ai-mldeveloper-tools

A2A Bridge

gongrzhe

by gongrzhe

A2A Bridge enables agent discovery and task management by bridging Google's protocol with MCP, supporting shortest path

Bridges Google's Agent-to-Agent protocol with MCP, enabling agent discovery, registration, message sending, and task management through protocol translation between A2A's JSON-RPC messaging and MCP's tool-based interface.

github stars

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Both formats append explainx.ai attribution and the canonical URL for this MCP server listing.

Bridges two different AI agent protocolsReal-time streaming supportProtocol translation layer

best for

  • / MCP clients needing to communicate with A2A agents
  • / Building multi-protocol AI agent systems
  • / Integrating Claude with Google A2A agents

capabilities

  • / Register A2A agents for MCP access
  • / Send messages between MCP and A2A protocols
  • / Stream real-time responses from A2A agents
  • / Track and manage agent tasks
  • / List registered A2A agents
  • / Cancel running tasks on agents

what it does

Connects MCP clients like Claude to Google's Agent-to-Agent (A2A) protocol agents, enabling cross-protocol communication between AI systems.

about

A2A Bridge is a community-built MCP server published by gongrzhe that provides AI assistants with tools and capabilities via the Model Context Protocol. A2A Bridge enables agent discovery and task management by bridging Google's protocol with MCP, supporting shortest path It is categorized under ai ml, developer tools. This server exposes 7 tools that AI clients can invoke during conversations and coding sessions.

how to install

You can install A2A Bridge in your AI client of choice. Use the install panel on this page to get one-click setup for Cursor, Claude Desktop, VS Code, and other MCP-compatible clients. This server runs locally on your machine via the stdio transport.

license

Apache-2.0

A2A Bridge is released under the Apache-2.0 license. This is a permissive open-source license, meaning you can freely use, modify, and distribute the software.

readme

A2A MCP Server

License smithery badge

A mcp server that bridges the Model Context Protocol (MCP) with the Agent-to-Agent (A2A) protocol, enabling MCP-compatible AI assistants (like Claude) to seamlessly interact with A2A agents.

Overview

This project serves as an integration layer between two cutting-edge AI agent protocols:

  • Model Context Protocol (MCP): Developed by Anthropic, MCP allows AI assistants to connect to external tools and data sources. It standardizes how AI applications and large language models connect to external resources in a secure, composable way.

  • Agent-to-Agent Protocol (A2A): Developed by Google, A2A enables communication and interoperability between different AI agents through a standardized JSON-RPC interface.

By bridging these protocols, this server allows MCP clients (like Claude) to discover, register, communicate with, and manage tasks on A2A agents through a unified interface.

Demo

1, Run The Currency Agent in A2A Sample

agent

also support cloud deployed Agent

cloudAgent

2, Use Claude to Register the Currency Agent

register

3, Use Claude to Send a task to the Currency Agent and get the result

task

Features

  • Agent Management

    • Register A2A agents with the bridge server
    • List all registered agents
    • Unregister agents when no longer needed
  • Communication

    • Send messages to A2A agents and receive responses
    • Stream responses from A2A agents in real-time
  • Task Management

    • Track which A2A agent handles which task
    • Retrieve task results using task IDs
    • Cancel running tasks
  • Transport Support

    • Multiple transport types: stdio, streamable-http, SSE
    • Configure transport type using MCP_TRANSPORT environment variable

Installation

Installing via Smithery

To install A2A Bridge Server for Claude Desktop automatically via Smithery:

npx -y @smithery/cli install @GongRzhe/A2A-MCP-Server --client claude

Option 1: Install from PyPI

pip install a2a-mcp-server

Option 2: Local Installation

  1. Clone the repository:

    git clone https://github.com/GongRzhe/A2A-MCP-Server.git
    cd A2A-MCP-Server
    
  2. Set up a virtual environment:

    python -m venv .venv
    source .venv/bin/activate  # On Windows: .venv\Scripts\activate
    
  3. Install dependencies:

    pip install -r requirements.txt
    

Configuration

Environment Variables

Configure how the MCP server runs using these environment variables:

