How Does It Work MCP Server

Demo application showcasing how to build and secure MCP servers and clients with Pomerium using contextual access policies.

Local serverstdio

What is the How Does It Work MCP server?

How Does It Work MCP server is a locally run integration for AI assistants that speak the Model Context Protocol. Demo application showcasing how to build and secure MCP servers and clients with Pomerium using contextual access policies.

What you get

Welcome to the Pomerium Chat, a minimal chat application for showcasing remote Model Context Protocol servers secured with Pomerium.

  • AI-powered chat interface using OpenAI
  • Modern UI components with shadcn/ui
  • Type-safe routing with TanStack Router
  • Data fetching with TanStack Query

What the assistant can call

Once How Does It Work is connected, these are the calls the assistant has available:

  • fromhttps://my-mcp-server.your-domain.com
  • true — The user has all required internal tokens from upstream OAuth providers, or none are required for this server
  • false — The user needs to authenticate with the upstream OAuth provider before accessing this MCP server
  • request-id — user
  • email — mcp-method
  • mcp-tool — mcp-tool-parameters
  • Type — safe routing with TanStack Router
  • Testing — Now you should be able to navigate to https://mcp-app-demo.YOUR-DOMAIN/. A sign-in page would open. After you signed in, you should be redirected to

Setting it up

The server ships on npm as shadcn, so your MCP client can launch it on demand — there is no separate build step. Add the server block to your client's configuration, restart it, and the tools register themselves.

Configuration and credentials

You will need one environment variable: OPENAI_API_KEY. The server will not start without them, which is usually why the tools fail to appear on a first run. Keep credentials in your client's env block or a secrets manager rather than in a file you might commit.

Choosing this one

Plenty of team communication servers cover similar ground. The differences that matter in practice are scope of access and how much setup stands between you and a working tool call. How Does It Work's toolset — from, true, false and 5 more — is a fair guide to whether it matches your workflow. It is maintained by pomerium; worth a glance at recent repository activity before you build anything load-bearing on it.

We check each listing at SyncDev against the project's documentation before it goes live — if something here drifts out of date, it is a bug worth reporting.

Before you rely on it

  • It runs with your machine's permissions. That is convenient and also the reason to think about what you point it at before you approve a tool call.
  • Missing credentials fail quietly in some clients — if no tools show up, check the environment block first.
  • MCP clients confirm each tool call by default. Leave that on until you have watched what the how does it work mcp server does with a few real requests.

Available tools

ToolWhat it does
fromhttps://my-mcp-server.your-domain.com
trueThe user has all required internal tokens from upstream OAuth providers, or none are required for this server.
falseThe user needs to authenticate with the upstream OAuth provider before accessing this MCP server.
request-iduser
emailmcp-method
mcp-toolmcp-tool-parameters
Typesafe routing with TanStack Router
TestingNow you should be able to navigate to https://mcp-app-demo.YOUR-DOMAIN/. A sign-in page would open. After you signed in, you should be redirected to the application itself.

How to install the How Does It Work MCP server

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "app-demo": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "shadcn"],
      "env": {
        "OPENAI_API_KEY": "your-value"
      }
    }
  }
}

Add to claude_desktop_config.json, then restart Claude Desktop.

Configuration

VariableDescriptionRequired
OPENAI_API_KEYCredential the server authenticates with.Yes

Example prompts to try

  • Use How Does It Work to from.
  • Use How Does It Work to true.
  • Use How Does It Work to false.

Frequently asked questions

You need a Linux or macOS host, Docker and Docker Compose, port 443 exposed to the internet for Let’s Encrypt TLS, and an OpenAI API key.