MCP Connection Methods

DeployStack offers two different ways to connect your AI agents (like Claude, Cursor, or custom applications) to your MCP servers. This guide explains the difference in simple terms and helps you choose the right one.

TL;DR: Use Hierarchical Router for AI agents like Claude Desktop or Cursor. Use Direct MCP Endpoint for custom applications or when your agent needs to connect to just one specific server.

The Two Connection Methods

Method 1: Hierarchical Router (Token-Saving)

What it is: A smart connection that saves your AI’s “thinking space” (context window) by exposing only 2 tools instead of hundreds. URL Format:

https://satellite.deploystack.io/mcp

How you connect:

Use OAuth2 login (browser-based)
AI sees 2 simple tools: “discover” and “execute”
AI can search through ALL your MCP servers
Saves up to 98% of context window space

Think of it like: A librarian at a huge library. Instead of showing you every book (overwhelming!), the librarian gives you a search tool and a checkout tool. You search for what you need, then check it out.

Method 2: Direct MCP Endpoint (Per-Server)

What it is: A direct connection to ONE specific MCP server, showing all its tools immediately. URL Format:

https://satellite.deploystack.io/i/bold-penguin-42a3/mcp?token=ds_inst_abc123...

How you connect:

Use a simple token (copy-paste from dashboard)
AI sees ALL tools from that one server right away
No search needed - everything is visible
Works with standard MCP clients

Think of it like: Walking directly into a specific store. You see everything on the shelves immediately and can grab what you need.

Which One Should I Use?

Use Hierarchical Router

For AI Agents with Many Servers✅ Claude Desktop✅ Cursor IDE✅ VS Code with MCP✅ You have 5+ MCP servers✅ AI needs access to multiple servers✅ You want to save context window space

Use Direct MCP Endpoint

For Single-Server Connections✅ Custom automation scripts✅ CLI tools you’re building✅ Workflow automation (n8n, Zapier, Make.com)✅ No-code/low-code platforms✅ AI only needs ONE server✅ You want simple token auth✅ No OAuth complexity needed✅ Standard MCP client compatibility

The Context Window Problem (Why This Matters)

What is a Context Window?

Think of your AI agent’s “context window” as its working memory - like RAM in a computer. It’s limited space where the AI keeps:

Your conversation history
Instructions you gave it
Tool definitions (what tools can do)
Everything it needs to help you

The problem: If you have 20 MCP servers with 10 tools each (200 tools total), listing all tools can use 40-80% of the AI’s memory BEFORE it even starts helping you!

How Hierarchical Router Solves This

Instead of loading 200 tool definitions (huge!), the AI only sees 2 tools:

discover_mcp_tools - Search for tools
execute_mcp_tool - Run a tool

Result: Uses less than 1% of context window instead of 40-80%. Your AI has 99% of its memory free for actual work!

When Direct Endpoint Makes Sense

If your AI only connects to ONE server (not 20), there’s no context window problem:

1 server with 10 tools = only 5% of context used
No need for the search pattern
Direct access is simpler and faster

Real-World Examples

Example 1: Claude Desktop User with Multiple Servers

Scenario: You have these MCP servers installed:

GitHub (create issues, read repos)
PostgreSQL (query databases)
Figma (fetch designs)
Slack (send messages)
Sequential Thinking (reasoning)

Best Choice: ✅ Hierarchical Router Why: Claude needs to search across all these servers. With hierarchical router:

Claude: "I need to create a GitHub issue"
→ Searches and finds: github:create_issue
→ Executes it

Context window saved: ~75,000 tokens (37%)

Example 2: n8n Workflow Automation

Scenario: You’re building an n8n workflow that:

Monitors GitHub webhooks
Creates Slack notifications
Queries PostgreSQL database
Needs access to 3 separate MCP servers

Best Choice: ✅ Direct MCP Endpoint (3 separate connections) Why: Workflow automation tools like n8n work best with direct connections: In your n8n workflow:

HTTP Request Node (GitHub MCP)

URL: https://satellite.example.com/i/my-github/mcp?token=ds_inst_abc123...
Method: POST
Body: {"jsonrpc":"2.0","method":"tools/call","params":{"name":"create_issue",...}}

HTTP Request Node (Slack MCP)

