Skip to content

Host configuration

Each developer declares the shared MCP server in their host (VS Code, Claude…). The server must already be running: see Deploying the server.

HTTP transport

For a shared server, started with serve --transport streamable-http, the host connects to the /mcp endpoint instead of starting a process. If authentication is enabled, it sends the token in the Authorization: Bearer <token> header (token generation, TLS and server start: see HTTP server, authentication and TLS).

.vscode/mcp.json, with a token asked to the user at first start:

{
  "servers": {
    "security-review": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://secreview.example.internal:8443/mcp",
      "headers": { "Authorization": "Bearer ${input:secreview-token}" }
    }
  },
  "inputs": [
    { "id": "secreview-token", "type": "promptString", "description": "Token", "password": true }
  ]
}

VS Code now prefers the .mcp.json file at the root of the repository and marks .vscode/mcp.json as deprecated, but still reads it. Keep it for a server with a token: in .mcp.json, VS Code does not substitute variables yet (neither ${input:...} nor environment variables), and the token would have to be written in clear.

.mcp.json, with the token read from the SECURITY_REVIEW_TOKEN environment variable of the workstation (client side, distinct from the SECREVIEW_* settings of the server). :- gives an empty value while the variable does not exist, which allows the enrollment:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "security-review": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://secreview.example.internal:8443/mcp",
      "headers": { "Authorization": "Bearer ${SECURITY_REVIEW_TOKEN:-}" }
    }
  }
}

Without authentication (local server on 127.0.0.1, or authentication handled by a reverse proxy), VS Code, GitHub Copilot and Claude share the same .mcp.json file at the root of the repository, without headers:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "security-review": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "http://127.0.0.1:8000/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Tip

Never write the token in clear in a versioned configuration file: use an input (${input:...}) or an environment variable.

Getting a token

On a shared server that requires a token, you use a personal MCP token, created in the web interface. You do not need to ask an administrator for it before you start: configure the host as above, without a token, and run your first review. The agent requests the project, then tells you where to create your token (see enrollment).

  1. Configure the host without a token. With the examples of the HTTP transport section, leave the token input empty (VS Code) or do not set SECURITY_REVIEW_TOKEN (Claude). A missing header or an empty Bearer leads to the enrollment server, which has the same security-review name.

  2. Run a review, for example the security-review prompt. Instead of reading the code, the agent calls the request_enrollment tool with the project name (usually the repository name): a new project waits for an administrator to approve it, and no token is returned:

    {
  "project": "shop-api",
  "web_url": "https://secreview.example.internal/ui",
  "next_steps": "No token is created by the enrollment. Ask the user to sign in to …"
}

    Without an agent, enroll from the command line:

    security-review-mcp enroll --url https://secreview.example.internal:8443 \
    --project shop-api --requested-by "alice (shop team)"

  3. Create your personal MCP token: sign in to the web interface (web_url), open My account > Personal tokens and create a token with the MCP usage (see personal MCP tokens; your groups need the mcp-user role). It is shown only once.

  4. Store the token in the host, then restart the MCP server in the host:

    If the input was already remembered empty, run the MCP: Reset Cached Inputs command, then restart the security-review server (MCP: List Servers command): VS Code asks for the token again, paste it. It is kept in the secure storage of VS Code.

    Set the variable before starting Claude, for example in the shell profile:

    export SECURITY_REVIEW_TOKEN='Zq3…'

  5. Get access to the project. The token reaches the projects your account may read: ask an administrator to approve the project (Projects screen) and to add you to its group project:<project> (an approved project has no member). Access applies at once: run the review again, without reconfiguring anything.

When the server refuses the token (unknown, revoked or expired), the host gets 401 with a message that tells you to sign in to the web interface again and create a new personal MCP token: replace it in the host as in step 4 (see rejected token).

Note

If the administrator disabled the enrollment (SECREVIEW_ENROLLMENT=false), a host without a token gets 401: create your personal MCP token in the web interface directly, and ask an administrator to create the project if it is new.

Other cases

Next step: run your first review with the prompts and tools.