Remote MCP Server

Security & Scoping

How the MCP server authenticates you and scopes what you can access.

The Remote MCP connector is built so that connecting Claude to ClearSpan is as safe as logging into the web app. You authenticate with your existing ClearSpan credentials, never an API key, and Claude can only ever touch what your account can already reach.

How you sign in#

When you add the connector, Claude walks an OAuth 2.1 flow with PKCE. You're sent to a ClearSpan sign-in page where you enter your normal ClearSpan email and password. ClearSpan verifies them against your existing account, and only then hands an access token back to Claude.

Claude registers itself automatically (dynamic client registration), so there's no manual app setup on your side. See Connect Claude Desktop for the step-by-step.

Tokens#

The connector issues opaque access and refresh tokens. ClearSpan stores only hashes of them, never the raw values, so the tokens can't be recovered from the database. Access tokens are short-lived (8 hours by default) and refresh transparently; if a token can't be refreshed, Claude will prompt you to sign in again.

Note

Because the user behind a token is re-loaded from the database on every call, a deactivated account immediately loses access — even mid-session.

Engineer-only#

The connector is an engineer feature, just like ClearSpan's internal tooling. Only these accounts may connect:

  • Reviewers, firm admins, and superusers (org members)
  • Firmless individual / beta engineers

Inactive accounts are rejected with "This account is inactive."

Warning

Client accounts cannot use the connector. A client sign-in is rejected with "Client accounts can't use the Claude connector." This is intentional — the MCP server is for the engineering side of a firm, not external clients.

Firm scoping#

Every tool runs as you, scoped to your firm. You see and edit the same projects and calcs you'd see in the web app — no more. Org members work across their firm's projects; a firmless individual works on their own. Each tool re-verifies on every call that you're still an authorized org member before doing anything.

Beyond who can connect, individual tools can be gated by your account's entitlements. If a particular tool isn't available to you, calling it returns a friendly "not available" message rather than running.

Transport#

The server only accepts MCP traffic from Claude's official origins (claude.ai and claude.com) and enforces DNS-rebinding protection, so a malicious web page can't quietly drive your connector.