diff --git a/.dockerignore b/.dockerignore
index f179769..63dccb6 100644
--- a/.dockerignore
+++ b/.dockerignore
@@ -12,4 +12,3 @@ dist
 .env.*
 deploy/docker-compose.yml
 src/cli
-src/mcplocal
diff --git a/completions/mcpctl.bash b/completions/mcpctl.bash
index 79db36d..5214ef6 100644
--- a/completions/mcpctl.bash
+++ b/completions/mcpctl.bash
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ _mcpctl() {
   local cur prev words cword
   _init_completion || return
 
-  local commands="status login logout config get describe delete logs create edit apply patch backup approve console cache"
+  local commands="status login logout config get describe delete logs create edit apply patch backup approve console cache test"
   local project_commands="get describe delete logs create edit attach-server detach-server"
   local global_opts="-v --version --daemon-url --direct -p --project -h --help"
   local resources="servers instances secrets templates projects users groups rbac prompts promptrequests serverattachments proxymodels all"
@@ -175,7 +175,7 @@ _mcpctl() {
     create)
       local create_sub=$(_mcpctl_get_subcmd $subcmd_pos)
       if [[ -z "$create_sub" ]]; then
-        COMPREPLY=($(compgen -W "server secret project user group rbac prompt serverattachment promptrequest help" -- "$cur"))
+        COMPREPLY=($(compgen -W "server secret project user group rbac mcptoken prompt serverattachment promptrequest help" -- "$cur"))
       else
         case "$create_sub" in
           server)
@@ -194,7 +194,10 @@ _mcpctl() {
             COMPREPLY=($(compgen -W "--description --member --force -h --help" -- "$cur"))
             ;;
           rbac)
-            COMPREPLY=($(compgen -W "--subject --binding --operation --force -h --help" -- "$cur"))
+            COMPREPLY=($(compgen -W "--subject --roleBindings --force -h --help" -- "$cur"))
+            ;;
+          mcptoken)
+            COMPREPLY=($(compgen -W "-p --project --rbac --bind --ttl --description --force -h --help" -- "$cur"))
             ;;
           prompt)
             COMPREPLY=($(compgen -W "-p --project --content --content-file --priority --link -h --help" -- "$cur"))
@@ -311,6 +314,21 @@ _mcpctl() {
         esac
       fi
       return ;;
+    test)
+      local test_sub=$(_mcpctl_get_subcmd $subcmd_pos)
+      if [[ -z "$test_sub" ]]; then
+        COMPREPLY=($(compgen -W "mcp help" -- "$cur"))
+      else
+        case "$test_sub" in
+          mcp)
+            COMPREPLY=($(compgen -W "--token --tool --args --expect-tools --timeout -o --output --no-health -h --help" -- "$cur"))
+            ;;
+          *)
+            COMPREPLY=($(compgen -W "-h --help" -- "$cur"))
+            ;;
+        esac
+      fi
+      return ;;
     help)
       COMPREPLY=($(compgen -W "$commands" -- "$cur"))
       return ;;
diff --git a/completions/mcpctl.fish b/completions/mcpctl.fish
index 3f3c869..f45a46d 100644
--- a/completions/mcpctl.fish
+++ b/completions/mcpctl.fish
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
 # Erase any stale completions from previous versions
 complete -c mcpctl -e
 
-set -l commands status login logout config get describe delete logs create edit apply patch backup approve console cache
+set -l commands status login logout config get describe delete logs create edit apply patch backup approve console cache test
 set -l project_commands get describe delete logs create edit attach-server detach-server
 
 # Disable file completions by default
@@ -231,6 +231,7 @@ complete -c mcpctl -n "not __mcpctl_has_project; and not __fish_seen_subcommand_
 complete -c mcpctl -n "not __mcpctl_has_project; and not __fish_seen_subcommand_from $commands" -a approve -d 'Approve a pending prompt request (atomic: delete request, create prompt)'
 complete -c mcpctl -n "not __mcpctl_has_project; and not __fish_seen_subcommand_from $commands" -a console -d 'Interactive MCP console — unified timeline with tools, provenance, and lab replay'
 complete -c mcpctl -n "not __mcpctl_has_project; and not __fish_seen_subcommand_from $commands" -a cache -d 'Manage ProxyModel pipeline cache'
+complete -c mcpctl -n "not __mcpctl_has_project; and not __fish_seen_subcommand_from $commands" -a test -d 'Utilities for testing MCP endpoints and config'
 
 # Project-scoped commands (with --project)
 complete -c mcpctl -n "__mcpctl_has_project; and not __fish_seen_subcommand_from $project_commands" -a get -d 'List resources (servers, projects, instances, all)'
@@ -280,13 +281,14 @@ complete -c mcpctl -n "__mcpctl_subcmd_active config claude-generate" -l stdout
 complete -c mcpctl -n "__mcpctl_subcmd_active config impersonate" -l quit -d 'Stop impersonating and return to original identity'
 
