OpenAPI Spec to MCP Tool

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Quick OpenAPI-to-MCP Process

1

Upload OpenAPI Specification

Go to the Connectors page in the xpander.ai console.

1. Click ”+ Create new connector”
2. Upload your OpenAPI/Swagger specification file (JSON or YAML)
3. Provide a name and description for your connector
4. Don’t forget the server URL, especially if your original spec doesn’t have one.

Your OpenAPI spec gets automatically analyzed by the connector generator agent!

2

Configure Authentication

Set up authentication for your API:For API Key authentication:

1. Select “API Key” as the authentication method
2. Specify the key location (header, query parameter, etc.)
3. Enter your API key or leave it for later configuration

Other supported methods:

• OAuth 2.0
• Bearer tokens
• Basic authentication
• No authentication

3

Review Generated Tools

The connector generator analyzes your API and creates AI-optimized tools:

• Function descriptions optimized for LLM understanding
• Parameter validation based on your schema
• Response formatting for better AI consumption
• Error handling built-in

4

Create MCP Server

Navigate to MCP Servers section in the console:

1. Click “New MCP Server”
2. Give your MCP server a descriptive name
3. Go to the Tools tab, and click + Add tools
4. Select tools from your newly generated connector
5. Click Update changes
6. Go to the Connect tab to get your MCP Server URL, and one-line commands to hook up your MCP server to your favorite MCP client.

5

Connect MCP Clients

Add your MCP server to your favorite MCP client using the connection details provided:

For other MCP clients: Use the provided URL and authentication details.

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What You Just Built

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Example: Connecting a Weather API

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Next Step: Self-Deploy Your MCP Server

• Self-deploy to K8s Cluster - Run your MCP servers on your own Kubernetes infrastructure
• Full control over data and scaling
• Enterprise security with your own network policies

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Troubleshooting