The Problem: Connecting AI Assistants to Your APIs

As AI assistants like Claude and VS Code Copilot become more powerful, developers are discovering a critical bottleneck: these AI tools can’t directly interact with our existing REST APIs.

After building Django DRF to MCP converters and Kafka MCP servers, I realized a fundamental challenge: Every API requires custom MCP server implementation.

You shouldn’t need to write custom code for every API integration. You shouldn’t have to learn Model Context Protocol’s internals just to connect Claude to your weather API, GitHub API, or internal company APIs.

That’s when ContextLayer was born.

What is ContextLayer?

ContextLayer is an open-source platform that transforms any REST API into a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server through a visual, web-based interface. No coding required. No API modifications needed. No MCP protocol knowledge necessary.

Think of ContextLayer as a universal translator between REST APIs and AI assistants:

┌─────────────────┐    ┌─────────────────┐    ┌─────────────────┐
│   AI Assistant  │───▶│  ContextLayer   │───▶│   REST API      │
│   (Claude, etc) │    │   MCP Bridge    │    │  (Any API)      │
└─────────────────┘    └─────────────────┘    └─────────────────┘

ContextLayer Landing Page ContextLayer’s web interface - transform any REST API into an MCP server through a visual dashboard

The Core Innovation

ContextLayer bridges the gap between two worlds:

  1. REST APIs: The standard format used by 99% of web APIs
  2. Model Context Protocol: The protocol that AI assistants use to interact with external tools

Instead of requiring developers to manually create MCP servers for each API, ContextLayer provides:

  • Visual Configuration: Web-based dashboard to configure your API bridges
  • Automatic Tool Generation: Converts REST endpoints into MCP tools automatically
  • Multiple Authentication Methods: Supports Bearer tokens, API keys, OAuth, and Basic auth
  • OpenAPI Integration: Import existing OpenAPI/Swagger specs for instant setup
  • Zero Code Changes: Your existing APIs remain completely unchanged

Why ContextLayer Exists

The Real-World Problem

Imagine you want Claude to help you manage your GitHub repositories, check weather data, or interact with your company’s internal APIs. Currently, you’d need to:

  1. Learn the Model Context Protocol specification
  2. Write custom MCP server code for each API
  3. Handle authentication, error handling, and protocol compliance
  4. Maintain separate codebases for each integration
  5. Debug protocol-level issues when things break

This is too much work for something that should be simple.

The ContextLayer Solution

With ContextLayer, you:

  1. Sign up for a free account (or host it yourself)
  2. Point ContextLayer at your REST API (or upload an OpenAPI spec)
  3. Configure authentication if needed
  4. Click “Start Bridge”
  5. Use your API with Claude immediately

That’s it. Five minutes from signup to AI-powered API interaction.

How ContextLayer Works

Architecture Overview

ContextLayer consists of three main components:

  1. Web Dashboard: Visual interface for creating and managing API bridges
  2. Bridge Engine: Transforms REST API calls into MCP-compatible tools
  3. MCP Server: Protocol-compliant endpoint that AI assistants connect to

The Bridge Creation Process

Step 1: Define Your API

Creating a new MCP server bridge in ContextLayer is straightforward through the visual interface:

Create MCP Server Dashboard The bridge creation interface - define your API name, description, and base URL

Simply provide:

  • Bridge Name: A descriptive name for your MCP server
  • Description: What the API does and its purpose
  • Base URL: The root URL of your REST API
  • OpenAPI Spec (optional): Upload an existing OpenAPI/Swagger specification for automatic configuration

Step 2: Configure Authentication

ContextLayer supports multiple authentication methods through an intuitive interface:

Authentication Configuration Configure authentication for your API - supports Bearer tokens, API keys, Basic auth, and more

Supported authentication types:

  • No Authentication: For public APIs
  • Bearer Token: Token-based authentication
  • API Key: Header or query parameter-based authentication
  • Basic Authentication: Username and password authentication
  • OAuth 2.0: Coming soon for advanced authorization flows

All credentials are encrypted and securely stored.

