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Introduction

Airlock is a secure gateway that connects AI agents to your APIs. It provides:

  • MCP Protocol Support: Native integration with Claude Desktop, Augment, and other MCP clients
  • Approval Workflows: Human-in-the-loop controls for sensitive operations
  • Per-User Authentication: Each user connects with their own credentials
  • Policy Engine: Fine-grained access control for each API operation

How It Works

AI Agent ──── MCP Protocol ────→ Airlock ────→ Your API

                                    ├── Policy Evaluation
                                    ├── Approval Workflow (if required)
                                    └── Audit Logging
  1. Create a Server: Upload an OpenAPI specification and configure the target API URL
  2. Set Policies: Define which operations are allowed, denied, or require approval
  3. Connect Users: Each user gets a unique MCP connection URL with their credentials
  4. AI Calls API: The AI agent calls tools, Airlock evaluates policies and routes accordingly

Key Concepts

Servers

A server in Airlock represents an API you want to expose to AI agents. It includes:

  • An OpenAPI specification defining available operations
  • The target API URL
  • Policies controlling access
  • User-specific connection credentials

Policies

Policies determine what happens when an AI agent tries to call an API operation:

  • ALLOW: The operation executes immediately
  • DENY: The operation is blocked
  • REQUIRE_APPROVAL: The operation waits for human approval

Approval Workflows

When a policy requires approval:

  1. Airlock creates a pending request
  2. Designated approvers are notified via email
  3. Approvers can approve or reject from the web UI
  4. The AI agent receives the result and can proceed or handle the rejection

API Endpoints

Airlock exposes two APIs for AI agent communication:

EndpointURLPurpose
MCP HTTPmcp.air-lock.aiPrimary MCP endpoint for AI clients
WebSocketws.air-lock.aiReal-time bidirectional MCP communication

Next Steps

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