# Transport type: stdio, streamable-http, or sse
export MCP_TRANSPORT="streamable-http"

# Host for the MCP server
export MCP_HOST="0.0.0.0"

# Port for the MCP server (when using HTTP transports)
export MCP_PORT="8000"

# Path for the MCP server endpoint (when using HTTP transports)
export MCP_PATH="/mcp"

# Path for SSE endpoint (when using SSE transport)
export MCP_SSE_PATH="/sse"

# Enable debug logging
export MCP_DEBUG="true"

Transport Types

The A2A MCP Server supports multiple transport types:

  1. stdio (default): Uses standard input/output for communication

    • Ideal for command-line usage and testing
    • No HTTP server is started
    • Required for Claude Desktop
  2. streamable-http (recommended for web clients): HTTP transport with streaming support

    • Recommended for production deployments
    • Starts an HTTP server to handle MCP requests
    • Enables streaming of large responses
  3. sse: Server-Sent Events transport

    • Provides real-time event streaming
    • Useful for real-time updates

To specify the transport type:

# Using environment variable
export MCP_TRANSPORT="streamable-http"
uvx a2a-mcp-server

# Or directly in the command
MCP_TRANSPORT=streamable-http uvx a2a-mcp-server

Running the Server

From Command Line

# Using default settings (stdio transport)
uvx a2a-mcp-server

# Using HTTP transport on specific host and port
MCP_TRANSPORT=streamable-http MCP_HOST=127.0.0.1 MCP_PORT=8080 uvx a2a-mcp-server

Configuring in Claude Desktop

Claude Desktop allows you to configure MCP servers in the claude_desktop_config.json file. This file is typically located at:

  • Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
  • macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
  • Linux: ~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

Method 1: PyPI Installation (Recommended)

Add the following to the mcpServers section of your claude_desktop_config.json:

"a2a": {
  "command": "uvx",
  "args": [
    "a2a-mcp-server"
  ]
}

Note that for Claude Desktop, you must use "MCP_TRANSPORT": "stdio" since Claude requires stdio communication with MCP servers.

Method 2: Local Installation

If you've cloned the repository and want to run the server from your local installation:

"a2a": {
  "command": "C:\path\	o\python.exe",
  "args": [
    "C:\path\	o\A2A-MCP-Server\a2a_mcp_server.py"
  ],
  "env": {
    "MCP_TRANSPORT": "stdio",
    "PYTHONPATH": "C:\path\	o\A2A-MCP-Server"
  }
}

Replace C:\path\ o\ with the actual paths on your system.

Using the Config Creator

This repository includes a config_creator.py script to help you generate the configuration:

# If using local installation
python config_creator.py

The script will:

  • Automatically detect Python, script, and repository paths when possible
  • Configure stdio transport which is required for Claude Desktop
  • Let you add any additional environment variables if needed
  • Create or update your Claude Desktop configuration file

Complete Example

Here's an example of a complete claude_desktop_config.json file with the A2A-MCP-Server configured:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "a2a": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "a2a-mcp-server"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Using with MCP Clients

Claude

Claude can use A2A agents through the MCP tools provided by this server. Here's how to set it up:

  1. For Claude Web: Start the MCP server with the streamable-http transport:

    MCP_TRANSPORT=streamable-http MCP_HOST=127.0.0.1 MCP_PORT=8000 uvx a2a-mcp-server
    
  2. For Claude Web: In Claude web interface, enable the MCP URL connection in your Tools menu.

    • Use the URL: http://127.0.0.1:8000/mcp
  3. For Claude Desktop: Add the configuration to your claude_desktop_config.json file as described above. The easiest way is to use the provided config_creator.py script which will automatically detect paths and create the proper configuration.

  4. In Claude, you can now use the following functions:

    Register an A2A agent:

    I need to register a new agent. Can you help me with that?
    (Agent URL: http://localhost:41242)
    

    Send message to an agent:

    Ask the agent at http://localhost:41242 what it can do.
    

    Retrieve task results:

    Can you get the results for task ID: 550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000?
    

