api-platform-mcp

MCP: Exposing Your API to AI Agents

API Platform turns PHP classes into Model Context Protocol tools and resources. It reuses the existing metadata stack — state processors/providers, validation, serialization, JSON Schema — so an MCP tool is just an operation with no HTTP route.

@experimental. API may change between minor releases.

Install & enable

Symfony — composer require api-platform/mcp symfony/mcp-bundle (bundle namespace is Symfony\AI\McpBundle, composer name symfony/mcp-bundle):

# config/packages/mcp.yaml
mcp:
    client_transports:
        http: true
        stdio: false
    http:
        path: "/mcp"
        session: { store: "file", directory: "%kernel.cache_dir%/mcp", ttl: 3600 }

# config/packages/api_platform.yaml
api_platform:
    mcp:
        enabled: true     # default: true
        format: jsonld    # default; must be a registered api_platform.format (json, jsonapi, …)

format sets the serialization format for structured content. jsonld emits @context, @id, @type. Laravel — enabled by default, endpoint auto-registered at /mcp:

// config/api-platform.php
return [ /* … */ 'mcp' => ['enabled' => true] ];

API Platform registers its own SDK Handler; supports() returns true only for tools/resources in its registry, otherwise the SDK's own handler chain runs. API Platform tools and native mcp/sdk tools coexist on the same server.

Two ways to declare a tool

Standalone #[McpTool] class attribute — convenient for a one-off tool. Class properties become the inputSchema; a state processor handles the command (CQRS-style — the agent's input is processed through your logic):

use ApiPlatform\Metadata\McpTool;

#[McpTool(
    name: 'process_message',
    description: 'Process a message with priority',
    processor: [self::class, 'process'],
)]
class ProcessMessage
{
    public function __construct(
        private string $message,
        private int $priority = 1,
    ) {}

    // getters + setters drive (de)serialization

    public static function process($data): mixed
    {
        $data->setMessage('Processed: '.$data->getMessage());
        return $data;
    }
}

The agent's arguments are deserialized into a ProcessMessage, passed to the processor; the returned object is serialized back as structured content. processor is any callable or a ProcessorInterface service.

mcp: array on #[ApiResource] — use when the class exposes no HTTP endpoints (operations: []), combines several MCP operations, or needs resource-level control. Keys are the tool names, so omit name: inside each new McpTool(...):

use ApiPlatform\Metadata\ApiResource;
use ApiPlatform\Metadata\McpTool;
use App\State\ReadHydraResourceProcessor;

#[ApiResource(
    operations: [],
    mcp: [
        'read_hydra_resource' => new McpTool(
            description: 'Navigate to a Hydra API resource by URI.',
            processor: ReadHydraResourceProcessor::class,
            structuredContent: false,
        ),
    ],
)]
class ReadHydraResource
{
    public string $uri;
}

Separate input DTO

When the input schema must differ from the result class, point input: at a DTO. That DTO drives inputSchema; the host class describes the output:

#[McpTool(
    name: 'search_books',
    description: 'Search books by keyword',
    input: SearchQuery::class,        // what the agent sends
    processor: SearchBooksProcessor::class,
)]
class BookSearchResult
{
    public int $id;
    public string $title;
    public string $isbn;
}

The processor receives a SearchQuery instance and returns the result(s).

Collections — McpToolCollection

Use McpToolCollection (extends McpTool, implements CollectionOperationInterface) when a tool returns a list — the serializer and schema factory emit collection-shaped output:

use ApiPlatform\Metadata\McpToolCollection;

#[ApiResource(operations: [], mcp: [
    'list_books' => new McpToolCollection(
        description: 'List Books',
        input: SearchQuery::class,
        processor: SearchBooksProcessor::class,
        structuredContent: true,
    ),
])]
class Book { public ?int $id = null; public ?string $title = null; public ?string $isbn = null; }

With structuredContent: true and the default jsonld format, the response carries @context, hydra:totalItems, and a hydra:member array of serialized items; the published outputSchema reflects that shape. Output schemas are flattened for MCP compliance — no $ref, allOf, $schema, or definitions.

Custom responses — CallToolResult

Default: results serialize through API Platform's serialization as structured JSON. For full control, set structuredContent: false and return a CallToolResult:

use Mcp\Schema\Content\TextContent;
use Mcp\Schema\Result\CallToolResult;

#[McpTool(name: 'generate_report', description: 'Generate a markdown report',
    processor: [self::class, 'process'], structuredContent: false)]
class Report
{
    public function __construct(private string $title, private string $content) {}
    // getters/setters …

    public static function process($data): CallToolResult
    {
        return new CallToolResult(
            [new TextContent("# {$data->getTitle()}\n\n{$data->getContent()}")],
            false,               // isError
            // 3rd arg: optional _meta array
        );
    }
}

structuredContent: false disables automatic JSON serialization; the CallToolResult is sent as-is, with no structuredContent / _meta key in the response.

