---
title: "Authentication"
description: "Two ways to authenticate with CORE's MCP endpoint"
---

CORE supports two authentication methods for MCP access.

## Methods

### 1. OAuth Flow (Recommended)
Follows the [MCP specification](https://modelcontextprotocol.io/specification/2025-06-18/basic/authorization) for standard OAuth authentication.

- Web-based authentication flow
- Tokens auto-refresh and can be revoked
- Best for production environments

### 2. API Key
Direct authentication using API keys from CORE dashboard.

- Generate from [CORE Dashboard](https://core.heysol.ai) → Settings → API Keys  
- Simple setup for development and testing
- Include in Authorization header: `Bearer your-api-key-here`

## Setup

See provider-specific guides for configuration:
- [Claude AI](/providers/claude)
- [Cursor](/providers/cursor)
- [VS Code](/providers/vscode) 
- [Zed](/providers/zed)

## Dashboard

Monitor authentication at [core.heysol.ai](https://core.heysol.ai) → Settings → MCP