StrongDM MCP Gateway – Secure AI Agent Access
StrongDM MCP Gateway is a managed resource type that places StrongDM in front of streamable HTTP MCP servers. It lets organizations apply StrongDM authentication, access policies, credential management, and audit trails to MCP tool invocation from supported desktop AI agents.
Overview
StrongDM MCP Gateway is a StrongDM datasource resource for proxying Model Context Protocol servers through the StrongDM access plane. Instead of allowing desktop AI agents to connect directly to every MCP endpoint, an administrator creates an MCP Gateway resource that routes traffic through a StrongDM node, such as a gateway, relay, or proxy cluster. StrongDM then mediates the connection based on the user or principal that is making the request.
What the MCP server enables
The gateway is designed for governed access to existing MCP servers, not for replacing the upstream server's tools. It can place centralized authentication, authorization, credential handling, and audit controls in front of tools exposed by services such as GitHub or other streamable HTTP MCP endpoints. StrongDM documents three MCP Gateway resource types: OAuth, Personal Access Token, and NoAuth. The OAuth type can also provide Dynamic Client Registration support for clients and upstream servers that otherwise cannot complete the expected OAuth flow directly.
When to use it
Use StrongDM MCP Gateway when AI agents need access to sensitive MCP-backed systems and the organization needs the same access governance it applies to infrastructure and data resources. Practical use cases include desktop AI agent orchestration, central control over which users and roles may invoke MCP capabilities, and compliance workflows that require an audit log of tool calls. It is especially useful when several teams need a consistent control plane rather than configuring permissions separately for each MCP server.
Connection and authentication
StrongDM supports MCP-over-HTTP gatewaying for streamable HTTP MCP servers. Local stdio MCP servers started as child processes are not supported by the MCP Gateway resource. Administrators configure a reachable upstream MCP Server URL and choose the resource type that matches the upstream authentication model: OAuth, PAT, or NoAuth. OAuth configuration requires an OAuth client ID, client secret, authorization endpoint, token endpoint, and optional scopes. PAT configuration requires an access token. Credentials are stored by StrongDM or in a configured external secret store.
Key considerations
The StrongDM node must be able to reach the upstream MCP server hostname and port, and StrongDM CLI version 53.66.0 or newer is documented as a requirement. Each MCP Gateway resource proxies a single upstream MCP server hostname, so multiple upstream servers require separate resources. Tool-level restrictions require additional policy configuration; simply creating the resource does not automatically deny individual tool actions.
Supported Transports
streamable_http
URL: http://127.0.0.1:${STRONGDM_MCP_GATEWAY_PORT}
Frequently Asked Questions
- When should an AI agent use StrongDM MCP Gateway?
- An AI agent should use StrongDM MCP Gateway when an organization wants agent access to upstream MCP servers to pass through StrongDM authentication, access policies, and auditing rather than connecting directly to each MCP endpoint.
- What does StrongDM MCP Gateway add to an AI agent's capabilities?
- It does not create the upstream MCP tools itself; it adds a governed access layer so desktop AI agents can invoke tools from streamable HTTP MCP servers through StrongDM with centralized credential handling and auditability.
- What can the AI agent access or manage through this gateway?
- The agent can access the tools exposed by the configured upstream MCP server, subject to StrongDM resource access and any additional policy configuration. Each StrongDM MCP Gateway resource maps to one upstream MCP server hostname.
- How is authentication configured for StrongDM MCP Gateway?
- Administrators choose one of the documented resource types: OAuth, Personal Access Token, or NoAuth. OAuth requires client credentials and authorization and token endpoints; PAT requires an access token; NoAuth is for upstream servers protected by network or other access controls.
- Which transport should be used for StrongDM MCP Gateway?
- Use streamable HTTP through the local StrongDM-assigned address and port after connecting to the MCP Gateway resource. StrongDM documents MCP-over-HTTP support for this resource type and explicitly does not support local stdio-based MCP servers.