Transport Layers
Learn about the different transport options available in the PHP MCP SDK and how to choose the right one for your use case.
Overview
MCP supports multiple transport mechanisms for communication between clients and servers. Each transport has different characteristics and is suited for different deployment scenarios.
STDIO Transport
Process-based communication using standard input/output streams.
When to Use
- Local development and testing
- Command-line tools and desktop applications
- Single-client scenarios
- Simple deployment requirements
Server Implementation
php
use MCP\Server\Transport\StdioServerTransport;
$transport = new StdioServerTransport();
$server->connect($transport)->await();Client Implementation
php
use MCP\Client\Transport\StdioClientTransport;
$transport = new StdioClientTransport([
'command' => 'php',
'args' => ['server.php']
]);
$client->connect($transport)->await();HTTP Transport
Web-based communication using HTTP streaming.
When to Use
- Web applications and services
- Multiple concurrent clients
- Cloud deployments
- Load balancing scenarios
Server Implementation
php
use MCP\Server\Transport\HttpServerTransport;
$transport = new HttpServerTransport([
'host' => '0.0.0.0',
'port' => 3000,
'cors' => true
]);
$server->connect($transport)->await();Client Implementation
php
use MCP\Client\Transport\HttpClientTransport;
$transport = new HttpClientTransport([
'baseUrl' => 'http://localhost:3000'
]);
$client->connect($transport)->await();WebSocket Transport
Real-time bidirectional communication.
When to Use
- Real-time applications
- Interactive user interfaces
- Persistent connections
- Low-latency requirements
Server Implementation
php
use MCP\Server\Transport\WebSocketServerTransport;
$transport = new WebSocketServerTransport([
'host' => '0.0.0.0',
'port' => 8080,
'maxConnections' => 100
]);
$server->connect($transport)->await();