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ContextForge is an open-source gateway and registry from IBM. It puts MCP servers, agent-to-agent (A2A) services and regular REST or gRPC APIs behind one endpoint for AI clients. You host and run it yourself. There is no paid edition of the software, but IBM now sells optional commercial support.
Checked against: the ContextForge GitHub repository and its support guide on 28 October 2026. eSEOspace did not test IBM's products.
Key Takeaways
- The README calls ContextForge "an open source registry and proxy that federates tools, agents, and APIs into one clean endpoint."
- It can wrap REST services as virtual MCP servers and translate gRPC services to MCP automatically.
- It is free under Apache 2.0, and the project says core features are "not held back or paywalled."
- Community support runs through GitHub, Discussions and Discord. IBM also offers commercial IBM Elite Support for v1.0.0-GA and later.
- The project says it is built by IBM teams plus 100+ outside contributors and powers several IBM products.
At a glance
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Company | IBM |
| What it offers for MCP | ContextForge: MCP gateway, registry, REST and gRPC to MCP translation, A2A routing |
| Who it's for | Engineering teams exposing many internal services to AI tools from one self-hosted endpoint |
| Open source? | Yes, Apache 2.0 |
| Pricing | Free software; optional paid IBM Elite Support |
What IBM offers for MCP with ContextForge
One endpoint for many services
The ContextForge README lists four layers:
- Tools gateway: MCP, REST, gRPC-to-MCP translation and TOON compression.
- Agent gateway: A2A protocol plus OpenAI-compatible and Anthropic agent routing.
- API gateway: rate limiting, auth, retries and reverse proxy for REST services.
- Plugins: "40+ plugins for additional transports, protocols, and integrations."
It "runs as a fully compliant MCP server" and scales to multi-cluster Kubernetes with Redis-backed federation and caching. The ContextForge docs list installs through PyPI, Docker Compose, Helm for Kubernetes, a single Docker container or Podman.
Turning APIs into MCP tools
Many companies have APIs that predate MCP. ContextForge "wraps non-MCP services as virtual MCP servers" and adapts REST APIs into tools with "automatic JSON Schema extraction." For gRPC, it uses server reflection to find methods and expose them. You can also choose the MCP protocol version the gateway presents.
Admin and observability
An Admin UI handles live management, configuration and log monitoring, with air-gapped deployment support. A newer Web UI runs in a separate container. Tracing uses OpenTelemetry and works with backends such as Phoenix, Jaeger, Zipkin, Datadog and New Relic.
Who it's for
ContextForge fits engineering teams that need to put many internal APIs in front of AI tools and want to host the gateway themselves. It also fits teams mixing MCP servers with A2A agents. You need people who can run Python services, containers and, at scale, Kubernetes. Our build vs buy guide helps you weigh that effort against a managed product.
Pricing
ContextForge is free and open source under Apache 2.0. The project's support guide says "there are no artificial restrictions, no feature paywalls." It adds that any future commercial offerings "would be provided as extensions or product inclusions, not as limitations of the open source product." Your costs are the servers you run it on and staff time. The same guide lists one commercial option today: IBM Elite Support, "professional technical support for ContextForge AI Gateway v1.0.0-GA and later," with guaranteed SLAs. IBM does not publish a price; it says to contact IBM for terms.
Security and trust
The README describes secure defaults. Required secrets must be set before the gateway starts, tokens must carry expiry and revocation IDs, and public self-registration is off by default. Content size limits guard against denial-of-service attacks. Auth options include user-scoped OAuth tokens and custom headers for upstream services.
The support guide says the project has "no telemetry" and is "designed to run fully air-gapped." Container images use Red Hat's UBI base image and are rebuilt for security patches. The project supports "only the latest release," with no long-term support branches, so plan to upgrade often. Our MCP security risks guide covers the rest of the checklist.
Who builds it
The support guide says ContextForge is "developed by dedicated teams at IBM across Technology, Consulting, and Security Research, alongside 100+ open source contributors." It says the gateway powers several IBM products, including IBM Consulting Advantage. The project is led by Mihai Criveti, described there as IBM's Distinguished Engineer for Agentic AI.
Alternatives
- Solo.io backs agentgateway, an Apache 2.0 Linux Foundation gateway with paid enterprise support.
- Kong also maps REST APIs to MCP tools, as a managed, priced service.
- Docker offers an MIT-licensed gateway focused on running servers in containers.
See our list of MCP gateways and the full set of MCP company spotlights.
Next step
Try ContextForge locally with one REST API you already own, then check the tools it generates before you expose them. If you want help choosing which APIs to wrap and how to scope them, our MCP development team can help.
Frequently asked questions
Is IBM ContextForge free?
Yes. It is open source under Apache 2.0, and the project says core features are not paywalled. You pay only for hosting and the people who run it.
Does IBM offer paid support for ContextForge?
Yes. The support guide lists IBM Elite Support, a commercial plan for ContextForge v1.0.0-GA and later with guaranteed SLAs. Terms come from IBM on request. Community help through GitHub Issues, Discussions and Discord stays free.
Can ContextForge turn my REST API into MCP tools?
Yes, per the README. It adapts REST APIs into MCP tools with automatic JSON Schema extraction and can translate gRPC services using server reflection.
How do I install ContextForge?
The docs list PyPI (or uvx), Docker Compose, a single Docker or Podman container, and Helm for Kubernetes. You must set required secrets before the gateway will start.
