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MCP setup

Exolvra's MCP Library launches stdio-based MCP servers as subprocesses. Most community MCP servers are distributed as Node.js or Python packages — which means the Exolvra host machine needs Node, Python, or both installed.

Cloud-hosted MCPs (transport http or sse — e.g., Zapier, Pipedream, Make, Cloudflare) do not require any runtime on the Exolvra host. They’re accessed via HTTPS from anywhere.

Checking what’s installed

Open /mcp-library in the dashboard. The toolbar shows runtime detection:

● Node v22.14.0     ● Python 3.12.2

Green dot = detected, grey circle = missing. The install dialog for each MCP will refuse to proceed if its required runtime is missing.

Installing Node.js

Recommended: LTS release (≥ 18.0.0). Node is needed for the majority of MCP servers in the catalogue.

Windows

Option 1 — official installer

  1. Download the latest LTS from https://nodejs.org/
  2. Run the .msi installer, accept defaults
  3. Restart the Exolvra gateway so it picks up the new PATH

Option 2 — winget

winget install -e --id OpenJS.NodeJS.LTS

Option 3 — Chocolatey

choco install nodejs-lts

macOS

Option 1 — Homebrew

brew install node

Option 2 — nvm (recommended for multiple Node versions)

curl -o- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nvm-sh/nvm/v0.40.1/install.sh | bash
nvm install --lts

Linux (Debian / Ubuntu)

curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_lts.x | sudo -E bash -
sudo apt-get install -y nodejs

Linux (RHEL / Fedora)

sudo dnf install nodejs

Installing Python

Recommended: Python 3.10 or newer. Python is needed for MCP servers distributed as Python packages.

Windows

Option 1 — official installer

  1. Download Python 3.12+ from https://www.python.org/downloads/
  2. Check “Add python.exe to PATH” during install
  3. Restart the Exolvra gateway

Option 2 — winget

winget install -e --id Python.Python.3.12

macOS

brew install python@3.12

Linux (Debian / Ubuntu)

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install -y python3 python3-pip python3-venv

pipx runs Python MCP servers in isolated virtual environments, avoiding dependency conflicts with the system Python.

python -m pip install --user pipx
python -m pipx ensurepath

Restart your shell and gateway after running ensurepath so the new PATH is picked up.

Troubleshooting

“Node.js not detected” after installing Node. The Exolvra gateway process was started before Node was on PATH. Restart it and confirm on the terminal that node --version prints v20.x.x or higher.

“command not found: npx”. npx ships with Node 8+ automatically. If it’s missing, your Node install is corrupt — reinstall. On Linux, some distros ship Node without npm. Install npm separately: sudo apt-get install -y npm.

“pipx: command not found”. You ran pip install --user pipx but your user bin directory isn’t on PATH. Run python -m pipx ensurepath and restart your shell. On Linux, you may need ~/.local/bin added to PATH in .bashrc.

MCP server hangs during Verify. First run of an npx -y @scope/package downloads the package, which can take 30+ seconds on slow networks. The verification timeout is 60 seconds — retry with Verify. Check the Exolvra gateway logs for the actual stderr output from the MCP server.

Corporate firewall blocks npm install. npx pulls packages from https://registry.npmjs.org/. If your network blocks this, either whitelist the npm registry on your firewall, set up an internal npm mirror (npm config set registry https://your-mirror.internal/), or use cloud-hosted MCP servers (transport http) which don’t need local runtimes.

MCP server needs extra system dependencies. Some MCP servers (e.g., image processing, browser automation) require system libraries (Chromium, ImageMagick). Read the MCP’s own documentation linked from the catalogue entry — Exolvra only detects Node, Python, and pipx. It does not install system libraries.

Avoiding runtimes entirely

If installing Node or Python isn’t an option in your environment, you can use cloud-hosted MCPs only. These are marked with transport http or sse in the catalogue and require only outbound HTTPS from the Exolvra host.

Cloud MCPs in the default catalogue include:

  • Zapier — 8,000+ apps via Zapier’s MCP endpoint
  • Pipedream Connect — 3,000+ apps with managed OAuth
  • Make.com — scenario-driven automation
  • Cloudflare — Workers, DNS, R2, KV
  • Atlassian — Jira and Confluence
  • Asana, Vercel, PostHog, Datadog, Sentry Cloud

All of these are accessible from air-gapped Exolvra deployments as long as outbound HTTPS to the vendor is allowed.

See also