Deploy ContextForge
IBM ContextForge 1.0 MCP gateway and registry with auth, on Postgres.
Just deployed
/var/lib/postgresql/data
contextforge
Just deployed
Deploy and Host ContextForge on Railway
ContextForge is IBM's open-source gateway, registry and proxy for the Model Context Protocol. It federates many MCP servers and REST APIs behind one authenticated endpoint, groups their tools into virtual servers, and adds an admin UI, JWT and OAuth auth, teams, rate limiting, observability and plugins for agent platforms.
About Hosting ContextForge
This template deploys ContextForge v1.0.10 from the official image with a Railway Postgres database. Every endpoint requires authentication: the admin signs in with a generated password, public registration is off and cookies are secure. JWT and encryption secrets are generated at deploy time, and worker count is pinned. Private network access is allowed, so you can register MCP servers running as other Railway services by their internal address. Connect agents and IDEs to the gateway with a token. It fits the Hobby plan. Back up Postgres regularly, since it stores gateways, tools and tokens.
Common Use Cases
- One authenticated MCP endpoint for many internal and third-party MCP servers
- Curating tool sets for AI agents per team with virtual servers
- Exposing REST APIs to agents as MCP tools
Dependencies for ContextForge Hosting
ghcr.io/ibm/mcp-context-forge:v1.0.10(official image)- Railway Postgres (
ghcr.io/railwayapp-templates/postgres-ssl:18) with a volume
Deployment Dependencies
- ContextForge documentation
- ContextForge v1.0.10 release
- ContextForge on GitHub
- Railway private networking
Implementation Details
| Service | Image | Networking | Storage |
|---|---|---|---|
| contextforge | ghcr.io/ibm/mcp-context-forge:v1.0.10 | public domain on 4444; private | none (state in Postgres) |
| Postgres | Railway Postgres 18 | private only | volume |
TOKEN=$(curl -s -X POST https:///auth/email/login -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
-d '{"email":"admin@example.com","password":""}' | jq -r .access_token)
curl -X POST https:///gateways -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
-d '{"name":"my-mcp","url":"http://my-mcp.railway.internal:3001/mcp","transport":"STREAMABLEHTTP"}'
| Variable | Default | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
PLATFORM_ADMIN_EMAIL / PLATFORM_ADMIN_PASSWORD | admin@example.com / generated | Admin login (UI and API) |
JWT_SECRET_KEY / AUTH_ENCRYPTION_SECRET | generated | Token signing and secret encryption |
SSRF_ALLOW_PRIVATE_NETWORKS | true | Allow MCP servers on the Railway private network |
GUNICORN_WORKERS | 2 | Worker processes (default scales with host CPUs) |
Notes:
HOST=[::]is required;::breaks the startup script's port parsing.- Admin UI:
https:///admin.
This is a community-maintained deployment package and does not imply affiliation with or endorsement by the ContextForge project or its maintainers.
Why Deploy ContextForge on Railway?
Railway is a singular platform to deploy your infrastructure stack. Railway will host your infrastructure so you don't have to deal with configuration, while allowing you to vertically and horizontally scale it.
By deploying ContextForge on Railway, you are one step closer to supporting a complete full-stack application with minimal burden. Host your servers, databases, AI agents, and more on Railway.
Template Content
