Camel MCP — Camel-Kit

The Camel MCP server provides AI agents with real-time access to the Apache Camel component catalog — verifying that components, EIPs, data formats, and expression languages actually exist in the target Camel version before they appear in any design or code.

This is the enforcement mechanism for Iron Law 1: MCP Catalog Verification.

How It Runs

The Camel MCP is the official Apache Camel JBang MCP server (camel-jbang-mcp), launched automatically when camel-kit init configures the project:

{
  "camel": {
    "command": "jbang",
    "args": [
      "org.apache.camel:camel-jbang-mcp:{version}:runner"
    ]
  }
}

It runs as a local process — no external API calls, no cloud dependencies. The catalog data comes from the Apache Camel release artifacts on Maven Central.

15 MCP Tools

Component Tools

Catalog lookup for Apache Camel components:

Tool	Purpose
`camel_catalog_component`	Get a specific component by name
`camel_catalog_components`	List all available components
`camel_catalog_component_doc`	Get full component documentation

Example:

camel_catalog_component(name="kafka")
→ URI syntax, producer/consumer options, default values

Used during /camel-brainstorm to verify every component mentioned in the design interview.

EIP Tools

Enterprise Integration Pattern lookup:

Tool	Purpose
`camel_catalog_eip`	Get a specific EIP by name
`camel_catalog_eips`	List all available EIPs
`camel_catalog_eip_doc`	Get full EIP documentation

Example:

camel_catalog_eip(name="choice")
→ YAML DSL syntax, when/otherwise structure, examples

Used to verify patterns like choice, split, aggregate, multicast exist in the target version.

Data Format Tools

Data format verification:

Tool	Purpose
`camel_catalog_dataformat`	Get a specific data format
`camel_catalog_dataformats`	List all data formats
`camel_catalog_dataformat_doc`	Get full data format docs

Example:

camel_catalog_dataformat(name="jackson")
→ Marshal/unmarshal options, objectMapper config, prettyPrint

Covers JSON (Jackson), XML (JAXB), CSV, Avro, Protobuf, and more.

Language Tools

Expression language verification:

Tool	Purpose
`camel_catalog_language`	Get a specific language
`camel_catalog_languages`	List all languages
`camel_catalog_language_doc`	Get full language docs

Example:

camel_catalog_language(name="simple")
→ Simple expression syntax, operators, functions

Covers Simple, JSONPath, XPath, Header, Constant, and more.

Validation & Analysis

Route validation and security hardening:

Tool	Purpose
`camel_validate_route`	Validate YAML route syntax and structure
`camel_route_context`	Analyze route for test strategy
`camel_route_harden_context`	Security analysis and hardening suggestions

Example:

camel_validate_route(yaml="- route:\n    id: my-route\n    ...")
→ Syntax OK, components verified, properties valid

Used by /camel-execute during spec compliance review and by /camel-validate for standalone validation.

How Camel-Kit Uses It

Without MCP

The AI generates component names from training data:

- route:
    from:
      uri: "camel-superqueue:orders"  # ← hallucinated
      steps:
        - to: "camel-fastdb:customers"  # ← doesn't exist

Components may be renamed, removed, or have different options between Camel versions. Training data can be months or years outdated.

With MCP

Every component is verified before it enters the design or code:

AI: User mentioned "message queue"
    → camel_catalog_component(name="jms") ✓ exists
    → camel_catalog_component(name="amqp") ✓ exists
    → camel_catalog_component(name="kafka") ✓ exists
    
AI: "Which messaging system? JMS, AMQP, or Kafka?"

If a component doesn’t exist, the AI asks for clarification instead of guessing.

Configuration

camel-kit init generates MCP configuration per agent:

Agent	Config File	Format
Claude Code	`.mcp.json`	JSON with `mcpServers`
IBM Bob	`.bob/mcp.json`	JSON
Gemini CLI	`.gemini/settings.json`	JSON
Qwen	`.qwen/settings.json`	JSON
OpenCode	`opencode.json`	JSON

All configurations point to the same JBang-launched Camel MCP server — same tools, same catalog, different config file format.

Version Alignment

The Camel MCP server version matches the target Camel version:

Property	Current Value
Camel MCP version	`4.20.0`
Camel Main default	`4.20.0`
Camel Spring Boot	`4.20.0`
Camel Quarkus	`4.18.0`

When the user specifies a different Camel version via camel-kit init -p camelVersion=4.14.0, the MCP server loads the catalog for that specific version.

Next Steps

Knowledge MCP — Documentation search (hybrid semantic search)
Architecture Overview — Four-layer architecture
Skills System — How skills invoke MCP tools