Built from a run recorded on 24 Sep 2026 against the live services.
-
Fixed tool surface
15 tools
what every client loads, whatever is switched on
tools/list on mcp.datailo.com
Recorded 24 Sep 2026
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Services behind it
3
66 tools, 29 playbooks
datailo_catalog,datailo_workflowsRecorded 24 Sep 2026
“Hub”, “gateway” and “proxy” are used loosely in MCP writing, often for the same product. They are worth keeping apart, because each answers a different question: how do I reach a server (proxy), how does my organisation control the servers its people use (gateway), and how do I, as one user, reach several services without managing each one (hub).
What is the difference?
| Proxy | Gateway | Hub | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who it is for | A client that cannot reach a server directly (a local client and a remote server, or the reverse) | An organisation running many MCP servers for many users | One person or team using several independent services |
| What it adds | Transport translation, sometimes auth | Central policy: which servers and tools are allowed, logging, credentials, rate limits | A catalogue, one sign-in, switching services on and off per account, a fixed tool surface |
| Tool list the model sees | The server’s own list | Usually the union of the allowed servers’ lists, sometimes filtered | The hub’s own small set; service tools are searched and called through it |
| Who runs it | The user or a developer | The organisation’s platform team | A provider, for its users |
These are our working definitions, not a standard; the MCP specification defines clients, servers and transports, not hubs or gateways. Many products combine two of the three.
What does a hub do? A recorded session
We recorded one on Datailo’s hub on 24 September 2026. The hub’s tool list is 15 tools, the same whatever is switched on. Behind it:
| Service | What it covers | Tools | Playbooks | Datasets |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avokata | Lithuanian statutes and court rulings | 27 | 8 | 4 |
| Victano | EU and national public tenders and grant calls | 22 | 13 | 18 |
| Rekvira | EU regulation text: AI Act, GDPR, DORA, NIS2, CRA | 17 | 8 | 5 |
The session, call by call:
datailo_cataloglisted the three services with their tool, playbook and dataset counts, read from each service’s own product card, in 65 ms. No account was needed for this step.datailo_describereturned Rekvira’s card, tagline “EU regulation pinpoints for compliance AI”, in 34 ms.datailo_enableswitched each service on for the signed-in account: Rekvira in 31 ms (it needs no account there), Victano in 276 ms and Avokata in 232 ms, each of which linked an account at the service under the same email.datailo_accountshowed the three service links.datailo_workflowslisted 29 playbooks across the services in 37 ms: the procedures each service publishes for its typical jobs.datailo_disableswitched Victano off in 211 ms. The reply, verbatim:
“The hub’s key for this service was revoked; your account and data at the service remain yours.”
That sentence is the design in one line. The hub holds identity and the links to each service. The data you create at a service (a saved tender decision, a legal matter) stays at that service, reachable directly at its own address even if the hub is down.
Which one do you need?
- One service you use every day: connect it directly. Every Datailo service keeps its own MCP address.
- A company that must control which MCP servers its staff connect to: a gateway, run by your platform team.
- Several specialist services for one job (a tender that needs the AI Act, a contract that needs DORA and national law): a hub, so the assistant sees one short tool list and you sign in once.
Related
- Multiple MCP servers or one endpoint: the tool-list cost, measured
- What is a remote MCP server?: the transport under all three
- Bidding on a public AI tender: a job that uses three services through the hub
The recorded run
What does an MCP hub do that a gateway or a proxy does not? Walk through a working one. Recorded 24 Sep 2026 through https://mcp.datailo.com/mcp; 10 calls, each with the time it took from our test machine.
Every call in the run (10)
datailo_connectemail=content-proof@example.test63 ms. sign-in started with an email addressdatailo_connect_verifyrequest_id=[redacted], code=[redacted]29 ms. signed in; the hub issued a key for the later callsdatailo_catalog65 ms. 3 servicesavokata27 tools, 8 playbooks, 4 datasetsvictano22 tools, 13 playbooks, 18 datasetsrekvira17 tools, 8 playbooks, 5 datasets
datailo_describeservice=rekvira34 ms. Rekvira's product card, read from rekvira.comtaglineEU regulation pinpoints for compliance AI
datailo_enableservice=victano276 ms. Victano switched on (partner)datailo_enableservice=rekvira31 ms. Rekvira switched on (keyless)datailo_enableservice=avokata232 ms. Avokata switched on (partner)datailo_account30 ms. 3 service links on the accountavokataNonevictanoNonerekviraNone
datailo_workflows37 ms. 29 playbooks across the servicesdatailo_disableservice=victano211 ms. {"service": "victano", "enabled": false, "note": "The hub's key for this service was revoked; your account and data at the service remain yours."}
Try it in your assistant
Add the address to your client (setup per client), then paste the prompt. Signing in takes an email code; the three services are free during the beta.
https://mcp.datailo.com/mcp Then say
Use Datailo: show me the catalogue with each service's datasets and dates, tell me which services are switched on for my account, then switch Victano off.