What is the purpose of mex endpoint in WCF?

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ICSM Computer · Answer

The MEX endpoint in WCF (Metadata Exchange) is used to 
expose service metadata—such as WSDL (Web Services Description Language)—to clients so they can discover and understand how to interact with the service.
Purpose of MEX Endpoint
Enables client generation tools (e.g., svcutil, Visual Studio Add Service Reference) to:
Retrieve WSDLGenerate proxy classesDiscover operations and data contracts
Supports metadata publishing over various protocols (HTTP, TCP, named pipes).Essential for interoperability—other systems or services can learn how to call your WCF service.
How to Enable a MEX Endpoint
1. Add to your service configuration
andlt;system.serviceModelandgt;
  andlt;servicesandgt;
    andlt;service name="MyNamespace.MyService"andgt;
      andlt;endpoint address="mex"
                binding="mexHttpBinding"
                contract="IMetadataExchange" /andgt;
      andlt;hostandgt;
        andlt;baseAddressesandgt;
          andlt;add baseAddress="http://localhost:8080/MyService" /andgt;
        andlt;/baseAddressesandgt;
      andlt;/hostandgt;
    andlt;/serviceandgt;
  andlt;/servicesandgt;
  andlt;behaviorsandgt;
    andlt;serviceBehaviorsandgt;
      andlt;behaviorandgt;
        andlt;serviceMetadata httpGetEnabled="true" /andgt;
        andlt;serviceDebug includeExceptionDetailInFaults="true" /andgt;
      andlt;/behaviorandgt;
    andlt;/serviceBehaviorsandgt;
  andlt;/behaviorsandgt;
andlt;/system.serviceModelandgt;
Bindings for MEX
Binding
Transport Protocol
mexHttpBinding
HTTP
mexTcpBinding
TCP
mexNamedPipeBinding
Named Pipes
Consuming a Service Using MEX
Tools like svcutil.exe or Visual Studio use the MEX endpoint to generate client proxies:
svcutil http://localhost:8080/MyService/mex
Summary
Aspect
Description
MEX
Metadata Exchange
Purpose
Expose WSDL and service contracts
Client usage
Helps tools auto-generate proxies
Common binding
mexHttpBinding
Requirement
Add MEX endpoint and enable metadata in behavior
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What is the purpose of mex endpoint in WCF?

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Purpose of MEX Endpoint

How to Enable a MEX Endpoint

1. Add to your service configuration

Bindings for MEX

Consuming a Service Using MEX

Summary

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Binding	Transport Protocol
`mexHttpBinding`	HTTP
`mexTcpBinding`	TCP
`mexNamedPipeBinding`	Named Pipes

Aspect	Description
MEX	Metadata Exchange
Purpose	Expose WSDL and service contracts
Client usage	Helps tools auto-generate proxies
Common binding	`mexHttpBinding`
Requirement	Add MEX endpoint and enable metadata in behavior