Bastion – run each MCP server once, for every client on your Mac
Menu-bar app that runs each MCP server once for every editor, not once per client
Bastion is a macOS menu-bar app that supervises MCP servers so Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code and Terminal share one running process per profile instead of each spawning its own — one measured case dropped 6 processes and 3.5GB of memory for three configured servers down to one child process. Credentials move out of plaintext .mcp.json files into the Keychain, and every tool call gets recorded for an activity log. It costs $14.99 after a 30-minute trial, requires macOS 26+, and works over loopback only.
What holds up
- +Moves credentials out of plaintext .mcp.json files into the Keychain
- +Cites real measured savings — one case went from 5.7GB across 60 subprocesses to one child process
- +Records every tool call for an audit log across all connected clients
- +Links to the actual upstream GitHub issues it says were closed "not planned"
Mind the limits
- −macOS 26 or later required — no Windows, Linux, or older macOS support
- −$14.99 after only a 30-minute trial, not a longer evaluation window
- −Loopback only, so it doesn't help with MCP servers run on remote machines
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