Claus Ibsen created CAMEL-23853:
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Summary: Support --mcp flag on camel run/dev to embed MCP server
in running Camel application
Key: CAMEL-23853
URL: https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/CAMEL-23853
Project: Camel
Issue Type: Improvement
Components: camel-jbang, camel-core
Reporter: Claus Ibsen
h3. Idea
Allow a running Camel application to expose an MCP server embedded inside the
process, so AI agents can discover and call Camel routes as MCP tools.
{code}
camel run foo.yaml --mcp
camel dev foo.yaml --mcp
{code}
The MCP server should use the embedded HTTP server (e.g. port 8080) so AI
agents can connect via HTTP/SSE transport. This is similar to how the TUI
embeds an MCP server inside the running process.
h3. camel-main integration
Consider adding {{camel.mcp.xxx}} configuration options to camel-main so the
MCP server can be configured as a first-class feature of the Camel runtime —
not just a CLI flag. This would allow any Camel application (Spring Boot,
Quarkus, standalone) to embed an MCP server, not only applications started via
the Camel CLI.
Example configuration:
{code}
camel.mcp.enabled=true
camel.mcp.port=8080
camel.mcp.path=/mcp
{code}
This gives the MCP server a proper integration into Camel without depending on
camel-jbang.
h3. Notes
This needs more design thinking — created this issue to capture the idea before
it gets lost. Key questions to consider:
* How does the embedded MCP server relate to the standalone MCP server
(CAMEL-23852)?
* Which MCP tools should be exposed — catalog tools, runtime introspection
tools, or both?
* Should routes automatically become MCP tools, or require explicit opt-in
(e.g. via route metadata or a service catalog)?
* How does this relate to Wanaku for enterprise-scale MCP governance?
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