 # create subcommands
-set -l create_cmds server secret project user group rbac prompt serverattachment promptrequest
+set -l create_cmds server secret project user group rbac mcptoken prompt serverattachment promptrequest
 complete -c mcpctl -n "__fish_seen_subcommand_from create; and not __fish_seen_subcommand_from $create_cmds" -a server -d 'Create an MCP server definition'
 complete -c mcpctl -n "__fish_seen_subcommand_from create; and not __fish_seen_subcommand_from $create_cmds" -a secret -d 'Create a secret'
 complete -c mcpctl -n "__fish_seen_subcommand_from create; and not __fish_seen_subcommand_from $create_cmds" -a project -d 'Create a project'
 complete -c mcpctl -n "__fish_seen_subcommand_from create; and not __fish_seen_subcommand_from $create_cmds" -a user -d 'Create a user'
 complete -c mcpctl -n "__fish_seen_subcommand_from create; and not __fish_seen_subcommand_from $create_cmds" -a group -d 'Create a group'
 complete -c mcpctl -n "__fish_seen_subcommand_from create; and not __fish_seen_subcommand_from $create_cmds" -a rbac -d 'Create an RBAC binding definition'
+complete -c mcpctl -n "__fish_seen_subcommand_from create; and not __fish_seen_subcommand_from $create_cmds" -a mcptoken -d 'Create a project-scoped API token for HTTP-mode mcplocal. The raw token is printed once.'
 complete -c mcpctl -n "__fish_seen_subcommand_from create; and not __fish_seen_subcommand_from $create_cmds" -a prompt -d 'Create an approved prompt'
 complete -c mcpctl -n "__fish_seen_subcommand_from create; and not __fish_seen_subcommand_from $create_cmds" -a serverattachment -d 'Attach a server to a project'
 complete -c mcpctl -n "__fish_seen_subcommand_from create; and not __fish_seen_subcommand_from $create_cmds" -a promptrequest -d 'Create a prompt request (pending proposal that needs approval)'
@@ -332,10 +334,17 @@ complete -c mcpctl -n "__mcpctl_subcmd_active create group" -l force -d 'Update
 
 # create rbac options
 complete -c mcpctl -n "__mcpctl_subcmd_active create rbac" -l subject -d 'Subject as Kind:name (repeat for multiple)' -x
-complete -c mcpctl -n "__mcpctl_subcmd_active create rbac" -l binding -d 'Role binding as role:resource (e.g. edit:servers, run:projects)' -x
-complete -c mcpctl -n "__mcpctl_subcmd_active create rbac" -l operation -d 'Operation binding (e.g. logs, backup)' -x
+complete -c mcpctl -n "__mcpctl_subcmd_active create rbac" -l roleBindings -d 'Role binding as key:value pairs, e.g. "role:view,resource:servers" or "role:view,resource:servers,name:my-ha" or "action:logs" (repeat for multiple)' -x
 complete -c mcpctl -n "__mcpctl_subcmd_active create rbac" -l force -d 'Update if already exists'
 
+# create mcptoken options
+complete -c mcpctl -n "__mcpctl_subcmd_active create mcptoken" -s p -l project -d 'Project this token is bound to' -xa '(__mcpctl_project_names)'
+complete -c mcpctl -n "__mcpctl_subcmd_active create mcptoken" -l rbac -d 'Base RBAC: \'empty\' (default, no bindings) or \'clone\' (snapshot creator\'s perms)' -x
+complete -c mcpctl -n "__mcpctl_subcmd_active create mcptoken" -l bind -d 'Additional role binding as key:value pairs, e.g. "role:view,resource:servers" or "action:logs" (repeat for multiple). Creator perms are the ceiling.' -x
+complete -c mcpctl -n "__mcpctl_subcmd_active create mcptoken" -l ttl -d 'Expiry: \'30d\', \'12h\', \'never\', or an ISO8601 datetime' -x
+complete -c mcpctl -n "__mcpctl_subcmd_active create mcptoken" -l description -d 'Freeform description' -x
+complete -c mcpctl -n "__mcpctl_subcmd_active create mcptoken" -l force -d 'Revoke any existing active token with this name, then create a new one'
+
 # create prompt options
 complete -c mcpctl -n "__mcpctl_subcmd_active create prompt" -s p -l project -d 'Project name to scope the prompt to' -xa '(__mcpctl_project_names)'
 complete -c mcpctl -n "__mcpctl_subcmd_active create prompt" -l content -d 'Prompt content text' -x
@@ -369,6 +378,19 @@ complete -c mcpctl -n "__fish_seen_subcommand_from cache; and not __fish_seen_su
 complete -c mcpctl -n "__mcpctl_subcmd_active cache clear" -l older-than -d 'Clear entries older than N days' -x
 complete -c mcpctl -n "__mcpctl_subcmd_active cache clear" -s y -l yes -d 'Skip confirmation'
 
