examples: add an example that display header forwarding. (#836)

Created to document the way it can be done discussed in #373.

Fixes #373

Author: maciej-kisiel

examples/server/proxy/README.md

@@ -0,0 +1,52 @@
+# Proxy Header Propagation Example
+
+This example demonstrates how to propagate HTTP headers from an incoming MCP server request to an outgoing MCP client request.
+
+This is particularly useful when building a gateway or proxy server that needs to forward authentication tokens, trace IDs, or other context-sensitive headers to downstream services.
+
+## Architecture
+
+This example runs three components in a single process:
+
+1.  **Backend Server** (Port 8082):
+    -   Exposes a tool `echo_headers` that returns the headers it received.
+
+2.  **Proxy Server** (Port 8081):
+    -   Exposes a tool `forward_headers`.
+    -   Acts as a client to the Backend Server.
+    -   Uses a custom `http.RoundTripper` (`HeaderForwardingTransport`) to inject headers from the context into outgoing requests.
+
+3.  **Client**:
+    -   Connects to the Proxy Server.
+    -   Calls `forward_headers`.
+
+## How it works
+
+1.  The Client calls `forward_headers` on the Proxy Server.
+2.  The Proxy Server receives the request. The request context contains the HTTP headers in `req.Extra.Header`.
+3.  The Proxy's tool handler extracts these headers and places them into a new `context.Context` using a specific key (`headerContextKey`).
+4.  The Proxy uses an `mcp.Client` configured with a custom `HTTPClient` that uses `HeaderForwardingTransport`.
+5.  `HeaderForwardingTransport.RoundTrip` inspects the context of outgoing requests. If it finds headers under `headerContextKey`, it adds them to the HTTP request.
+6.  The Backend Server receives the request with the propagated headers.
+
+## Running the Example
+
+Run the example with:
+
+```bash
+go run main.go
+```
+
+You should see output indicating:
+1.  Backend and Proxy servers starting.
+2.  Gateway receiving headers.
+3.  Client receiving the result, which contains the echoed headers.
+
+Example output:
+
+```
+2025/08/29 10:00:00 Starting Backend Server on :8082
+2025/08/29 10:00:00 Starting Gateway Server on :8081
+2025/08/29 10:00:00 Gateway received headers: map[...]
+2025/08/29 10:00:00 Client received result: ...
+```

