Compatible with every major AI agent and IDE
What is the Cerbos (Access Control) MCP Server?
Connect your Cerbos instance to any AI agent to streamline authorization management and policy auditing through natural language.
What you can do
- Permission Checks — Use
check_resourcesto evaluate if a principal (user) has the rights to perform specific actions on resources. - Query Planning — Generate AST query plans with
plan_resourcesto filter database results based on complex authorization logic. - Policy Management — List, retrieve, add, or delete policies (RBAC/ABAC) using the Admin API tools like
list_policiesandadd_policy. - Schema & Auditing — Inspect resource schemas and review access logs with
list_auditLogsto ensure compliance. - Health & Metrics — Monitor your PDP (Policy Decision Point) status with
get_healthandget_metricsdirectly from the chat.
How it works
- Subscribe to this server
- Enter your Cerbos PDP URL and Admin credentials (if required for policy management)
- Start auditing and managing your access control logic from Claude, Cursor, or any MCP client
Who is this for?
- Security Engineers — quickly audit existing policies and verify permission logic without manual API calls
- Backend Developers — test authorization scenarios and generate database filter plans during development
- Compliance Officers — retrieve audit logs and policy definitions to ensure organizational security standards
Built-in capabilities (19)
Add a new policy
Add or update a schema
Perform a single AuthZEN access evaluation
Perform batch AuthZEN access evaluations
Check permissions for a set of resources
Delete a policy by ID
Disable a policy
Enable a policy
Get AuthZEN configuration metadata
Get Cerbos health status
Get Prometheus metrics from Cerbos
Get a specific policy by ID
Get a specific schema by ID
Get Cerbos server version and build information
List audit logs
List all policies
List all schemas
Produce a query plan (AST) for filtering resources
Update an existing policy
Why Windsurf?
Windsurf's Cascade agent chains multiple Cerbos (Access Control) tool calls autonomously. query data, analyze results, and generate code in a single agentic session. Paste Vinkius Edge URL, reload, and all 19 tools are immediately available. Real-time tool feedback appears inline, so you see API responses directly in your editor.
- —
Windsurf's Cascade agent autonomously chains multiple tool calls in sequence, solving complex multi-step tasks without manual intervention
- —
Purpose-built for agentic workflows. Cascade understands context across your entire codebase and integrates MCP tools natively
- —
JSON-based configuration means zero code changes: paste a URL, reload, and all 19 tools are immediately available
- —
Real-time tool feedback is displayed inline, so you see API responses directly in your editor without switching contexts
Cerbos (Access Control) in Windsurf
Cerbos (Access Control) and 4,000+ other MCP servers. One platform. One governance layer.
Teams that connect Cerbos (Access Control) to Windsurf through Vinkius don't need to source, host, or maintain individual MCP servers. Every tool call runs inside a hardened runtime with credential isolation, DLP, and a signed audit chain.
Raw MCP | Vinkius | |
|---|---|---|
| Server catalog | Find and host yourself | 4,000+ managed |
| Infrastructure | Self-hosted | Sandboxed V8 isolates |
| Credential handling | Plaintext in config | Vault + runtime injection |
| Data loss prevention | None | Configurable DLP policies |
| Kill switch | None | Global instant shutdown |
| Financial circuit breakers | None | Per-server limits + alerts |
| Audit trail | None | Ed25519 signed logs |
| SIEM log streaming | None | Splunk, Datadog, Webhook |
| Honeytokens | None | Canary alerts on leak |
| Custom domains | Not applicable | DNS challenge verified |
| GDPR compliance | Manual effort | Automated purge + export |
Why teams choose Vinkius for Cerbos (Access Control) in Windsurf
The Cerbos (Access Control) MCP Server runs on Vinkius-managed infrastructure inside AWS — a purpose-built runtime with per-request V8 isolates, Ed25519 signed audit chains, and sub-40ms cold starts. All 19 tools execute in hardened sandboxes optimized for native MCP execution.
Your AI agents in Windsurf only access the data you authorize, with DLP that blocks sensitive information from ever reaching the model, kill switch for instant shutdown, and up to 60% token savings. Enterprise-grade infrastructure, zero maintenance.

* Every MCP server runs on Vinkius-managed infrastructure inside AWS - a purpose-built runtime with per-request V8 isolates, Ed25519 signed audit chains, and sub-40ms cold starts optimized for native MCP execution. See our infrastructure
How Vinkius secures
Cerbos (Access Control) for Windsurf
Every tool call from Windsurf to the Cerbos (Access Control) MCP Server is protected by DLP redaction, cryptographic audit chains, V8 sandbox isolation, kill switch, and financial circuit breakers.
Frequently asked questions
Can I test if a specific user has access to a resource without writing code?
Yes. You can ask the agent to use the check_resources tool by providing the principal (user) details and the resource you want to check. The agent will return the allowed or denied status based on your Cerbos policies.
How do I view all the authorization policies currently loaded in my Cerbos server?
Simply ask the agent to 'list all policies'. It will invoke the list_policies tool (requires Admin credentials) and display the IDs of all active policies in your environment.
Can the AI help me generate filters for my database based on permissions?
Yes, by using the plan_resources tool. The agent will generate a query plan (AST) that describes the conditions under which a user is allowed to access resources, which you can then apply to your database queries.
How does Windsurf discover MCP tools?
Windsurf reads the mcp_config.json file on startup and connects to each configured server via Streamable HTTP. Tools are listed in the MCP panel and available to Cascade automatically.
Can Cascade chain multiple MCP tool calls?
Yes. Cascade is an agentic system. it can plan and execute multi-step workflows, calling several tools in sequence to accomplish complex tasks without manual prompting between steps.
Does Windsurf support multiple MCP servers?
Yes. Add as many servers as needed in mcp_config.json. Each server's tools appear in the MCP panel and Cascade can use tools from different servers in a single flow.
Server not connecting
Check Settings → MCP for the server status. Try toggling it off and on.
Explore More MCP Servers
View all →
Autobound
12 toolsWrite hyper-personalized sales emails in seconds using AI that researches prospects and crafts messages that get replies.

Better Stack
10 toolsMonitor uptime and incidents via Better Stack — list monitors, heartbeats, and on-call schedules directly from any AI agent.

Customer.io
12 toolsSend behavior-driven emails, push notifications, and in-app messages triggered by what your users actually do in your product.

Concord CLM
10 toolsEnable your AI agent to manage contracts, send documents for signature, and track agreement statuses via the Concord CLM API.
