Cordon vs Shield Kya

A side-by-side look at the Cordon and Shield Kya MCP servers: transport, auth, tools, quality signals, and the config to install either one in Claude, Cursor, Windsurf or VS Code.

Cordon logoCordonSecurity · Local subprocess (stdio)Security gateway for MCP. Policy enforcement, audit logging, human-in-the-loop approvals.41FairAuth: not declaredShield Kya logoShield KyaSecurity · Local subprocess (stdio)KYA MCP gate: evaluate, ingest, request approval. Sole PEP is Shield.55GoodAuth: not declared

Verdict: choose Cordon for security work as a local process; choose Shield Kya for security as a local process. You can also run both side by side in one mcpServers block.

Which MCP server should you choose?

Cordon logoChoose Cordon when

  • You need dedicated capabilities in the Security domain.
  • You prefer a local stdio subprocess transport.
Explore Cordon

Shield Kya logoChoose Shield Kya when

  • You need dedicated capabilities in the Security domain.
  • You prefer a local stdio subprocess transport.
  • You have the keys it needs: KYA_API_KEY, KYA_OFFLINE, KYA_DIFF_PREVIEW, KYA_GATE.
  • You want tools like kya.policy_evaluate, kya.session_ingest, kya.request_approval.
Explore Shield Kya

Feature & specification comparison

Rows where the two servers differ are marked.

SpecCordon logoCordonShield Kya logoShield Kya
CategorySecuritySecurity
Quality signal41/100 · Fair55/100 · Good
Install commandConfirmedConfirmed
TransportLocal subprocess (stdio)Local subprocess (stdio)
AuthNot declaredNot declared
PricingNot declaredNot declared
Required env varsNone listedKYA_API_KEYKYA_OFFLINEKYA_DIFF_PREVIEWKYA_GATE
Verified ownerCommunity listingCommunity listing
GitHub stars21
Directory activity 2 views 0 installs 0 upvotes 0 views 0 installs 0 upvotes
ToolsNot listed3

Tools & capabilities

Cordon tools

No tool names declared yet. Check the project README from the listing page.

Shield Kya tools 3

  • kya.policy_evaluateALLOW` \
  • kya.session_ingestObserve / raise-only risk
  • kya.request_approvalOpen a human Hold. Does not execute the side effect

Ready-to-paste client configs

Paste either block (or both) into your client config, e.g. claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json. We only show a config when the install command is confirmed.

Cordon

mcpServers (Claude Desktop / Cursor)
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "cordon": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@getcordon/cli"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Shield Kya

mcpServers (Claude Desktop / Cursor)
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "shield-kya": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@shield-agent/kya@latest"
      ],
      "env": {
        "KYA_API_KEY": "YOUR_KYA_API_KEY_HERE",
        "KYA_OFFLINE": "YOUR_KYA_OFFLINE_HERE",
        "KYA_DIFF_PREVIEW": "YOUR_KYA_DIFF_PREVIEW_HERE",
        "KYA_GATE": "YOUR_KYA_GATE_HERE"
      }
    }
  }
}

Frequently asked questions

Cordon is categorized under Security and uses a local stdio subprocess. Shield Kya belongs to Security and uses a local stdio subprocess. Pick Cordon for security work and Shield Kya for security.

Copy the mcpServers block from the config section on this page into your client's config (for example claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json), then fully restart the client.

Cordon has no declared pricing — check the project's own site. Shield Kya has no declared pricing — check the project's own site. If a server needs environment variables such as API keys, define them under the env key in your client's MCP config.

Yes. MCP clients support multiple servers: add cordon and shield-kya as separate keys in the same mcpServers object, and your assistant will call tools from either one.

On AllMCPs, Cordon has a quality signal of 41/100 (Fair) with 2 views, 0 installs and 2 GitHub stars. Shield Kya has 55/100 (Good) with 0 views, 0 installs and 1 GitHub stars.