diff --git a/packages/mcp/env.ts b/packages/mcp/env.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2f62750
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/mcp/env.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+import { getLogger } from "@logtape/logtape";
+import type { ConsumerOptions } from "@cistern/consumer";
+
+export function collectOptions(): ConsumerOptions {
+  const logger = getLogger(["cistern", "mcp"]);
+  const handle = Deno.env.get("CISTERN_MCP_HANDLE");
+  const appPassword = Deno.env.get("CISTERN_MCP_APP_PASSWORD");
+
+  if (!handle || !appPassword) {
+    logger.error(
+      "CISTERN_MCP_HANDLE or CISTERN_MCP_APP_PASSWORD are not set in the environment",
+    );
+    return Deno.exit(1);
+  }
+
+  const privateKey = Deno.env.get("CISTERN_MCP_PRIVATE_KEY");
+  const publicKeyUri = Deno.env.get("CISTERN_MCP_PUBLIC_KEY_URI");
+
+  return {
+    appPassword,
+    handle,
+    keypair: privateKey && publicKeyUri
+      ? {
+        privateKey,
+        publicKey: publicKeyUri,
+      }
+      : undefined,
+  };
+}
diff --git a/packages/mcp/hono.ts b/packages/mcp/hono.ts
index 138166a..5094ad7 100644
--- a/packages/mcp/hono.ts
+++ b/packages/mcp/hono.ts
@@ -1,8 +1,10 @@
 import { Hono } from "hono";
 import { cors } from "hono/cors";
+import { createConsumer } from "@cistern/consumer";
 import { getLogger, withContext } from "@logtape/logtape";
 import { toFetchResponse, toReqRes } from "fetch-to-node";
 import { StreamableHTTPServerTransport } from "@modelcontextprotocol/sdk/server/streamableHttp.js";
+import { collectOptions } from "./env.ts";
 import { createServer } from "./server.ts";
 
 export function createApp() {
@@ -78,7 +80,9 @@ export function createApp() {
     } else {
       logger.info("creating new session {sessionId}", { sessionId });
 
-      const server = createServer();
+      const options = collectOptions();
+      const consumer = await createConsumer(options);
+      const server = createServer(consumer);
 
       session = new StreamableHTTPServerTransport({
         sessionIdGenerator: () => sessionId,
diff --git a/packages/mcp/index.ts b/packages/mcp/index.ts
index 3c314b4..0e9a0c3 100644
--- a/packages/mcp/index.ts
+++ b/packages/mcp/index.ts
@@ -1,10 +1,12 @@
 import { parseArgs } from "@std/cli";
+import { createConsumer } from "@cistern/consumer";
 import { AsyncLocalStorage } from "node:async_hooks";
 import { configure, getConsoleSink, getLogger } from "@logtape/logtape";
 import { StdioServerTransport } from "@modelcontextprotocol/sdk/server/stdio.js";
 
 import { createServer } from "./server.ts";
 import { createApp } from "./hono.ts";
+import { collectOptions } from "./env.ts";
 
 async function main() {
   await configure({
@@ -32,13 +34,18 @@ async function main() {
   if (!args.http) {
     logger.info("starting in stdio mode");
 
+    const options = collectOptions();
+    const consumer = await createConsumer(options);
     const transport = new StdioServerTransport();
-    const server = createServer();
+    const server = createServer(consumer);
 
     await server.connect(transport);
   } else {
     logger.info("starting in streamable HTTP mode");
 
+    // Validate environment before starting the server
+    collectOptions();
+
     const app = createApp();
 
     Deno.serve(
diff --git a/packages/mcp/server.ts b/packages/mcp/server.ts
index 18c9690..0884a39 100644
--- a/packages/mcp/server.ts
+++ b/packages/mcp/server.ts
@@ -1,8 +1,9 @@
 import { McpServer } from "@modelcontextprotocol/sdk/server/mcp.js";
 import { getLogger } from "@logtape/logtape";
 import { z } from "zod";
+import type { Consumer } from "@cistern/consumer";
 
-export function createServer() {
+export function createServer(consumer: Consumer) {
   const logger = getLogger("cistern-mcp");
   const server = new McpServer({
     name: "cistern-mcp",