Developer Workstation

Developer Workstation

This guide helps you to set up your local environment for contributing to the Model Context Protocol (MCP) Gateway. It provides detailed instructions for tooling requirements, OS-specific notes, common pitfalls, and commit signing practices.

Tooling Requirements

• Python (>= 3.11)

  • Download from python.org or use your package manager (e.g., brew install python on macOS, sudo apt-get install python3 on Ubuntu).
  • Verify: python3 --version.

• Docker or Podman

  • Docker: Install docker.io, buildx, and docker-compose v2.

    • Docker Desktop for macOS/Windows.
    • Linux: sudo apt-get install docker.io docker-buildx-plugin docker-compose-plugin (Debian/Ubuntu) or sudo dnf install docker docker-buildx docker-compose (Fedora).

  • Podman: Install Podman Desktop for a rootless alternative.

  • Verify: docker --version or podman --version.

• Permissions Setup

  • Docker: Add your user to the docker group: sudo usermod -aG docker $USER, then log out and back in (Linux). Restart Docker Desktop (Windows/macOS).
  • Podman: Configure rootless mode with podman system service.

• Docker Compose or Compatible Wrapper

  • Included with Docker Desktop or as docker-compose-plugin.
  • For Podman: pip install podman-compose.
  • Verify: docker compose version or podman-compose --version.

• GNU Make

  • macOS: brew install make.
  • Linux: sudo apt-get install make or sudo dnf install make.
  • Windows: Install via Chocolatey (choco install make) or use WSL2.
  • Verify: make --version.

• (Optional) uv, ruff, mypy, isort

  • Install: pip install uv ruff mypy isort.
  • Usage: Run ruff check . or mypy . for linting/type checking.

• Node.js and npm (for UI linters)

  • Install from nodejs.org.
  • Verify: node --version and npm --version.
  • Install linters: npm install -g eslint stylelint.

• (Optional)Visual Studio Code and useful plugins

  • Download from code.visualstudio.com.

OS-Specific Setup

macOS

• Installation:

  • Install Homebrew: /bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)".
  • Run: brew install python docker make node.

• Apple Silicon: Use Docker Desktop with ARM64 support. Homebrew handles architecture natively.

• Troubleshooting: Ensure Rosetta 2 is installed for Intel-based tools if needed (softwareupdate --install-rosetta).

Linux

• Installation:

  • Debian/Ubuntu: sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install python3 docker.io docker-buildx-plugin docker-compose-plugin make nodejs npm.
  • Fedora: sudo dnf install python3 docker docker-buildx docker-compose make nodejs npm.

• Permissions: Add user to docker group: sudo usermod -aG docker $USER, then reboot.

• Troubleshooting: Use systemctl start docker if the service isn't running.

Windows

• Recommended: WSL2

  • Install WSL2 and Ubuntu: wsl --install.
  • Install Docker Desktop with WSL2 integration.

• File Paths and Volume Mounting

  • Use forward slashes (e.g., /f/All/ibm/mcp-forge/mcp-context-forge).
  • Avoid spaces/special characters; use absolute paths in docker run -v.

• Podman in WSL2

  • Install: sudo apt-get install podman in WSL2.
  • Port exposure: Use podman system service and configure firewall (sudo ufw allow 4444).

• Windows Terminal

  • Install from Microsoft Store. set WSL2 as default profile.

• Make Alternatives

  • Use WSL2's make or install via Chocolatey (choco install make).

Common Gotchas

Docker Socket Permissions

• Problem: You may encounter "permission denied while connecting to the Docker daemon" if your user lacks access to the Docker socket.

• Fix:

  • Linux: Add your user to the docker group with sudo usermod -aG docker $USER, then log out and log back in. Verify with docker ps.
  • Windows/macOS: Restart Docker Desktop from the system tray or settings menu.

• Troubleshooting: If the issue persists, ensure the Docker service is running (systemctl status docker on Linux) or reinstall Docker Desktop.

.venv Activation Across Shells

• Problem: The virtual environment (.venv) may not activate automatically when opening new terminal sessions.

• Fix:

  • Activate: Use source .venv/bin/activate (Linux/macOS) or .venv\Scripts\activate (Windows) for each session.
  • Persist: Add to your shell profile (e.g., echo "source ./.venv/bin/activate" >> ~/.bashrc for Bash on Linux). Replace . with the relative path to your .venv if different.

• Troubleshooting: Verify activation with which python (should point to .venv/bin/python); deactivate with deactivate if needed.

Port 4444 Already in Use

• Problem: Port 4444, used by ContextForge and MkDocs, may be occupied by another process, causing conflicts.

• Fix:

  • Check: Run netstat -aon | findstr :4444 (Windows) or ss -tuln | grep 4444 (Linux) to identify the process ID (PID).
  • Resolve: Use a different port for MkDocs with mkdocs serve --dev-addr=127.0.0.1:8001, or stop the conflicting process (e.g., taskkill /PID <PID> on Windows or kill <PID> on Linux).

• Troubleshooting: If unsure which process to stop, check with docker ps (if a container) or review running services.

Snippet Examples

Set Up and Serve Documentation

# Build docs in an isolated environment
cd docs
make venv          # first run only; installs MkDocs + plugins
make serve         # http://127.0.0.1:8000 with live reload

Local Keycloak SSO (Development)

Use the SSO compose profile when you want to test login and role mapping behavior locally.

Start the stack

make compose-sso

Optional smoke check:

make sso-test-login

Default local credentials

• Keycloak admin console: http://localhost:8180
• Keycloak admin user: admin
• Keycloak admin password: changeme
• Gateway login page: http://localhost:8080/admin/login
• Keycloak realm: mcp-gateway
• Keycloak client: mcp-gateway

Pre-seeded test users (all use password changeme):

• admin@example.com (realm role gateway-admin)
• developer@example.com (realm role gateway-developer)
• viewer@example.com (realm role gateway-viewer)
• newuser@example.com (no explicit gateway-* role; used to test default-role behavior)

Login flow

1. Open http://localhost:8080/admin/login.
2. Click Continue with Keycloak.
3. Sign in with one of the test users above.
4. After callback to the gateway, validate role behavior in Admin UI/API.

If you land back on .../admin/login?error=sso_failed, re-run:

make sso-test-login

This verifies provider discovery, test users, and the full browser callback redirect to /admin.

For full provider configuration details, see Keycloak OIDC Setup Tutorial.

Signing commits

To ensure commit integrity and comply with the DCO, sign your commits with a Signed-off-by trailer. Configure your Git settings:

# ~/.gitconfig
[user]
    name = Your Name
    email = your-email@example.com

[init]
    defaultBranch = main  # Use 'main' instead of 'master' when creating new repos

[core]
    autocrlf = input       # On commit: convert CRLF to LF (Windows → Linux)
                           # On checkout: leave LF alone (no conversion)
    eol = lf               # Ensure all files in the repo use LF internally

[alias]
    cm = commit -s -m      # Short alias: 'git cm "message"' creates signed-off commit
    ca = commit --amend -s # Amend last commit and ensure it has a Signed-off-by trailer

[commit]
    template = ~/.git-commit-template

• Setup: Replace Your Name and your-email@example.com with your details.
• Signing: Use git cm "Your message" to create signed commits automatically with the configured alias.
• Sign-off: Use git commit -s -m "Your message" for manual signed commits without the alias.