Localize Remote MCP Server

Bridge any remote HTTP MCP server into Claude Desktop.

The problem

Claude Desktop only supports MCP servers that run locally as commands (stdio transport). It cannot connect to remote MCP servers over HTTP. The two transports are fundamentally incompatible:

The solution

This package bridges the gap. You configure it in Claude Desktop's config file, Claude launches it automatically, and it translates between stdio and your remote server's HTTP endpoint. You never run this yourself — Claude does.

Setup

1. Open your Claude Desktop config file claude_desktop_config.json:

   • macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
   • Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

2. Add your remote MCP server to the mcpServers section. Replace the URL with your remote server's MCP endpoint:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "my-remote-server": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "@diegoaltoworks/localize-remote-mcp-server",
        "https://my-remote-server.example.com/mcp"
      ]
    }
  }
}

3. Restart Claude Desktop.

That's it. Claude Desktop will launch the bridge process in the background and your remote server's tools will appear in Claude.

How it works

When Claude Desktop starts, it runs the npx command from your config. The bridge process:

1. Receives JSON-RPC messages from Claude Desktop over stdin
2. Forwards them as HTTP POST requests to your remote MCP server
3. Parses the response (JSON or SSE) and writes it back to stdout

Claude Desktop sees it as a normal local MCP server. Your remote server receives normal HTTP MCP requests. Neither side knows about the bridge.

HTTP proxy mode

If you need a local HTTP proxy instead of stdio (for other MCP clients), you can run it directly with --port:

npx @diegoaltoworks/localize-remote-mcp-server --port 6969 https://my-remote-server.example.com/mcp

This is not needed for Claude Desktop.

What it does

• Bridges stdio and HTTP MCP transports
• Parses SSE responses from remote servers
• Forwards authorization headers and MCP session IDs
• Zero dependencies — just Node.js