Azure API Management (MCP server)
Azure API Management exposes a managed REST API as a remote MCP server, turning selected API operations one-to-one into agent-callable tools and applying API Management policies to govern every tool call.
Description
Azure API Management can expose a REST API it manages as a remote Model Context Protocol server through its built-in AI gateway. A developer selects one or more API operations to expose as tools that MCP clients call over the MCP protocol. API Management policies apply to all operations exposed as tools, so the same gateway controls access, authentication, and rate limiting for the MCP server. Agents such as GitHub Copilot, Semantic Kernel, or Copilot Studio call the hosted MCP endpoint.
Solution
A developer selects API operations from a managed REST API to expose as MCP tools, and API Management creates an MCP server with a server URL. An MCP client agent adds that server and calls the tools over the MCP protocol; on each call the AI gateway evaluates the policies configured at global and MCP-server scope, applying access control, authentication, and rate limiting before forwarding the request to the backend API.
Primary use cases
- exposing managed REST APIs as MCP servers
- one-to-one mapping of API operations to agent tools
- policy-governed access control over agent tool calls
- rate limiting and authentication for MCP tools
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