Step 3: Automatic MCP Tool Generation

ContextLayer automatically converts your REST endpoints into MCP tools through the visual tool editor:

Edit MCP Tools Define and edit MCP tools - specify endpoint paths, methods, parameters, and request bodies

For each endpoint, you can configure:

  • Tool Name: The name AI assistants will use to call this tool
  • Description: What the tool does (helps AI understand when to use it)
  • HTTP Method: GET, POST, PUT, DELETE, PATCH
  • Endpoint Path: The API path with parameter placeholders
  • Parameters: Path, query, and header parameters with types and descriptions
  • Request Body: JSON schema for POST/PUT requests

ContextLayer generates the complete MCP tool schema automatically.

Step 4: Connect to AI Assistants

Once your bridge is configured, you can see all your MCP servers in the dashboard:

MCP Servers Dashboard View and manage all your MCP server bridges - start, stop, and get connection URLs

To connect to Claude Desktop, copy the MCP server URL and add it to your Claude configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "your-api-name": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "mcp-remote", "https://contextlayer.tech/mcp/your-bridge-id"]
    }
  }
}

Save this configuration in:

  • macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
  • Windows: %APPDATA%/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

Now you can ask Claude:

“What’s the current weather in New York?”

Claude will automatically use your ContextLayer MCP Server to call the weather API and return the results.

Real-World Use Cases

1. GitHub API Integration

Transform GitHub’s REST API into MCP tools for AI-assisted repository management:

# Before ContextLayer: Write custom MCP server code
# After ContextLayer: Configure in 2 minutes

# You can now ask Claude:
# "Show me all open issues in my repository"
# "Create a new branch called feature/user-authentication"
# "Comment on PR #42 with a review"

2. Weather & Data APIs

Connect public APIs like OpenWeatherMap, APIs.gov, or NASA data:

# Claude can now:
# - Check weather forecasts
# - Search government databases
# - Access real-time data feeds

3. Internal Company APIs

Bridge internal APIs that your team uses daily:

# Connect to your:
# - CRM system
# - Inventory management
# - Customer support tools
# - Internal dashboards

4. E-commerce & Business APIs

Integrate Stripe, Shopify, or other business-critical APIs:

# Enable AI-assisted:
# - Order management
# - Payment processing
# - Inventory tracking
# - Customer analytics

Getting Started with ContextLayer

Option 1: Use the Hosted Version

  1. Visit contextlayer.tech
  2. Sign up with Google (free account)
  3. Create your first MCP Server bridge through the visual dashboard
  4. Configure your API endpoints and authentication
  5. Copy the MCP server URL
  6. Connect to Claude Desktop using the provided configuration

Dashboard Overview ContextLayer dashboard - manage all your MCP server bridges in one place

Option 2: Self-Hosted Deployment

For privacy-conscious organizations or custom deployments:

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/Joel-hanson/contextlayer.git
cd contextlayer

# Start with Docker Compose (includes PostgreSQL)
docker-compose up -d

# Or run manually
npm install
npm run db:migrate
npm run dev

Visit http://localhost:3000 and start creating bridges.

Advanced Features

OpenAPI/Swagger Import

If your API already has an OpenAPI specification, ContextLayer can import it automatically:

# Upload your OpenAPI spec (JSON or YAML)
# ContextLayer will:
# - Extract all endpoints
# - Parse request/response schemas
# - Configure authentication methods
# - Generate MCP tools automatically

Getting Involved

ContextLayer is open source:

Contribute

Pre-built Connectors Templates

We’re building a library of pre-configured connectors for popular APIs:

  • GitHub
  • OpenWeatherMap
  • Slack
  • Stripe
  • Shopify
  • And many more…

Check out existing connectors or contribute your own!

Conclusion

ContextLayer solves a real problem: connecting AI assistants to the APIs you already use shouldn’t require custom code for every integration.

Whether you’re:

  • Individual developers wanting Claude to help with daily API tasks
  • Small teams integrating internal tools with AI assistants
  • Enterprises needing a scalable solution for API-to-AI integration
  • API providers wanting to offer MCP compatibility without rewriting

ContextLayer provides a simple, visual, code-free way to bridge REST APIs and Model Context Protocol.

Try it today: contextlayer.tech

Self-host it: github.com/Joel-hanson/contextlayer

Join the community: GitHub Discussions

API Integration & MCP

API Development

Automation & Productivity

Stay Connected

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