Controlling Tool Access
DataGrail Model Context Protocal (MCP) product must be enabled for your organization. Please contact your account manager to enable the MCP product.
The MCP Tool Access settings page allows administrators to manage how users in your organization interact with Vera through external MCP clients such as Claude Desktop, Cursor, and other compatible tools.
To access these settings, navigate to Settings > MCP Tool Access in your DataGrail dashboard.
External MCP Access Toggle
At the top of the page, the External MCP Access toggle controls whether users in your organization can connect external MCP clients via OAuth.
- Enabled (default when the MCP product is active): Users can connect external MCP clients and authorize them to interact with Vera on their behalf.
- Disabled: All external MCP access is immediately revoked. Existing OAuth connections are terminated, new client registrations are blocked, and the OAuth consent screen displays an error message.
Use this toggle as an emergency control if you need to immediately revoke all external MCP access across your organization. This does not affect users accessing Vera through the DataGrail web interface or Slack integration — only external MCP client connections are impacted.
When disabling external access, a confirmation dialog will appear showing the number of active OAuth connections that will be revoked. Once confirmed, all active connections are terminated immediately. Users who had connected tools like Claude Desktop or Cursor will need to re-authorize if access is later re-enabled.
Write Tools
Write tools allow Vera to take actions on your behalf through external MCP clients — such as creating assessments, adding systems to the Live Data Map, or answering assessment questions. Because write tools have side effects, they require explicit opt-in at the organization and user level.
Enabling Write Tools
The Write Tools toggle on the MCP Tool Access page controls whether write tools are available across your organization.
- Disabled (default): Only read-only tools are available. Users can query data but cannot create or modify records through MCP.
- Enabled: Write tools become available for individual users who have been explicitly granted access.
Enabling Write Tools displays a confirmation dialog explaining that Vera is allowed to take actions like creating records and modifying data. You can choose to suppress this dialog for future toggles.
Granting Write Tool Access
When Write Tools are enabled for your organization, individual users still do not have access by default. Write tools use an allowlist model — an administrator must explicitly grant each user access to specific write tools.
To grant Write Tool access, open a user's Manage MCP Access drawer and enable individual Write Tools in the tool list. Only write tools that match the user's role permissions and your organization's product entitlements are available to grant.
Per-User Tool Access
The main table on the MCP Tool Access page lists all users in your organization along with their current access levels for both read and write tools.
Permission Columns
Each user row displays two permission indicators:
| Column | Values | Description |
|---|---|---|
| MCP Read Permission | Full, Partial, None | Indicates the user's access level for read-only tools. |
| MCP Write Permission | Full, Partial, None | Indicates the user's access level for write tools. |
The meaning of each value is summarized below.
Read permission values:
| Value | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Full | The user has access to all read tools available to their role. |
| Partial | An administrator has restricted one or more read tools for this user. |
| None | The user's read tool access has been fully disabled, or their role does not grant access to any read tools. |
Write permission values:
| Value | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Full | The user has been granted access to all write tools available to their role. |
| Partial | The user has been granted access to some, but not all, write tools. |
| None | No write tools have been granted, write tools are disabled for the organization, or the user's role does not include any write tools. |
Both columns are sortable, allowing you to quickly find users with restricted or disabled access.
Managing Individual User Access
Select any user row to open the Manage MCP Access drawer, where you can:
- Disable all MCP access for the user by toggling off the MCP Access switch. You can optionally provide a reason for the restriction.
- Restrict specific read tools by unchecking individual tools in the tool list. Each restriction can include an optional reason.
- Grant specific write tools by checking individual write tools in the tool list.
Tools are organized by product area (e.g., Request Manager, Live Data Map, Consent, Risk Management). A tool's availability depends on the user's role and your organization's product entitlements:
- Available: The user has role-based access and the tool can be toggled on or off.
- No Access: The user's role or product entitlements do not include this tool. It cannot be enabled by an administrator.
- Restricted by Admin: An administrator has explicitly restricted this tool for the user.
How Access Controls Work
Read and write tools follow different access models, both layered on top of the platform's existing permission system.
Read tools use a denylist model:
- Product entitlements: Tools are only available if your organization has the corresponding product enabled.
- Role-based permissions: Users can only access tools that their assigned role permits.
- Admin restrictions: Administrators can further restrict tools that a user would otherwise have access to. Admins cannot grant access to tools that a user's role does not permit.
This means the MCP Tool Access settings allow you to narrow a user's read access, but not expand it beyond what their role already allows.
Write tools use an allowlist model:
- Organization toggle: Write tools must be enabled at the organization level.
- Product entitlements and role permissions: The same filters apply as for read tools.
- Explicit grants: An administrator must explicitly grant each write tool to a user. Write tools are not accessible until granted.
Security Considerations
All external MCP client connections use OAuth 2.0 with PKCE (Proof Key for Code Exchange) for secure authorization. Each connection:
- Requires explicit user consent through the OAuth authorization screen
- Is scoped to a specific set of tools selected during authorization
- Can be individually revoked by the user or globally revoked by an administrator
- Is bound to the specific DataGrail environment it was authorized against
- Is fully audit-logged, including all tool invocations and administrative actions such as toggling access or restricting users
Vera's MCP gateway enforces the same multi-layered security model as the web interface — tenant isolation, user permission inheritance, and full audit logging apply to all MCP tool interactions regardless of the client used.
Disclaimer: The information contained in this message does not constitute as legal advice. We would advise seeking professional counsel before acting on or interpreting any material.