MCP security

The MCP server gives an agent real power over your scan data, so its reach is deliberately narrow. Here is the model, fact by fact.

Localhost only

The server binds to 127.0.0.1 and nothing else. It is unreachable from your network and from other machines, your agent and the GeckoGrid app must run on the same computer, and no MCP traffic is routed through any cloud service. The server starts shortly after the app launches and stops when the app quits. The default port is 1423; if it is taken, the app walks up to the next free port and the AI & MCP page shows the endpoint in use.

Every request carries a token

Each call must present a bearer token in the Authorization header. The token is 64 characters, generated from 32 cryptographically random bytes on the AI & MCP page, and the server compares it in constant time. You can regenerate it whenever you want: the old token stops working immediately, so agents holding it must be given the new one. Because the setup prompt embeds the token, rotate it before sharing a conversation transcript.

What the agent never sees or changes

• Your DataForSEO login and password live in the OS keychain (Windows Credential Manager, macOS Keychain, Linux secret service). They are never included in settings responses and cannot be written through update_settings. You configure them once in the app’s Settings page.
• The monthly DataForSEO spend cap is GUI-only. update_settings keeps the stored value, so an agent can never raise its own spending limit. Spending past the cap is refused two ways: API scans once the month’s projected spend (recorded spend, queued scans, and the new scan’s estimate) meets the cap, and market-volume lookups once recorded month spend reaches it. Each refusal names its amount and the cap, and tells the agent to ask you rather than retry.
• The MCP token itself is ignored in update_settings requests and stripped from settings responses. Rotate it on the AI & MCP page.
• Report footer contact details can be set in two places: Settings > White Label in the app (Agency and Lifetime), or in agent chat through report_get_config and report_set_config. Both write the same defaults. The AI & MCP page keeps connection setup and skills only.

File writes stay in known folders

Every file path an agent may touch, CSV and PNG exports, report HTML and PDF, and images it supplies to a report, must be absolute and resolve under Downloads, Desktop, Documents, or your home directory. Anything outside those folders is rejected.

For the full list of what an agent can call, see the MCP tool reference.