> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.oriant.app/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# MCP gateway or direct connections

> What changes when your people's AI clients reach MCP servers through a gateway instead of connecting straight to them.

When someone connects Claude Code or Cursor straight to an MCP server, the AI acts in that system as them. That works. What's missing is everything the company needs around it: a record, a say in which tools are used, and a way to stop it.

A gateway sits in the middle. The AI client connects to the gateway, and the gateway connects to the server.

Route

Claude Code

Linear

<ul />

## Side by side

| | Direct | Through Oriant |
| - | - | - |
| Who the call acted for | Only the server's own logs, if any | Every call, with the member and AI client |
| Which tools people may use | Whatever their account allows | Decided per team by [MCP Policies](https://docs.oriant.app/mcp-gateway/policies.md) |
| Limits on arguments | None | [Argument rules](https://docs.oriant.app/mcp-gateway/argument-rules.md), such as one Linear team |
| Server tokens | Stored in each AI client | Stored encrypted by Oriant, never handed to the AI client |
| Removing access | Revoke in every server, per person | Remove the connection, or change the policy |
| If the gateway is down | Not affected | Calls stop. A call that can't be recorded isn't sent |

## When direct is fine

One person, a personal account, no company data. Then the server's own permissions are enough.

## When a gateway makes sense

People use AI on company systems: tickets, customer data, cloud accounts. You need to answer "what did AI do, and for whom?", and you want read and write to differ from team to team.

## What a gateway can't do

It only sees calls that go through it. Someone can still add a server straight to their own config. The [endpoint agent](https://docs.oriant.app/endpoint-agent/device-scan.md) finds those on each machine, so you know who to move over.


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