MCP Server Authentication

A platform team deployed 5 AI agents connected to Scavio MCP. Each agent got a unique API key stored in AWS Secrets Manager. When one key was accidentally exposed in a log file, they rotated that single key without affecting the other 4 agents. Monthly cost: $30/month plan shared across all agents.

MCP Server Authentication is relevant to Google, Amazon, YouTube, Walmart, Reddit, TikTok. Scavio provides a unified API to access data from all of these platforms.

When AI agents connect to MCP servers, authentication prevents unauthorized access. The standard pattern is Bearer token authentication: the agent includes an Authorization header with a token that the MCP server validates. For Scavio's MCP server (mcp.scavio.dev/mcp), authentication uses the same API key as the REST API, passed as a Bearer token. Configuration in Claude Desktop, Cursor, or other MCP clients stores the token in the client config file. The security concern: most MCP configurations store API keys in plaintext JSON config files. In development, this is acceptable. In production, best practices include: storing keys in environment variables (SCAVIO_API_KEY) rather than config files, using secret management services (AWS Secrets Manager, HashiCorp Vault) for rotation, implementing per-agent API keys so compromised keys have limited blast radius, and monitoring query logs for anomalous usage patterns. For teams with multiple agents, create separate API keys per agent to enable per-agent billing tracking and independent key rotation. If one agent's key is compromised, revoke it without disrupting other agents. Cost implication: Scavio's free tier (250 credits/month) is ideal for development and testing authentication flows before committing to the $30/month production plan (7K credits).