# Cookbook

Source: https://mcp-hangar.io/docs/cookbook/index

---
From zero to production in 23 recipes. Start at 01 and go in order, or jump to
what you need.

## The Path (sequential)

Recipes 01-06 build on each other. Start at 01 and work through in order.

| # | Recipe | What it adds |
| --- | -------- | -------------- |
| 01 | [HTTP Gateway](01-http-gateway.md) | Single MCP server behind Hangar |
| 02 | [Health Checks](02-health-checks.md) | Know when your MCP server is dead |
| 03 | [Circuit Breaker](03-circuit-breaker.md) | Stop hammering a failing MCP server |
| 04 | [Failover](04-failover.md) | Automatic switch to backup MCP server |
| 05 | [Load Balancing](05-load-balancing.md) | Distribute load across multiple MCP servers |
| 06 | [Rate Limiting](06-rate-limiting.md) | Protect MCP servers from overload |

## Standalone Recipes

These recipes can be done independently but assume basic Hangar setup from
recipe 01.

| # | Recipe | Prerequisite |
| --- | -------- | -------------- |
| 07 | [Observability: Metrics](07-observability-metrics.md) | 01 |
| 08 | [Observability: Langfuse](08-observability-langfuse.md) | 01 |
| 09 | [Subprocess MCP servers](09-subprocess-mcp-servers.md) | 01 |
| 10 | [Discovery: Docker](10-discovery-docker.md) | 01 |
| 11 | [Discovery: Kubernetes](11-discovery-kubernetes.md) | 01 |
| 12 | [Auth & RBAC](12-auth-rbac.md) | 01 |
| 13 | [Production Checklist](13-production-checklist.md) | 01-06 |
| 14 | [Upgrade: Digest Pinning](14-upgrade-1.3-digest-pinning.md) | 13 |
| 15 | [Interceptor Discovery](15-interceptor-discovery.md) | 14 |
| 16 | [Front-Door Multi-Tenant](16-front-door-multi-tenant.md) | 12 |
| 17 | [Multi-Issuer Front Door](17-multi-issuer-front-door.md) | 16 |
| 18 | [Per-Tenant Digest Pins](18-tenant-digest-pins.md) | 16 |
| 19 | [Canary Group Routing](19-canary-group-routing.md) | 05 |
| 20 | [Read-Only Rootfs & Controlled Writes](20-readonly-controlled-write.md) | 13 |
| 21 | [Local Dev & Staging Profiles](21-dev-staging-profiles.md) | 01, 12 |
| 22 | [External Multi-Tenant OIDC](22-external-multitenant-oidc.md) | 16 |
| 23 | [Harden a Public Authenticated Gateway](23-harden-public-gateway.md) | 22 |

## How to Use This Cookbook

Each recipe follows the same structure:

1. **The Problem** — What pain you're solving
2. **The Config** — Complete, copy-pasteable configuration
3. **Try It** — Step-by-step commands with expected output
4. **What Just Happened** — Technical explanation
5. **Key Config Reference** — New configuration options
6. **What's Next** — Link to the next recipe

Config blocks show the COMPLETE file, not fragments. New additions are marked
with `# NEW` comments.