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Connections

Connections are encrypted credential vaults for upstream MCP servers. Instead of putting real API keys in your code, you create a connection in Igris that stores the credential securely and gives you a clean gateway URL.

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How Connections Work

Without connections:
  Your app → real upstream credential in code → MCP server

With connections:
  Your app → Igris API key only → Igris Gateway → injects real credential → MCP server
Benefits:
  • Real credentials never leave Igris — encrypted at rest with AES-256-GCM
  • Rotate credentials instantly without changing any code
  • Revoke access by disabling the connection
  • Full audit trail of every request per connection

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Create a Connection

In the dashboard: Governance → Connections → New Connection Or via API: 
curl -X POST https://api.igrisecurity.com/api/v1/connections \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer ig_..." \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "slug": "github-prod",
    "name": "GitHub Production",
    "upstreamUrl": "https://mcp.github.com",
    "authType": "bearer",
    "credential": "ghp_your_github_token"
  }'
The credential is encrypted and stored. It will never be returned in any API response.

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Auth Types

Connections support eight authentication types for upstream credential injection:
Auth TypeBehavior
bearerInjects credential as Authorization: Bearer <credential> (default)
headerInjects credential as a raw header value with a custom header name (requires authHeaderName)
noneNo credential injection — upstream doesn’t require auth
oauthOAuth 2.0 client credentials flow — credential is the client secret, fetches access tokens automatically
mtlsMutual TLS — credential is the client private key (PEM); requires a client certificate
azureAzure Managed Identity / Entra workload identity token injection
awsAWS SigV4 signing — credential is ACCESS_KEY_ID:SECRET_ACCESS_KEY
gcpGCP service account token injection — credential is a service account JSON key

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Custom Auth Headers

Some MCP servers expect credentials in a non-standard header. Use authType: "header" with authHeaderName: 
curl -X POST https://api.igrisecurity.com/api/v1/connections \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer ig_..." \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "slug": "custom-api",
    "name": "Custom API",
    "upstreamUrl": "https://my-api.example.com/mcp",
    "authType": "header",
    "authHeaderName": "X-API-Key",
    "credential": "sk_my_secret_key"
  }'
This injects the credential as X-API-Key: sk_my_secret_key to the upstream server.

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Use a Connection

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With the SDK

const config = igris.connectHttp("github-prod", {
  user: "alice@company.com",
  metadata: { role: "developer" },
});

// config.baseUrl = "https://api.igrisecurity.com/v1/mcp/github-prod"
// config.apiKey  = "ig_..."   (set as Authorization: Bearer when calling the gateway)
// config.headers = { "X-Igris-Trace-Id": "...", "X-Igris-User": "...", "X-Igris-Metadata": "..." }

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Direct MCP Client Config

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "github": {
      "url": "https://api.igrisecurity.com/v1/mcp/github-prod",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer ig_your_api_key"
      }
    }
  }
}

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Credential Injection

When the gateway receives a request, it:
  1. Strips your Igris API key (never forwarded upstream)
  2. Decrypts the connection’s credential
  3. Injects it using the configured auth type:
    • bearer: Authorization: Bearer <credential>
    • header: <authHeaderName>: <credential>
    • none: no credential injected
The upstream server only sees its own credential. Your users only see the Igris API key.

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Rotate Credentials

Update a credential without changing any SDK configs: 
curl -X POST https://api.igrisecurity.com/api/v1/connections/github-prod/rotate \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer ig_..." \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{ "credential": "ghp_new_token_here" }'
All requests immediately use the new credential. Zero downtime.

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Slug Format

Connection slugs must be:
  • Lowercase letters, numbers, underscores, hyphens
  • 3-64 characters
  • Start with a letter or number
Examples: github-prod, slack-mcp, analytics01