Use Aliyun mcp-proxy to proxy the OpenAPI MCP Server

Step 1: Configure Alibaba Cloud CLI

1. Install or upgrade the Alibaba Cloud CLI to version 3.2.0 or later. For installation instructions, see Install or update Alibaba Cloud CLI.

2. Configure the CLI with the credentials of an Alibaba Cloud account or a RAM user that has permissions to create OAuth applications. Alternatively, you can use the --oauth-app-name parameter in a later step to specify an existing OAuth application.

   aliyun configure
   # Enter your AccessKey ID, AccessKey Secret, and default region as prompted.

Step 2: First run and OAuth authorization

The first time you run mcp-proxy, you must complete a one-time OAuth authorization so it can obtain a refresh token.

1. Start the proxy in the foreground.

   • In an environment with a graphical user interface (GUI), if you do not specify the--no-browser parameter, the CLI automatically opens a browser to perform the OAuth authorization. After authorization is complete, you do not need to manually enter a code. You can then skip to step 5.

     aliyun mcp-proxy --host 127.0.0.1 --port 8088

   • In a server environment without a GUI, add the--no-browser parameter. The tool will then guide you to obtain the code.

     aliyun mcp-proxy --host 127.0.0.1 --port 8088 --no-browser

   Note

   You can use the --oauth-app-name parameter to specify a custom OAuth application. The application must meet the following requirements:

   • OAuth Scope: Must be /acs/mcp-server.

   • Redirect URI: Must match the Redirect URI used during the aliyun mcp-proxy authentication.

   • Application Type: Must be a Native application.

2. The terminal displays the authorization URL.

   Setting up MCPOAuth profile 'default-mcp'...
   Opening browser for OAuth login...
   URL: https://signin.aliyun.com/oauth2/v1/auth?client_id=XXX8&response_type=code&scope=%2Facs%2Fmcp-server&redirect_uri=http://0.0.0.0:8088/callback&code_challenge=XXX&code_challenge_method=S256
   Please open the authorization URL on a machine with a browser and complete the sign-in.
   After authorization, the browser will redirect to a callback URL.
   Even if the page fails to load (connection error), the authorization code is in the URL.
   Please copy the value of the `code` parameter from the browser's address bar.
   Example: If the URL is:
     http://127.0.0.1:8088/callback?code=abc123xyz&state=...
     Then copy only: abc123xyz
   Enter authorization code: <YOUR CODE>

3. Open the URL in a browser, sign in, and complete the authorization.

4. After successful authorization, the page redirects to an address that contains a code parameter or displays the authorization code directly. Copy the code value, paste it into the terminal, and press Enter.

5. When the terminal displays OAuth login successful!, the authorization is successful.

   2025/12/04 19:11:49 Oauth authorization successfully, code received: XXXX
   2025/12/04 19:11:49 Start to exchange code for token with PKCE
   2025/12/04 19:11:49 Exchange code for token with PKCE successfully
   OAuth login successful!

6. When the terminal displays MCP Proxy Server Started, the proxy has started successfully.

   MCP Profile 'default-mcp' configured for oauth app 'aliyun-cli-mcp-proxy' successfully!
   MCP Proxy Server Started
   Listen: 127.0.0.1:8088

Step 3: Configure systemd service (CentOS)

For stable operation, configure the proxy as a systemd service that starts on boot.

1. Create a systemd service file named aliyun-mcp-proxy.service.

   Note:

   • Replace your-user with the actual non-root username that runs this service. This user must have configured credentials by using aliyun configure.

   • In the ExecStart line, $(which aliyun) automatically finds the path to the aliyun command. If this fails, manually replace it with the output of the which aliyun command (for example, /usr/local/bin/aliyun).

   sudo tee /etc/systemd/system/aliyun-mcp-proxy.service << 'EOF'
   [Unit]
   Description=Aliyun CLI MCP Proxy
   After=network.target
   [Service]
   Type=simple
   User=your-user
   ExecStart=$(which aliyun) mcp-proxy --host 127.0.0.1 --port 8088 --no-browser
   Restart=always
   RestartSec=10
   Environment=HOME=/home/your-user
   [Install]
   WantedBy=multi-user.target
   EOF

2. Reload the systemd configuration and start the service.

   # Reload the configuration
   sudo systemctl daemon-reload
   # Start the service
   sudo systemctl start aliyun-mcp-proxy
   # Enable the service to start on boot
   sudo systemctl enable aliyun-mcp-proxy

Step 4: Verify the proxy service

Verify that the service is running correctly using either of the following methods.

• View the service status

  Run the following command to check the service status.

  sudo systemctl status aliyun-mcp-proxy

  If the output contains active (running), the service has started successfully.

• Request the proxy port

  Run the following command to send a request directly to the proxy port.

  curl http://127.0.0.1:8088/

  If the proxy is working correctly, you will receive an XML-formatted error response from the MCP server. This confirms that the proxy can communicate with the service.

