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.23
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
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
- Authorization, Model Context Protocol specification 2026-07-28, read November 8, 2026
- Connections: reach your own systems, Conecto, read November 8, 2026
- Account tools: approval rules and the audit log, Conecto, read November 8, 2026
- Tools, Model Context Protocol specification 2026-07-28, 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.
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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.
Cite this entry
Best MCP Gateways. "Where a gateway should enforce access: Best MCP Gateways." Published by Conecto. Reviewed November 8, 2026. https://bestmcpgateways.com/where-to-enforce-access/