URL: https://satellite.example.com/i/my-slack/mcp?token=ds_inst_def456...
Method: POST
Body: {"jsonrpc":"2.0","method":"tools/call","params":{"name":"send_message",...}}

HTTP Request Node (PostgreSQL MCP)

URL: https://satellite.example.com/i/my-postgres/mcp?token=ds_inst_ghi789...
Method: POST
Body: {"jsonrpc":"2.0","method":"tools/call","params":{"name":"run_query",...}}

Why not hierarchical?

n8n/Zapier/Make.com work with HTTP webhooks, not OAuth flows
Each workflow step is independent (no shared context)
Direct endpoints are simpler to configure in visual workflow builders
No context window concerns (workflows don’t use AI agents)

Example 3: Custom Automation Script for GitHub

Scenario: You’re building a Node.js script that:

Monitors GitHub repositories
Creates issues automatically
Only needs GitHub MCP server

Best Choice: ✅ Direct MCP Endpoint Why: Your script connects to ONE server (GitHub). Direct endpoint is simpler:

// Simple connection - no OAuth, just token
await client.connect(
  "https://satellite.example.com/i/my-github/mcp?token=ds_inst_abc123..."
);

// All GitHub tools visible immediately
const tools = await client.listTools();
// Returns: create_issue, get_file, list_repos, etc.

No search needed, no OAuth flow, just works.

Example 4: Cursor IDE Developer

Scenario: Using Cursor IDE for coding with:

Sequential Thinking MCP
Filesystem MCP
Context7 documentation MCP
PostgreSQL MCP

Best Choice: ✅ Hierarchical Router Why: Cursor needs access to multiple servers while coding. Hierarchical router prevents context overflow:

Cursor can ask: “search for database tools”
Gets back: postgres:run_query
Executes it without loading 50+ other tools

Feature Comparison

Feature	Hierarchical Router	Direct MCP Endpoint
Authentication	OAuth2 (browser login)	Simple token (copy-paste)
Access Scope	All your MCP servers	One specific server
Tools Visible	2 meta-tools (discover + execute)	All tools from that server
Context Usage	< 1% (saves tokens!)	5-10% per server
Best For	AI agents with many servers	Custom apps, single server
Search Needed	Yes (discover first, then execute)	No (tools listed immediately)
Setup Complexity	Medium (OAuth setup)	Low (just paste token)

How to Get Started

Setting Up Hierarchical Router

Get Your Satellite URL

From DeployStack dashboard, find your satellite URL:

https://satellite.deploystack.io/mcp

Configure OAuth2

Set up OAuth2 authentication in your AI agent’s settings with your DeployStack credentials.

Connect Your Agent

Point your AI agent (Claude, Cursor, VS Code) to the hierarchical router URL.

Start Using

Your AI can now discover and use tools from ALL your MCP servers!

Setting Up Direct MCP Endpoint

Find Your Instance

Go to DeployStack dashboard → Your MCP ServersFind the specific server you want to connect to.

Copy Instance URL and Token

Click on the server to see its details:

Instance Path: bold-penguin-42a3
Instance Token: ds_inst_abc123... (copy this!)

Your URL will be:

https://satellite.deploystack.io/i/bold-penguin-42a3/mcp?token=ds_inst_abc123...

Connect Your Application

Use this URL in your MCP client:

await client.connect(url);

Start Using

Your application can now access all tools from that specific server!

Common Questions

Can I use both methods at the same time?

Yes! You can use:

Hierarchical router for Claude Desktop (access to all servers)
Direct endpoint for a custom script (access to one server)

They work independently and don’t interfere with each other.

Which one is faster?

Direct endpoint is slightly faster for single-server scenarios (no search step). Hierarchical router is faster overall when you need multiple servers (no need to connect to each one separately).

Do I need different tokens?

Yes:

Hierarchical Router: Uses your DeployStack user OAuth2 token (automatic login)
Direct Endpoint: Uses instance-specific token (shown in dashboard, copy once)

What if I’m not sure which to use?

Rule of thumb:

AI agent with multiple servers? → Use Hierarchical Router
Workflow automation (n8n, Zapier, Make)? → Use Direct MCP Endpoint
Claude Desktop or Cursor? → Use Hierarchical Router
Custom script or app? → Use Direct MCP Endpoint
No-code platform integration? → Use Direct MCP Endpoint

Still confused? Start with Hierarchical Router for AI agents, Direct Endpoint for automation tools.