  <?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?><Error><RequestId>B3311876-XXXXX</RequestId><HostId>openapi-mcp.cn-hangzhou.aliyuncs.com</HostId><Code>InvalidAction.NotFound</Code><Message>Specified api is not found, please check your url and method.</Message><Recommend><![CDATA[https://api.aliyun.com/troubleshoot?q=InvalidAction.NotFound&product=OpenAPIExplorer&requestId=B3311876-XXX]]></Recommend></Error>

Step 1: Get host IP and start proxy

The Dify container must access the mcp-proxy service through the host machine's Docker bridge IP address.

1. Run the following command to get and record the IP address.

   ip addr show docker0 | grep "inet\b" | awk '{print $2}' | cut -d/ -f1

   This command returns an IP address similar to 172.17.0.1.

2. Start the aliyun mcp-proxy service in the foreground. Alternatively, you can modify the startup command insystemd and start it as a service.

   aliyun mcp-proxy --host 172.17.0.1 --port 8088 --no-browser

Step 2: Configure the MCP server in Dify

1. In Dify, go to the Tools > MCP configuration page.

2. ClickAdd MCP Server (HTTP).

3. In theserver endpoint URL field, enter your MCP proxy address.

   You can find the originalStreamable HTTP Endpoint address in the Alibaba Cloud OpenAPI MCP Service console. Replace the domain name part (host) of this address with your local or internal network proxy address.

   Example conversion:

   • Original Endpoint:
     https://openapi-mcp.cn-hangzhou.aliyuncs.com/accounts/1234/custom/cli-proxy-test/id/1234/mcp
     
     

   • Proxied Endpoint: (assuming the proxy runs on172.17.0.1:8088):
     http://172.17.0.1:8088/accounts/1234/custom/cli-proxy-test/id/1234/mcp
     
     

4. Enter other information as needed and clickAdd & Authorize. Dify will then communicate with your MCP service through this proxy address.

Mitigations

• Environment isolation: Run the proxy only in a trusted, single-user environment. Avoid using it on shared multi-user servers.

• Network access control: Bind the proxy's listening address (--host) to 127.0.0.1 (default) or a specific internal network IP. Use a firewall or security group rules to restrict access to the proxy port (for example, allowing access only from specific application server IPs). Never expose the port to the public internet.

• Server access control: Use the --allowed-servers (allowlist) or --blocked-servers (blocklist) parameters to restrict which MCP servers can be accessed. This prevents the proxy from being used to access unintended services. For configuration details, see Configure server access control.

• Principle of least privilege: Grant only the minimum necessary permissions to the CLI user that the proxy uses and its associated MCP server. Grant read-only permissions whenever possible.

• Auditing and monitoring: Regularly review the proxy service's access logs and monitor for abnormal requests. Requests blocked by access control are recorded in the proxy logs.

Configure server access control

aliyun mcp-proxy supports allowlist and blocklist mechanisms to restrict which MCP servers are accessible through the proxy.

Available Servers:
  - cloudphone
    MCP: http://127.0.0.1:8088/accounts/0000000000000000/system/eds-aic/cloudphone/id/XSkb9v4dXx000000/mcp
    SSE: http://127.0.0.1:8088/accounts/0000000000000000/system/eds-aic/cloudphone/id/XSkb9v4dXx000000/sse
  - multi_account
    MCP: http://127.0.0.1:8088/accounts/0000000000000000/custom/multi_account/id/OV0Qkpxh0Uodx000/mcp
    SSE: http://127.0.0.1:8088/accounts/0000000000000000/custom/multi_account/id/OV0Qkpxh0Uodx000/sse

......./system/eds-aic/$server_name/id/$server_id/mcp
......./custom/$server_name/id/$server_id/mcp

MCP Proxy Server Started
Listen: 127.0.0.1:8088
Region: CN
Access Control:
  Blacklist (blocked servers):
    - ram
  Whitelist (allowed servers):
    - ecs
    - oss
Available Servers:
  - ecs
    MCP: http://127.0.0.1:8088/acs/mcp-server/ecs/mcp
  - oss
    MCP: http://127.0.0.1:8088/acs/mcp-server/oss/mcp
  - ram (blocked)

Security incident response

If you suspect that the proxy's authentication token has been leaked or abused, take the following actions immediately:

• Stop the MCP Proxy service.

• Delete the local configuration file: rm ~/.aliyun/.mcpproxy_config.

• Revoke the OAuth authorization in the Alibaba Cloud console.

• Check the API call logs to identify any abnormal operations.

• Reconfigure the MCP Proxy and generate a new token.

After running aliyun mcp-proxy for OAuth authentication, I get the "ERROR: OAuth flow returned empty RefreshToken" error and the proxy fails to start. Why does this happen?

This issue is usually caused by an incorrect OAuth application type or authentication identity. Ensure that:

• The OAuth application type used is Native.

• You are authenticating with an Alibaba Cloud account or a RAM user. Assuming a RAM role does not support obtaining a refresh token.

Connection Refused or Timeout error in Dify

Check the following configurations:

1. When starting the mcp-proxy service, ensure the --host parameter is set to the Docker bridge IP or the host machine's internal network IP so that the Docker container can access it.

2. The ECS instance's security group or the host machine's firewall must allow TCP traffic from the Docker container to the proxy port (for example,8088).

How to view mcp-proxy logs?

If you have configured it as a systemd service, you can use the following command to view the logs in real time:

sudo journalctl -u aliyun-mcp-proxy -f