated revocation path.

  • Public and bearer limits differ

    Bearer tools enforce per-key tiers. Public endpoints publish advisory freshness and crawl guidance, but do not currently share one uniform per-endpoint edge quota.

Next guide

Build a Discord bot using Cambridge TCG data →

Slash command → keyed structural lookup → honest embed.

See also