What is the key difference between Policy Gate and MCP?

Policy Gate belongs to the Developer Tools category with cloud HTTP/SSE execution, while MCP belongs to the Developer Tools category with local stdio execution.

How do I install Policy Gate or MCP in Claude Desktop or Cursor?

Copy the mcpServers JSON configuration snippet provided on this page into your claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json file and restart your AI client.

Are Policy Gate and MCP free or paid?

Policy Gate operates under a Free / Open Source model (No auth required). MCP operates under a Free / Open Source model (No auth required).

Which MCP server has more tools and community activity?

Policy Gate lists 0 tools with 0 views and 1 GitHub stars. MCP lists 0 tools with 0 views and 531 GitHub stars.

Can I use both Policy Gate and MCP together in the same MCP host?

Yes! MCP hosts like Claude Desktop, Cursor, Windsurf, Cline, and VS Code support configuring multiple servers under the mcpServers object simultaneously.

Side-by-Side Model Context Protocol Comparison

Policy Gate vs MCP

In-depth architectural comparison of the Policy Gate and MCP MCP servers. Compare execution transports, security boundaries, tool capabilities, quality scores, and ready-to-paste client installation snippets for Claude, Cursor, Windsurf, and VS Code.

At a Glance & Executive Verdict

Policy Gate

Developer Tools · Remote HTTP/SSE

Quality: 40/100 (Fair) | Auth: No auth required

MCP

Developer Tools · Local stdio

Quality: 45/100 (Fair) | Auth: No auth required

Verdict Summary: Choose Policy Gate if you need specialized Developer Tools tools running via a hosted cloud SSE transport. Choose MCP if your workspace requires Developer Tools integration with local subprocess execution. Both servers can be configured concurrently in your client's mcpServers manifest.

Which MCP Server Should You Choose?

Choose Policy Gate when:

You need dedicated capabilities in the Developer Tools domain.
You prefer remote streaming HTTP/SSE transport architecture.
Your security boundary fits: No auth required (Free / Open Source).

Explore Policy Gate Details

Choose MCP when:

You need dedicated capabilities in the Developer Tools domain.
You prefer local stdio subprocess transport architecture.
Your security boundary fits: No auth required (Free / Open Source).

Explore MCP Details

Feature & Specification Comparison

Specification	P Policy Gate Developer Tools	M MCP Developer Tools
Summary	Deterministic allow/require_approval/deny verdicts for agent actions, before they happen.	Fail-closed policy gate for AI agent actions, with local evaluation and native pre-tool hooks.
Category & Scope	Developer Tools	Developer Tools
Quality signal

Tools & Capabilities Breakdown

Policy Gate Tools (0)

No explicit tool names declared in metadata yet. Check project README on main listing page.

MCP Tools (0)

No explicit tool names declared in metadata yet. Check project README on main listing page.

Ready-to-Paste Client Configurations

Paste either (or both) of these JSON server blocks into your client config file (e.g. claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json).

Policy Gate Configuration

mcpServers (Claude Desktop / Cursor)

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "policy-gate": {
      "url": "https://store.3labs.io"
    }
  }
}

MCP Configuration

mcpServers (Claude Desktop / Cursor)

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mcp-224": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "mcp-224"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Frequently Asked Questions

Policy Gate is categorized under Developer Tools and uses a remote streaming HTTP/SSE transport. In contrast, MCP belongs to Developer Tools using local stdio subprocess. Select Policy Gate when you need capabilities focused on developer tools and MCP when you require tools for developer tools.

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