Security Notes

Treat tokens like passwords!

Direct endpoint tokens give full access to that MCP server
Don’t share tokens publicly
Regenerate tokens if compromised
Use HTTPS in production (always)

Token Security:

Hierarchical router: OAuth2 tokens are short-lived and auto-refreshed
Direct endpoint: Instance tokens are long-lived (manual rotation)

Both methods are secure when used correctly with HTTPS.

Summary: Quick Decision Guide

What are you connecting?
├─ AI Agent (Claude, Cursor, VS Code)
│  └─ Use Hierarchical Router ✅
│
├─ Workflow Automation (n8n, Zapier, Make.com)
│  └─ Use Direct MCP Endpoint ✅
│
├─ Custom Script/App (Node.js, Python, etc.)
│  └─ Use Direct MCP Endpoint ✅
│
└─ No-Code Platform Integration
   └─ Use Direct MCP Endpoint ✅

Need Help?

📚 Technical Docs: See Hierarchical Router or Instance Router for developer details
💬 Discord: Join our community for help
🐛 Issues: Report bugs on GitHub

MCP Server Installation - How to install MCP servers
Team Management - Managing team access
Quick Start Guide - Getting started with DeployStack
Architecture Overview - How DeployStack works

Essentials

MCP Server

MCP Server Configuration

The Two Connection Methods

Method 1: Hierarchical Router (Token-Saving)

Method 2: Direct MCP Endpoint (Per-Server)

Which One Should I Use?

Use Hierarchical Router

Use Direct MCP Endpoint

The Context Window Problem (Why This Matters)

What is a Context Window?

How Hierarchical Router Solves This

When Direct Endpoint Makes Sense

Real-World Examples

Example 1: Claude Desktop User with Multiple Servers

Example 2: n8n Workflow Automation

Example 3: Custom Automation Script for GitHub

Example 4: Cursor IDE Developer

Feature Comparison

How to Get Started

Setting Up Hierarchical Router

Setting Up Direct MCP Endpoint

Common Questions

Can I use both methods at the same time?

Which one is faster?

Do I need different tokens?

What if I’m not sure which to use?

Security Notes

Summary: Quick Decision Guide

Need Help?

Essentials

MCP Server

MCP Server Configuration

​The Two Connection Methods

​Method 1: Hierarchical Router (Token-Saving)

​Method 2: Direct MCP Endpoint (Per-Server)

​Which One Should I Use?

Use Hierarchical Router

Use Direct MCP Endpoint

​The Context Window Problem (Why This Matters)

​What is a Context Window?

​How Hierarchical Router Solves This

​When Direct Endpoint Makes Sense

​Real-World Examples

​Example 1: Claude Desktop User with Multiple Servers

​Example 2: n8n Workflow Automation

​Example 3: Custom Automation Script for GitHub

​Example 4: Cursor IDE Developer

​Feature Comparison

​How to Get Started

​Setting Up Hierarchical Router

​Setting Up Direct MCP Endpoint

​Common Questions

​Can I use both methods at the same time?

​Which one is faster?

​Do I need different tokens?

​What if I’m not sure which to use?

​Security Notes

​Summary: Quick Decision Guide

​Need Help?

​Related Documentation

The Two Connection Methods

Method 1: Hierarchical Router (Token-Saving)

Method 2: Direct MCP Endpoint (Per-Server)

Which One Should I Use?

The Context Window Problem (Why This Matters)

What is a Context Window?

How Hierarchical Router Solves This

When Direct Endpoint Makes Sense

Real-World Examples

Example 1: Claude Desktop User with Multiple Servers

Example 2: n8n Workflow Automation

Example 3: Custom Automation Script for GitHub

Example 4: Cursor IDE Developer

Feature Comparison

How to Get Started

Setting Up Hierarchical Router

Setting Up Direct MCP Endpoint

Common Questions

Can I use both methods at the same time?

Which one is faster?

Do I need different tokens?

What if I’m not sure which to use?

Security Notes

Summary: Quick Decision Guide

Need Help?

Related Documentation