5 Ways to Secure Your QuickMCP Servers

Security isn't optional when you're exposing APIs to AI assistants. Here are five essential practices to secure your QuickMCP servers.

1. Use Path Filtering to Block Dangerous Endpoints

Never expose admin, debug, or destructive endpoints through MCP.

Block Patterns

quickmcp build config \
  --spec-url https://api.example.com/swagger.json \
  --exclude-paths "/admin/*,/internal/*,/debug/*,*/delete,*/remove" \
  --output-path ./secure-config.json

What This Blocks

• /admin/* - All admin operations
• /internal/* - Internal-only endpoints
• /debug/* - Debug and development endpoints
• */delete - Any DELETE operations
• */remove - Remove operations

Whitelist Approach

More restrictive - only allow specific paths:

quickmcp build config \
  --only-for-paths "/users/get,/posts/list,/search/*" \
  --output-path ./readonly-config.json

2. Never Hardcode Credentials

The Wrong Way

{
  "authentication": {
    "type": "Bearer",
    "token": "ghp_actual_secret_token_abc123"
  }
}

The Right Way

{
  "authentication": {
    "type": "Bearer",
    "token": "${GITHUB_TOKEN}"
  }
}

Then:

export GITHUB_TOKEN="ghp_your_token"
quickmcp serve --config-path ./config.json

For Claude Desktop

Add environment variables in the config:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "github": {
      "command": "quickmcp",
      "args": ["serve", "--config-path", "/path/to/config.json"],
      "env": {
        "GITHUB_TOKEN": "ghp_your_token_here"
      }
    }
  }
}

3. Implement Proper Authentication

Choose the strongest authentication method your API supports.

Security Ranking

1. OAuth 2.0 - Best for production
2. Bearer Token - Good for modern APIs
3. API Key - Acceptable for internal tools
4. Basic Auth - Use only for legacy systems
5. None - Only for truly public APIs

OAuth 2.0 Example

{
  "authentication": {
    "type": "OAuth2",
    "tokenUrl": "https://auth.company.com/oauth/token",
    "clientId": "${OAUTH_CLIENT_ID}",
    "clientSecret": "${OAUTH_CLIENT_SECRET}",
    "scopes": ["read"]
  }
}

Apply Least Privilege

Only request the scopes you need:

// Too permissive
"scopes": ["read", "write", "admin", "delete"]

// Better
"scopes": ["read"]

4. Monitor and Log Activity

Enable logging to track what your MCP server is doing.

Enable Logging

quickmcp serve --config-path ./config.json --logging

What to Monitor

• Authentication failures - Indicates brute force attempts
• Rate limit errors - API usage patterns
• Unusual endpoints - Unexpected access patterns
• Error rates - Potential issues or attacks

Log Analysis

Save logs and analyze them:

quickmcp serve --config-path ./config.json --logging > server.log 2>&1

Then search for issues:

# Find authentication failures
grep "auth failed" server.log

# Find rate limits
grep "rate limit" server.log

# Find errors
grep "error" server.log -i

5. Rotate Credentials Regularly

Set up a rotation schedule:

Rotation Schedule

Automation Script

Create a reminder:

# Add to crontab
0 0 1 * * echo "Time to rotate API credentials!" | mail -s "Security Reminder" you@example.com

Bonus: Rate Limiting Awareness

QuickMCP proxies requests to your API. Your API's rate limits still apply.

Check Rate Limits

Most APIs return rate limit info in headers:

X-RateLimit-Limit: 1000
X-RateLimit-Remaining: 999
X-RateLimit-Reset: 1640000000

Handle Rate Limits

If you hit rate limits frequently:

1. Use bulk endpoints instead of individual calls
2. Filter paths to exclude unnecessary endpoints
3. Implement caching at the MCP client level

Security Checklist

Before deploying a QuickMCP server to production:

• [ ] Path filtering configured to exclude admin/debug endpoints
• [ ] All credentials use environment variables
• [ ] Strongest available authentication method configured
• [ ] Logging enabled for monitoring
• [ ] Credential rotation schedule set
• [ ] Rate limits understood and documented
• [ ] Testing completed with real MCP clients
• [ ] Configuration file reviewed (no hardcoded secrets)

Common Security Mistakes

Mistake 1: Exposing Everything

Don't expose your entire API:

# Bad - exposes everything
quickmcp serve --spec-url https://api.example.com/swagger.json

# Good - filters dangerous paths
quickmcp build config \
  --spec-url https://api.example.com/swagger.json \
  --exclude-paths "/admin/*,/internal/*"

Mistake 2: Committing Secrets

Never commit configuration files with secrets to Git:

# Add to .gitignore
*.config.json
*-config.json
.env

Mistake 3: Using Weak Authentication

If your API supports OAuth 2.0, use it. Don't downgrade to API keys for convenience.

Testing Security

Test 1: Try Accessing Blocked Endpoints

# Start server with path filtering
quickmcp serve --config-path ./filtered-config.json --logging

# Try to call blocked endpoint through MCP client
# Should fail or not appear in available tools

Test 2: Verify Authentication

# Remove auth from config temporarily
# Server should fail to connect to API

Test 3: Check Logs

quickmcp serve --config-path ./config.json --logging

# Verify logs show:
# - Authentication headers (sanitized)
# - Request/response info
# - No exposed secrets

Incident Response

If you suspect a security issue:

1. Immediately stop the MCP server
2. Rotate all credentials
3. Review logs for unauthorized access
4. Update path filters if needed
5. Test before redeploying

Resources

• OWASP API Security Top 10
• QuickMCP Authentication Guide
• Path Filtering Documentation

Security is an ongoing process, not a one-time setup. Review these practices regularly and stay vigilant.