Toolport: Manage MCP Servers Once Across All Apps

If you use MCP servers across multiple AI coding tools, you're likely maintaining separate config files with API keys in plaintext JSON. Toolport is a free, open-source desktop app and local gateway that fixes this: you add a server once, toggle it on per client, and every app sees the same set.

Key Features

Centralized management: Add a server once, enable it per client (Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, etc.)
Secure key storage: API keys are stored in the OS keychain instead of config files
Safety layer: Destructive tool calls can pause for your approval — you get a desktop notification, and denying actually blocks the call. If a server's tool definitions change unexpectedly, it gets quarantined until you review

Build Process

The creator, u/kydude, used Claude Code to write nearly all the code: the Rust gateway, the Tauri/React desktop app, test suites, and CI. Key lessons from the build:

Give it an invariant, not instructions: E.g., "no request may block another, prove it with a load test" produced better results than step-by-step directions
Have it audit its own work: Running separate review sessions against code from earlier sessions caught real bugs the original session missed
Make it earn its claims: When Claude claimed the gateway saved tokens, the author had it build a benchmark harness. Results showed up to 91% fewer tool tokens on large server sets with lazy discovery

Toolport is free and open source, currently supporting Claude Desktop and Claude Code on Windows, Mac, and Linux. The paid team tier (shared server sets for teams) is separate — the free part is the whole point. GitHub: github.com/tsouth89/toolport