Schema overrides — the nullable-union gotcha

PHP nullable types generate union schemas like {"type": ["array", "null"]}. Some LLM providers reject these. Override per property with #[ApiProperty(schema: [...])]:

use ApiPlatform\Metadata\ApiProperty;

class InvokeHydraOperation
{
    public string $uri;
    public string $method;
    #[ApiProperty(schema: ['type' => 'object', 'description' => 'JSON payload for the request'])]
    public ?array $payload = null;   // without override: {"type": ["array","null"]}
}

Validation — off by default

The MCP SDK validates inputs against the JSON Schema at transport level (types, required fields). API Platform's own validation pipeline is disabled for MCP tools. Set validate: true to run business constraints (email format, length, custom rules):

use Symfony\Component\Validator\Constraints as Assert;

#[McpTool(name: 'submit_contact', description: 'Submit a contact form',
    processor: [self::class, 'process'], validate: true)]
class ContactForm
{
    #[Assert\NotBlank] #[Assert\Length(min: 3, max: 50)]
    private ?string $name = null;
    #[Assert\NotNull] #[Assert\Email]
    private ?string $email = null;
}

Laravel — same validate: true, plus rules: instead of constraints:

#[McpTool(name: 'submit_contact', description: '…', processor: [self::class, 'process'],
    validate: true, rules: ['name' => 'required|min:3|max:50', 'email' => 'required|email'])]

Read-only resources — #[McpResource]

Expose retrievable content (docs, config, reference data) backed by a state provider. uri must be unique and use the resource:// scheme:

use ApiPlatform\Metadata\McpResource;

#[ApiResource(operations: [], mcp: [
    'api_docs' => new McpResource(
        uri: 'resource://my-app/documentation',
        name: 'App-Documentation',
        description: 'Application API documentation',
        mimeType: 'text/markdown',
        provider: [self::class, 'provide'],
    ),
])]
class Documentation
{
    public function __construct(private string $content, private string $uri) {}
    public static function provide(): self
    {
        return new self('# My API Documentation\n\nWelcome.', 'resource://my-app/documentation');
    }
}

Options

McpTool and McpResource extend HttpOperation, so they accept all standard operation options. MCP-specific / notable ones:

Option	Tool	Res	Notes
name	✓	✓	exposed to agents; defaults to class short name. Omit in mcp: array (key wins)
description	✓	✓	defaults to class DocBlock
structuredContent	✓	✓	include JSON structured content (default true)
input / output	✓		separate DTO for input schema / output representation
inputFormats / outputFormats	✓		(de)serialization formats, e.g. ['json'], ['jsonld']
contentNegotiation	✓	✓	default false for MCP
validate	✓		run validation pipeline (default false for MCP)
rules	✓		Laravel validation rules (Laravel only)
annotations/icons/meta	✓	✓	behavior hints / icon URLs / arbitrary metadata
uri		✓	required, resource:// scheme, unique across server
mimeType / size		✓	content MIME type / byte size if known

Wire protocol (for testing)

Everything is JSON-RPC 2.0 POSTed to /mcp with Accept: application/json, text/event-stream. initialize returns an mcp-session-id header; send it back on every subsequent call. tools/list / resources/list enumerate; tools/call (params: {name, arguments}) and resources/read (params: {uri}) invoke. The handler overrides Accept to the operation's output format, so a jsonld tool always responds JSON-LD regardless of use_symfony_listeners.

Laravel

• Config under mcp in config/api-platform.php; endpoint auto-registered at /mcp.
• Validation uses rules: (string/array/closure/FormRequest), not Symfony constraints.
• MongoDB is not supported for MCP.

Checklist

• api-platform/mcp + symfony/mcp-bundle installed, /mcp transport configured (Symfony)
• Tool class has a processor (write) or McpResource has a provider (read)
• operations: [] when the class is MCP-only (no HTTP routes)
• name: omitted inside mcp: array entries (the array key is the name)
• McpToolCollection (not McpTool) for list-returning tools
• structuredContent: false + CallToolResult when bypassing JSON serialization
• Nullable/union properties overridden with #[ApiProperty(schema: …)] if the LLM rejects them
• validate: true set explicitly where business constraints must run
• McpResource uri is unique and uses resource://