examples/server/proxy/main.go

@@ -0,0 +1,141 @@
+// Copyright 2025 The Go MCP SDK Authors. All rights reserved.
+// Use of this source code is governed by an MIT-style
+// license that can be found in the LICENSE file.
+
+package main
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"fmt"
+	"log"
+	"net/http"
+	"time"
+
+	"github.com/modelcontextprotocol/go-sdk/mcp"
+)
+
+// Define a context key for passing headers.
+type contextKey string
+
+const headerContextKey contextKey = "ctx-headers"
+
+// HeaderForwardingTransport is an http.RoundTripper that injects headers
+// from the context into the outgoing request.
+type HeaderForwardingTransport struct{}
+
+// RoundTrip executes a single HTTP transaction, adding headers from the context.
+func (h *HeaderForwardingTransport) RoundTrip(req *http.Request) (*http.Response, error) {
+	// Clone the request to avoid modifying the original one.
+	newReq := req.Clone(req.Context())
+
+	// Retrieve headers from the context.
+	if headers, ok := req.Context().Value(headerContextKey).(http.Header); ok {
+		for key, values := range headers {
+			// Copy all values for each header.
+			for _, value := range values {
+				newReq.Header.Add(key, value)
+			}
+		}
+	}
+
+	return http.DefaultTransport.RoundTrip(newReq)
+}
+
+// NewHeaderForwardingClient creates a new http.Client that uses HeaderForwardingTransport.
+func NewHeaderForwardingClient() *http.Client {
+	return &http.Client{
+		Transport: new(HeaderForwardingTransport),
+	}
+}
+
+// Backend Server: Echoes received headers to verify propagation.
+func runBackendServer() {
+	server := mcp.NewServer(&mcp.Implementation{Name: "backend-server", Version: "1.0.0"}, nil)
+
+	mcp.AddTool(server, &mcp.Tool{
+		Name:        "echo_headers",
+		Description: "Returns the headers received by the server",
+	}, func(ctx context.Context, req *mcp.CallToolRequest, args struct{}) (*mcp.CallToolResult, any, error) {
+		return nil, req.Extra.Header, nil
+	})
+
+	// Start the backend server on port 8082.
+	log.Println("Starting Backend Server on :8082")
+	if err := http.ListenAndServe(":8082", mcp.NewStreamableHTTPHandler(func(r *http.Request) *mcp.Server {
+		return server
+	}, nil)); err != nil {
+		log.Fatal(err)
+	}
+}
+
+// Proxy Server: Forwards requests to the backend with headers.
+func runProxyServer(ctx context.Context) {
+	// Connect to the backend server (acting as a client).
+	client := mcp.NewClient(&mcp.Implementation{Name: "proxy-client", Version: "1.0.0"}, nil)
+	clientSession, err := client.Connect(ctx, &mcp.StreamableClientTransport{
+		Endpoint:   "http://localhost:8082/mcp",
+		HTTPClient: NewHeaderForwardingClient(),
+	}, nil)
+	if err != nil {
+		log.Fatalf("Failed to connect to backend: %v", err)
+	}
+	defer clientSession.Close()
+
+	server := mcp.NewServer(&mcp.Implementation{Name: "proxy-server", Version: "1.0.0"}, nil)
+	// Add a tool that forwards the call to the backend.
+	mcp.AddTool(server, &mcp.Tool{
+		Name:        "forward_headers",
+		Description: "Calls the backend server, ensuring headers are propagated",
+	}, func(ctx context.Context, req *mcp.CallToolRequest, args struct{}) (*mcp.CallToolResult, any, error) {
+		incomingHeaders := req.Extra.Header
+		log.Printf("Gateway received headers: %v", incomingHeaders)
+		propagateCtx := context.WithValue(ctx, headerContextKey, incomingHeaders)
+		result, err := clientSession.CallTool(propagateCtx, &mcp.CallToolParams{
+			Name: "echo_headers",
+		})
+		if err != nil {
+			return nil, nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to call backend: %w", err)
+		}
+
+		return result, nil, nil
+	})
+
+	// Start the gateway server on port 8081.
+	log.Println("Starting Gateway Server on :8081")
+	if err := http.ListenAndServe(":8081", mcp.NewStreamableHTTPHandler(func(r *http.Request) *mcp.Server {
+		return server
+	}, nil)); err != nil {
+		log.Fatal(err)
+	}
+}
+
+func runClient(ctx context.Context) {
+	// Connect to the proxy server (acting as a client).
+	client := mcp.NewClient(&mcp.Implementation{Name: "client", Version: "1.0.0"}, nil)
+	clientSession, err := client.Connect(ctx, &mcp.StreamableClientTransport{
+		Endpoint: "http://localhost:8081/mcp",
+	}, nil)
+	if err != nil {
+		log.Fatalf("Failed to connect to proxy: %v", err)
+	}
+	defer clientSession.Close()
+
+	result, err := clientSession.CallTool(ctx, &mcp.CallToolParams{
+		Name: "forward_headers",
+	})
+	if err != nil {
+		log.Fatalf("Failed to call proxy: %v", err)
+	}
+	log.Printf("Client received result: %v", result.StructuredContent)
+}
+
+func main() {
+	ctx := context.Background()
+	go runBackendServer()
+	// Give the backend a moment to start.
+	time.Sleep(100 * time.Millisecond)
+	go runProxyServer(ctx)
+	// Give the proxy a moment to start.
+	time.Sleep(100 * time.Millisecond)
+	runClient(ctx)
+}