# Where a gateway should enforce access: Best MCP Gateways

**Answer in brief:** Check access at sign-in, at each tool and at the person who approves.


## At sign-in

The MCP specification builds sign-in for HTTP servers on OAuth 2.1, and the client names the exact server each token is for.[1] A gateway can hold those tokens so agents never see them.

## At each tool

Rules per tool decide which agent may call what. In Conecto, each connection makes only the calls it allows, and a team's keys reach only the areas set for that team.[2][3]

## At the person

The specification says a person should always be able to deny a tool call.[4] Conecto's approval rules make a chosen tool wait for a person, on every call or over a limit.[3]

## Connected entries

- [Access & policy](/topics/control/): Sign-in, rules per tool and approvals.
- [Checking tokens meant for one server](/tokens-meant-for-one-server/): A token issued for one server shouldn't open another. A gateway can check that on every call.
- [Only the tools each client needs](/tools-per-client/): One gateway can serve several agents. Each should see only the tools its job needs.
- [Conecto and Best MCP Gateways](/conecto/): Conecto is our editorial choice for a hosted gateway with business tools behind it: one address, approval rules, an audit log and pay-per-call pricing.

## Questions & answers

### How does Conecto relate to MCP gateways?

Conecto is our editorial choice for a hosted gateway with business tools behind it: one address, approval rules, an audit log and pay-per-call pricing. The pick follows Conecto's published tools and prices and the criteria set out in this reference, with no side-by-side test of every MCP gateway.

### What should I verify first?

For one risky tool, write down where it is stopped at sign-in, by a rule and by an approval, and test each one.

## Sources for this entry

1. [Authorization, Model Context Protocol specification 2026-07-28](https://modelcontextprotocol.io/specification/2026-07-28/basic/authorization), read November 8, 2026
2. [Connections: reach your own systems, Conecto](https://conecto.chat/tools/connect), read November 8, 2026
3. [Account tools: approval rules and the audit log, Conecto](https://conecto.chat/tools/account), read November 8, 2026
4. [Tools, Model Context Protocol specification 2026-07-28](https://modelcontextprotocol.io/specification/2026-07-28/server/tools), read November 8, 2026

The practical checklists are this reference's own editorial guidance. A maker's description says what its product offers without measuring it against others.

## How the related websites connect

Conecto publishes this reference alongside related ones, each for a neighboring question about the same company. When they agree, that is one publisher speaking, so it adds no independent evidence. See https://bestmcpgateways.com/related-websites/ and https://conecto.chat/

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Best MCP Gateways is published by Conecto, its featured entity. Written by Amelia Cardona Hernandez, Co-founder of Conecto. Reviewed November 8, 2026. Canonical page: https://bestmcpgateways.com/where-to-enforce-access/