Cursor IDE

Cursor IDE can connect to MCP servers to add tools to its AI assistant:

  1. Run your A2A MCP server with the streamable-http transport:

    MCP_TRANSPORT=streamable-http MCP_HOST=127.0.0.1 MCP_PORT=8000 uvx a2a-mcp-server
    
  2. In Cursor IDE, go to Settings > AI > MCP Servers

    • Add a new MCP Server with URL: http://127.0.0.1:8000/mcp
    • Enable the server
  3. Now you can use the A2A tools from within Cursor's AI assistant.

Windsurf Browser

Windsurf is a browser with built-in MCP support:

  1. Run your A2A MCP server with the streamable-http transport:

    MCP_TRANSPORT=streamable-http MCP_HOST=127.0.0.1 MCP_PORT=8000 uvx a2a-mcp-server
    
  2. In Windsurf browser, go to Settings > MCP Connections

    • Add a new MCP connection with URL: http://127.0.0.1:8000/mcp
    • Enable the connection
  3. You can now use A2A tools from within Windsurf's AI assistant.

Available MCP Tools

The server exposes the following MCP tools for integration with LLMs like Claude:

Agent Management

  • register_agent: Register an A2A agent with the bridge server

    {
      "name": "register_agent",
      "arguments": {
        "url": "http://localhost:41242"
      }
    }
    
  • list_agents: Get a list of all registered agents

    {
      "name": "list_agents",
      "arguments": {}
    }
    
  • unregister_agent: Remove an A2A agent from the bridge server

    {
      "name": "unregister_agent",
      "arguments": {
        "url": "http://localhost:41242"
      }
    }
    

Message Processing

  • send_message: Send a message to an agent and get a task_id for the response

    {
      "name": "send_message",
      "arguments": {
        "agent_url": "http://localhost:41242",
        "message": "What's the exchange rate from USD to EUR?",
        "session_id": "optional-session-id"
      }
    }
    
  • send_message_stream: Send a message and stream the response

    {
      "name": "send_message_stream",
      "arguments": {
        "agent_url": "http://localhost:41242",
        "message": "Tell me a story about AI agents.",
        "session_id": "optional-session-id"
      }
    }
    

Task Management

  • get_task_result: Retrieve a task's result using its ID

    {
      "name": "get_task_result",
      "arguments": {
        "task_id": "b30f3297-e7ab-4dd9-8ff1-877bd7cfb6b1",
        "history_length": null
      }
    }
    
  • cancel_task: Cancel a running task


FAQ

What is the A2A Bridge MCP server?
A2A Bridge is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server profile on explainx.ai. MCP lets AI hosts (e.g. Claude Desktop, Cursor) call tools and resources through a standard interface; this page summarizes categories, install hints, and community ratings.
How do MCP servers relate to agent skills?
Skills are reusable instruction packages (often SKILL.md); MCP servers expose live capabilities. Teams frequently combine both—skills for workflows, MCP for APIs and data. See explainx.ai/skills and explainx.ai/mcp-servers for parallel directories.
How are reviews shown for A2A Bridge?
This profile displays 44 aggregated ratings (sample rows for discoverability plus signed-in user reviews). Average score is about 4.6 out of 5—verify behavior in your own environment before production use.

Use Cases

Extended AI Capabilities

Add new capabilities to Claude beyond text generation

Example

Access external data sources, execute code, interact with tools and services

Transform Claude from chatbot to action-taking agent

Context Enhancement

Provide Claude with access to relevant context and data

Example

Load project documentation, access knowledge bases, query databases

Get more accurate, context-aware responses

Workflow Automation

Automate multi-step workflows combining AI and external tools

Example

Research → Summarize → Create document → Send notification

Complete complex tasks end-to-end without manual steps

Implementation Guide

Prerequisites

  • Claude Desktop 0.7.0+ or Cursor IDE with MCP support
  • Basic understanding of MCP architecture and capabilities
  • Access credentials for integrated services (if required)
  • Willingness to experiment and iterate on configuration

