MCP Authentication Delphi

MCP Client

The MCP client exposes all security knobs through the MCPOptions.AuthenticationOptions property. Enable API key or custom header flows independently to satisfy zero-trust or tenant-based policies, and the component injects the required headers during each HTTP POST and SSE upgrade.

• Custom Header authentication lets you set a proprietary header/value pair (for example, X-Tenant or X-Region).
• API Key/Bearer token support automatically formats the standard Authorization: Bearer header, ensuring compatibility with gateways and API management layers.
• Session propagation keeps the MCP session identifier synchronized across requests, simplifying observability.
• Streaming ready: as soon as the transport switches to aimcptrHttpStreamable, the client spins up an SSE thread that preserves the same authenticated headers.

Together with heartbeats, client metadata, and HTTP/TLS customization, you can align MCP conversations with your organization's compliance checklist without sacrificing developer velocity.

MCP Server

The server mirrors the client controls with dedicated endpoint, transport, and MCP configuration objects. As requests arrive, the component validates every incoming header and raises a descriptive error when a credential is missing or incorrect. Because validation happens before the request enters your business logic, you stop misuse early and keep your code focused on domain value.

• Centralized header validation rejects requests immediately when the required header/value pair is absent or mismatched.
• Bearer token verification checks that the server-side API key matches the Authorization header used by the client.
• Unified events: initialization, session lifecycle, and prompt/resource/tool handlers remain available so you can react to authenticated sessions in real time.

Business and technical advantages

• Security you can sell: customers demand authenticated AI automations, and MCP Authentication provides a turnkey answer when responding to RFPs or compliance questionnaires.
• Operational efficiency: administrators manage credentials through simple component properties rather than scattered code changes.
• Scalable governance: per-tenant headers make it easy to route sessions to specific back-ends or apply rate limits while maintaining a single binary.
• Future proofing: because the authentication code is part of the core MCP transport, new protocol additions inherit the same guardrails automatically.

Delphi Example

The following snippet shows how a single configuration routine can enable MCP Authentication for both a client and a server in Delphi. Adapt the credential values to your environment. 

procedure SetupMCPInfrastructure;
var
  MCPClient: TsgcWSAPIClient_MCP;
  MCPServer: TsgcWSServer_API_MCP;
begin
  MCPClient := TsgcWSAPIClient_MCP.Create(nil);
  MCPServer := TsgcWSServer_API_MCP.Create(nil);
  try
    // Client configuration
    MCPClient.MCPOptions.HttpOptions.URL := 'https://mcp.example.com/api';
    MCPClient.MCPOptions.AuthenticationOptions.ApiKey.Enabled := True;
    MCPClient.MCPOptions.AuthenticationOptions.ApiKey.Value := 'YOUR_API_KEY';
    MCPClient.MCPOptions.AuthenticationOptions.CustomHeader.Enabled := True;
    MCPClient.MCPOptions.AuthenticationOptions.CustomHeader.Header := 'X-Tenant';
    MCPClient.MCPOptions.AuthenticationOptions.CustomHeader.Value := 'Retail';
    MCPClient.MCPOptions.ClientInfo.Name := 'RetailAgent';
    MCPClient.MCPOptions.ClientInfo.Version := '2025.10.0';
    MCPClient.MCPOptions.HeartBeat.Enabled := True;
    MCPClient.MCPOptions.HeartBeat.Interval := 30;
    MCPClient.OnMCPInitialize := HandleMCPInitialize;
    MCPClient.OnMCPListTools := HandleMCPTools;
    MCPClient.Initialize;
    MCPClient.ListTools;

    // Server configuration
    MCPServer.EndpointOptions.Endpoint := '/mcp';
    MCPServer.MCPOptions.AuthenticationOptions.ApiKey.Enabled := True;
    MCPServer.MCPOptions.AuthenticationOptions.ApiKey.Value := 'YOUR_API_KEY';
    MCPServer.MCPOptions.AuthenticationOptions.CustomHeader.Enabled := True;
    MCPServer.MCPOptions.AuthenticationOptions.CustomHeader.Header := 'X-Tenant';
    MCPServer.MCPOptions.AuthenticationOptions.CustomHeader.Value := 'Retail';
    MCPServer.OnMCPInitialize := HandleServerInitialize;
    MCPServer.OnMCPRequestTool := HandleToolRequest;
    MCPServer.Active := True;
  finally
    MCPClient.Free;
    MCPServer.Free;
  end;
end;