Archestra

Archestra is an AGPL-3.0 licensed enterprise MCP platform that provides a hybrid LLM gateway plus MCP orchestrator plus chat UI in one stack. Its distinguishing feature is that the orchestrator spawns each MCP server as an isolated Kubernetes pod, which provides strong process isolation but makes the platform effectively Kubernetes-dependent in practice.

Core capabilities

• LLM proxy over mainstream providers with routing and cost tracking.
• MCP orchestrator that spawns MCP servers as isolated Kubernetes pods with network policy enforcement.
• Built-in chat UI for end users to interact with LLMs and their available MCP tools.
• RBAC for users, teams, and MCP tool access.
• Audit logging of all tool invocations with configurable retention.
• SSO integration with OIDC providers.

License consideration

AGPL-3.0 is a strong copyleft license. Internal self-hosted use without redistribution does not trigger source-disclosure obligations, so private enterprise deployments are unencumbered. Exposing a modified version as a public or customer-facing network service triggers the AGPL network clause and requires source publication.

Deployment

Kubernetes-first. The orchestrator uses Kubernetes APIs to schedule MCP pods, which means Docker Swarm is not a supported target in practice — the "K8s-only" constraint is architectural, not packaging.

Limitations

• Kubernetes dependency is architectural rather than optional — Docker Swarm and single-VM deployments are not supported.
• AGPL-3.0 makes redistribution or SaaS rehosting legally complex.
• Young startup project — review commit velocity, issue response, and sustainability before relying on it for production.
• The hybrid LLM-plus-MCP-plus-chat scope is broad, which means each axis is less deep than a purpose-built tool (LiteLLM for LLM proxy, ContextForge for MCP, LibreChat for chat UI).
• Smaller community and ecosystem than better-known gateways.

When to pick it

Kubernetes-native teams that want a single vendor to cover LLM proxy, MCP orchestration, and chat UI under one roof, and that are comfortable with AGPL-3.0 for internal use. Not a fit for Docker Swarm or Docker-only deployments.