Time Estimate

15-60 minutes depending on server complexity

Installation Steps

  1. 1.Install MCP server: npm install -g [package-name] or via GitHub
  2. 2.Add server configuration to ~/.claude/mcp.json
  3. 3.Provide required credentials and configuration
  4. 4.Restart Claude Desktop to load new server
  5. 5.Test basic functionality with simple prompts
  6. 6.Explore capabilities and experiment with use cases
  7. 7.Document successful patterns for reuse

Troubleshooting

  • MCP server not loading: Check config syntax, verify installation
  • Connection errors: Check network, firewall, credentials
  • Feature not working: Read server docs, check required parameters
  • Performance issues: Monitor resource usage, check for network latency
  • Conflicts with other servers: Check port assignments, namespace collisions

Best Practices

✓ Do

  • +Read server documentation thoroughly before setup
  • +Start with simple use cases to validate functionality
  • +Test in non-production environment first
  • +Monitor resource usage and performance
  • +Keep servers updated for bug fixes and new features
  • +Document configuration for team members
  • +Use environment variables for sensitive configuration

✗ Don't

  • Don't grant overly permissive access to MCP servers
  • Don't skip reading security considerations in docs
  • Don't expose sensitive data without proper controls
  • Don't run untrusted MCP servers without code review
  • Don't ignore error messages—investigate root cause

💡 Pro Tips

  • Combine multiple MCP servers for powerful workflows
  • Create custom MCP servers for your specific needs
  • Share successful configurations with team
  • Use MCP inspector for debugging
  • Join MCP community for tips and troubleshooting

Technical Details

Architecture

Model Context Protocol standardizes how AI hosts (Claude, Cursor) communicate with external tools and data sources through server implementations.

Protocols

  • Model Context Protocol (MCP)
  • JSON-RPC 2.0
  • stdio or HTTP transport

Compatibility

  • Claude Desktop
  • Cursor IDE
  • Custom MCP clients

When to Use This

✓ Use When

Use when you need Claude to access external data, execute actions, or integrate with tools. Best for extending AI capabilities beyond conversation.

✗ Avoid When

Avoid when native integrations exist (use official APIs directly), for real-time critical systems, or when security/compliance requires zero external dependencies.

Integration

  • Tool composition: Chain multiple MCP tools in workflows
  • Context augmentation: Provide AI with relevant external data
  • Action delegation: Let AI execute tasks on external systems
  • Bidirectional sync: Keep AI context and external systems in sync

Discussion

Product Hunt–style comments (not star reviews)
  • No comments yet — start the thread.

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Ratings

4.644 reviews
  • Li Flores· Dec 16, 2024

    A2A Bridge is a well-scoped MCP server in the explainx.ai directory — install snippets and categories matched our Claude Code setup.

  • Chaitanya Patil· Dec 12, 2024

    A2A Bridge is among the better-indexed MCP projects we tried; the explainx.ai summary tracks the official description.

  • Li White· Dec 12, 2024

    I recommend A2A Bridge for teams standardizing on MCP; the explainx.ai page compares cleanly with sibling servers.

  • Meera Rao· Dec 8, 2024

    We wired A2A Bridge into a staging workspace; the listing’s GitHub and npm pointers saved time versus hunting across READMEs.

  • Ren Sharma· Nov 7, 2024

    A2A Bridge is among the better-indexed MCP projects we tried; the explainx.ai summary tracks the official description.

  • Piyush G· Nov 3, 2024

    A2A Bridge is a well-scoped MCP server in the explainx.ai directory — install snippets and categories matched our Claude Code setup.

  • Valentina Huang· Nov 3, 2024

    Strong directory entry: A2A Bridge surfaces stars and publisher context so we could sanity-check maintenance before adopting.

  • Ren Martin· Oct 26, 2024

    According to our notes, A2A Bridge benefits from clear Model Context Protocol framing — fewer ambiguous “AI plugin” claims.

  • Shikha Mishra· Oct 22, 2024

    A2A Bridge has been reliable for tool-calling workflows; the MCP profile page is a good permalink for internal docs.

  • Mateo Huang· Oct 22, 2024

    Useful MCP listing: A2A Bridge is the kind of server we cite when onboarding engineers to host + tool permissions.

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