Prerequisites
Before you begin setting up MCP Fortress, ensure you have the following:
- A valid MCP Fortress account at
mcpfortress.com - API credentials from the Admin Dashboard
- Node.js 16+ or Python 3.8+
- Basic understanding of REST APIs and JSON
- Access to your identity provider (IdP) for SSO configuration
- Network connectivity to
gateway.mcpfortress.com
Setup Steps
-
1
Create an API Key
Generate an API key in your MCP Fortress Admin Dashboard under Settings → API Keys. Store this securely as you'll need it for all API requests.
export MCP_API_KEY="your_api_key_here" export MCP_GATEWAY="gateway.mcpfortress.com" -
2
Initialize Your Environment
Set up your development environment with the MCP Fortress SDK or direct HTTP calls.
npm install @mcpfortress/sdk # or pip install mcpfortress-sdk -
3
Authenticate with the Gateway
Establish your first connection to the MCP Fortress Gateway API.
const mcp = require('@mcpfortress/sdk'); const client = new mcp.Client({ apiKey: process.env.MCP_API_KEY, gateway: 'gateway.mcpfortress.com' }); client.connect(); -
4
Add Your First Connector
Connect your first external system (Slack, GitHub, Salesforce, etc.) using the Connector Setup wizard.
const connector = await client.connectors.create({ type: 'slack', name: 'Primary Workspace', credentials: { token: 'xoxb-...' } }); -
5
Configure Access Policies
Define who can access which connectors and what actions they can perform using policy rules.
const policy = await client.policies.create({ name: 'Engineering Team Policy', rules: [ { resource: 'slack:primary', actions: ['read', 'write'], subjects: ['role:engineer'] } ] }); -
6
Test Your Integration
Verify that your connector and policies are working correctly by making test requests.
const result = await client.test({ connector: 'slack:primary', action: 'postMessage', params: { channel: '#general', text: 'Testing MCP Fortress' } }); console.log(result); // { success: true, message_ts: '...' }
What Happens Behind the Scenes
When you initialize the MCP Fortress SDK and connect to the Gateway, several processes occur to ensure secure and authenticated access:
Your API key is validated against the Auth Service (auth.mcpfortress.com). Upon successful validation, you receive a temporary session token with a default 24-hour expiration. This token is used for subsequent API calls.
When you add a connector, MCP Fortress establishes a secure tunnel to the external service. Credentials are encrypted using AES-256 and stored in the Vault service. The connector then performs an initial health check to verify connectivity and permissions.
Every request is evaluated against your configured policies before reaching the connector. This includes role-based access control (RBAC), conditional rules, and PII redaction. Requests that fail policy evaluation are logged and rejected with a 403 Forbidden response.
All connector interactions are logged for compliance and debugging purposes. Logs include the user, connector, action, timestamp, and result status. Sensitive data is automatically redacted based on your PII redaction rules.