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title Expose REST API in API Management as MCP server | Microsoft Docs
description Learn how to expose a REST API in Azure API Management as an MCP server, enabling API operations as tools accessible via the Model Context Protocol (MCP).
author dlepow
ms.service azure-api-management
ms.topic how-to
ms.date 11/13/2025
ms.author danlep
ms.collection ce-skilling-ai-copilot
ms.update-cycle 180-days
ms.custom
build-2025

Expose REST API in API Management as an MCP server

[!INCLUDE api-management-availability-premium-dev-standard-basic-premiumv2-standardv2-basicv2]

In API Management, you can expose a REST API managed in API Management as a remote Model Context Protocol (MCP) server by using its built-in AI gateway. Expose one or more of the API operations as tools that MCP clients can call by using the MCP protocol.

Azure API Management also supports secure integration with existing MCP-compatible servers - tool servers hosted outside of API Management. For more information, see Expose an existing MCP server.

Learn more about:

Limitations

  • For MCP servers exposed in API Management from managed REST APIs, API Management currently supports MCP server tools, but it doesn't support MCP resources or prompts.
  • API Management currently doesn't support MCP server capabilities in workspaces.

Prerequisites

  • If you don't already have an API Management instance, complete the following quickstart: Create an Azure API Management instance. The instance must be in one of the service tiers that supports MCP servers.

  • Make sure that your instance manages an HTTP-compatible API (any API imported as a REST API, including APIs imported from Azure resources) that you want to expose as an MCP server. To import a sample API, see Import and publish your first API.

    [!NOTE] Other API types in API Management that aren't HTTP-compatible can't be exposed as MCP servers.

  • If you enable diagnostic logging through Application Insights or Azure Monitor at the global scope (all APIs) for your API Management service instance, set the Number of payload bytes to log setting for Frontend Response to 0. This setting prevents unintended logging of response bodies across all APIs and helps ensure proper functioning of MCP servers. To log payloads selectively for specific APIs, configure the setting individually at the API scope, allowing targeted control over response logging.

  • To test the MCP server, you can use Visual Studio Code with access to GitHub Copilot or tools such as MCP Inspector.

Expose API as an MCP server

Follow these steps to expose a managed REST API in API Management as an MCP server:

  1. In the Azure portal, go to your API Management instance.
  2. In the left menu, under APIs, select MCP Servers > + Create MCP server.
  3. Select Expose an API as an MCP server.
  4. In Backend MCP server:
    1. Select a managed API to expose as an MCP server.
    2. Select one or more API operations to expose as tools. You can select all operations or only specific operations.

      [!NOTE] You can update the operations exposed as tools later in the Tools blade of your MCP server.

  5. In New MCP server:
    1. Enter a Name for the MCP server in API Management.
    2. Optionally, enter a Description for the MCP server.
  6. Select Create.

:::image type="content" source="media/export-rest-mcp-server/create-mcp-server.png" alt-text="Screenshot of creating an MCP server in the portal." :::

  • The MCP server is created and the API operations are exposed as tools.
  • The MCP server is listed in the MCP Servers blade. The Server URL column shows the endpoint of the MCP server to call for testing or within a client application.

:::image type="content" source="media/export-rest-mcp-server/mcp-server-list.png" alt-text="Screenshot of the MCP server list in the portal." lightbox="media/export-rest-mcp-server/mcp-server-list-large.png":::

[!INCLUDE api-management-configure-test-mcp-server]