MCP server template

A template for running and monetizing a Model Context Protocol server using stdio transport on Apify platform. This allows you to run any stdio MCP server as a standby Actor and connect via either the streamable HTTP transport with an MCP client.

How to use

Change the MCP_COMMAND to spawn your stdio MCP server in src/main.ts, and don't forget to install the required MCP server in the package.json (using npm install ...). By default, this template runs an Everything MCP Server using the following command:

const MCP_COMMAND = [
    'npx',
    '@modelcontextprotocol/server-everything',
];

Alternatively, you can use the mcp-remote tool to turn a remote MCP server into an Actor. For example, to connect to a remote server with authentication:

const MCP_COMMAND = [
    'npx',
    'mcp-remote',
    'https://mcp.apify.com',
    '--header',
    'Authorization: Bearer TOKEN',
];

Feel free to configure billing logic in .actor/pay_per_event.json and src/billing.ts.

Push your Actor to the Apify platform, configure standby mode, and then connect to the Actor standby URL with your MCP client using the endpoint: https://me--my-mcp-server.apify.actor/mcp (streamable HTTP transport).

Important: When connecting to your deployed MCP server, you must pass your Apify API token in the Authorization header as a Bearer token. For example:

Authorization: Bearer <YOUR_APIFY_API_TOKEN>

This is required for authentication and to access your Actor endpoint.

Pay per event

This template uses the Pay Per Event (PPE) monetization model, which provides flexible pricing based on defined events.

To charge users, define events in JSON format and save them on the Apify platform. Here is an example schema with the tool-request event:

[
    {
        "tool-request": {
            "eventTitle": "Price for completing a tool request",
            "eventDescription": "Flat fee for completing a tool request.",
            "eventPriceUsd": 0.05
        }
    }
]

In the Actor, trigger the event with:

await Actor.charge({ eventName: 'tool-request' });

This approach allows you to programmatically charge users directly from your Actor, covering the costs of execution and related services.

To set up the PPE model for this Actor:

• Configure Pay Per Event: establish the Pay Per Event pricing schema in the Actor's Monetization settings. First, set the Pricing model to Pay per event and add the schema. An example schema can be found in pay_per_event.json.

Resources

• What is Anthropic's Model Context Protocol?
• How to use MCP with Apify Actors
• Apify MCP server
• Apify MCP server documentation
• Apify MCP client
• Model Context Protocol documentation
• TypeScript tutorials in Academy
• Apify SDK documentation

Getting started

For complete information see this article. To run the Actor use the following command:

apify run

Deploy to Apify

Connect Git repository to Apify

If you've created a Git repository for the project, you can easily connect to Apify:

1. Go to Actor creation page
2. Click on Link Git Repository button

Push project on your local machine to Apify

You can also deploy the project on your local machine to Apify without the need for the Git repository.

1. Log in to Apify. You will need to provide your Apify API Token to complete this action.

   apify login

2. Deploy your Actor. This command will deploy and build the Actor on the Apify Platform. You can find your newly created Actor under Actors -> My Actors.

   apify push

Documentation reference

To learn more about Apify and Actors, take a look at the following resources:

• Apify SDK for JavaScript documentation
• Apify SDK for Python documentation
• Apify Platform documentation
• Join our developer community on Discord