How to Use the Cerbos (Access Control) MCP in Claude

Q: How do I connect Cerbos (Access Control) to Claude Desktop?

Open your claudedesktopconfig.json file and add the MCP server configuration under the mcpServers key. Once you restart Claude Desktop, the access control tools will show up under the hammer icon in your chat window.

Q: Can I test AuthZEN standards using this MCP Server setup?

Yes, the server includes authzenevaluation and authzenevaluations tools. You can ask your agent to run standardized compliance checks against your active policy set.

Get instant access control decisions and policy updates right inside Claude Desktop with this MCP Server.

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Connect Cerbos (Access Control) MCP to Claude Desktop

Create your Vinkius account to connect Cerbos (Access Control) to Claude Desktop and route execution through our secure gateway. The platform manages server hosting, runtime updates, and security layers. Configuration requires no manual server provisioning.

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Setup Cerbos (Access Control) with Claude Desktop

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Run quick policy checks inside Claude Desktop

When you are debugging access issues, you can ask Claude Desktop to run `check_resources` directly on your local Cerbos instance. Instead of writing curl commands or using postman, you just tell your AI client who is trying to do what, and it parses the policy logic for you. If the permission is blocked, you can immediately tell Claude to read the policy with `get_policy` to find the exact rule that stopped the action. It runs as a local subprocess on your machine, so your draft policies stay completely private on localhost.

Draft and update schemas without syntax errors

Writing YAML schemas for Cerbos by hand is tedious and prone to typos. With this MCP Server, Claude Desktop calls `add_schema` and `update_policy` to modify your auth setup while checking your work against the actual Cerbos compiler. You can ask your agent to validate your new resource definitions using `get_schema` before pushing to production. It handles the validation locally, meaning you catch structural errors before they break your application's permission layer.

Audit security decisions from your chat window

When an auditor asks why a specific user got access to a sensitive resource, you can have Claude Desktop pull the exact trail using `list_audit_logs`. You don't have to SSH into your servers or dig through raw JSON files in your terminal. The agent filters the raw logs, correlates them with `get_server_info`, and explains the decision path to you. It makes security reviews a conversational task rather than a database querying headache.

Setup guide

Set up Cerbos (Access Control) MCP in Claude Web or Desktop

1

Open Claude Settings

Go to claude.ai, click your profile icon, then navigate to Customize → Connectors.
2

Add Custom Connector

Click the "+" button and select Add custom connector. Paste your Vinkius endpoint URL: https://edge.vinkius.com/[YOUR_TOKEN_HERE]/mcp Replace [YOUR_TOKEN_HERE] with your token from cloud.vinkius.com. For OAuth-protected servers, expand Advanced settings to add credentials.
3

Start a conversation

Open a new chat. The Cerbos (Access Control) MCP tools are available immediately — no restart needed.

Endpoint URL

https://edge.vinkius.com/[YOUR_TOKEN_HERE]/mcp

No configuration file needed — paste the URL directly in the Claude web interface.

Available on Free (1 connector), Pro, Max, Team, and Enterprise plans.

Prerequisites

Claude Desktop installed (macOS or Windows)
Active Vinkius subscription with a valid endpoint token

1

Open Claude Desktop Settings

Click the menu icon at the top-left corner, go to Settings → Developer → Edit Config. This opens claude_desktop_config.json in your default text editor.
2

Paste the Cerbos (Access Control) MCP configuration

Copy the JSON snippet on the right into the mcpServers object. Replace [YOUR_TOKEN_HERE] with your endpoint token from cloud.vinkius.com.
3

Restart Claude Desktop

Close and reopen the application. Claude needs a full restart to load new MCPs — refreshing a conversation is not enough.
4

Verify the connection

Open a new conversation. Click the 🔌 icon at the bottom of the message input. You should see tools listed under cerbos-access-control-mcp.

json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "cerbos-access-control-mcp": {
      "url": "https://edge.vinkius.com/[YOUR_TOKEN_HERE]/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Get your connection token →

Independent Platform Disclaimer: Vinkius is an independent platform and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, sponsored by, verified by, or otherwise authorized by Cerbos. All third-party trademarks, logos, and brand names are the property of their respective owners. Their use on this website is strictly for informational purposes to identify service compatibility and interoperability.

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Common questions about Cerbos (Access Control) MCP in Claude Desktop

Open your claude_desktop_config.json file and add the MCP server configuration under the mcpServers key. Once you restart Claude Desktop, the access control tools will show up under the hammer icon in your chat window.

Yes, if you configure the server with write permissions, Claude Desktop can run `add_policy` and `update_policy` directly. It lets you modify rules on the fly during development without leaving your chat.

Yes, the configuration works exactly the same on Windows and macOS. You just edit the config file in your APPDATA folder to point to the local executable running the Cerbos tools.

Yes, the server includes `authzen_evaluation` and `authzen_evaluations` tools. You can ask your agent to run standardized compliance checks against your active policy set.

No, your YAML policies, schemas, and audit logs stay local. Vinkius runs the server in a secure sandbox, meaning Claude Desktop only processes the text outputs of tools like `get_policy` to answer your questions, keeping your raw security rules off third-party servers.

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