+# test subcommands
+set -l test_cmds mcp
+complete -c mcpctl -n "__fish_seen_subcommand_from test; and not __fish_seen_subcommand_from $test_cmds" -a mcp -d 'Verify a Streamable-HTTP MCP endpoint: health, initialize, tools/list, optionally call a tool.'
+
+# test mcp options
+complete -c mcpctl -n "__mcpctl_subcmd_active test mcp" -l token -d 'Bearer token (also reads $MCPCTL_TOKEN)' -x
+complete -c mcpctl -n "__mcpctl_subcmd_active test mcp" -l tool -d 'Invoke a specific tool after listing' -x
+complete -c mcpctl -n "__mcpctl_subcmd_active test mcp" -l args -d 'JSON-encoded arguments for --tool' -x
+complete -c mcpctl -n "__mcpctl_subcmd_active test mcp" -l expect-tools -d 'Comma-separated tool names that MUST appear; fails otherwise' -x
+complete -c mcpctl -n "__mcpctl_subcmd_active test mcp" -l timeout -d 'Per-request timeout in seconds' -x
+complete -c mcpctl -n "__mcpctl_subcmd_active test mcp" -s o -l output -d 'Output format: text or json' -x
+complete -c mcpctl -n "__mcpctl_subcmd_active test mcp" -l no-health -d 'Skip the /healthz preflight check'
+
 # status options
 complete -c mcpctl -n "__fish_seen_subcommand_from status" -s o -l output -d 'output format (table, json, yaml)' -x
 
diff --git a/deploy/Dockerfile.mcplocal b/deploy/Dockerfile.mcplocal
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e184d6f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/deploy/Dockerfile.mcplocal
@@ -0,0 +1,60 @@
+# HTTP-only mcplocal for k8s deploy (Service `mcp`, Ingress `mcp.ad.itaz.eu`).
+# Container CMD runs the `serve.ts` entry which — unlike the systemd/STDIO
+# entry — has no stdin/stdout MCP client and bootstraps exclusively from env.
+
+# Stage 1: Build TypeScript
+FROM node:20-alpine AS builder
+
+RUN corepack enable && corepack prepare pnpm@9.15.0 --activate
+
+WORKDIR /app
+
+# Copy workspace config and package manifests
+COPY pnpm-workspace.yaml pnpm-lock.yaml package.json tsconfig.base.json ./
+COPY src/mcplocal/package.json src/mcplocal/tsconfig.json src/mcplocal/
+COPY src/shared/package.json src/shared/tsconfig.json src/shared/
+COPY src/db/package.json src/db/tsconfig.json src/db/
+
+# Install all dependencies
+RUN pnpm install --frozen-lockfile
+
+# Copy source
+COPY src/mcplocal/src/ src/mcplocal/src/
+COPY src/shared/src/ src/shared/src/
+COPY src/db/src/ src/db/src/
+COPY src/db/prisma/ src/db/prisma/
+
+# Build (mcplocal depends on shared; db is pulled transitively by shared/... actually
+# mcplocal does not depend on db at runtime — prisma client is only used by mcpd).
+RUN pnpm -F @mcpctl/shared build && pnpm -F @mcpctl/mcplocal build
+
+# Stage 2: Production runtime
+FROM node:20-alpine
+
+RUN corepack enable && corepack prepare pnpm@9.15.0 --activate
+
+WORKDIR /app
+
+# Copy workspace config, manifests, and lockfile
+COPY pnpm-workspace.yaml pnpm-lock.yaml package.json ./
+COPY src/mcplocal/package.json src/mcplocal/
+COPY src/shared/package.json src/shared/
+
+# Install deps (production only — no db / prisma runtime here).
+RUN pnpm install --frozen-lockfile
+
+# Copy built output
+COPY --from=builder /app/src/shared/dist/ src/shared/dist/
+COPY --from=builder /app/src/mcplocal/dist/ src/mcplocal/dist/
+
+EXPOSE 3200
+
+# Cache directory — expected to be mounted as a PVC in k8s.
+VOLUME /var/lib/mcplocal/cache
+
+HEALTHCHECK --interval=10s --timeout=5s --retries=3 --start-period=10s \
+  CMD wget -q --spider http://localhost:3200/healthz || exit 1
+
+# MCPLOCAL_MCPD_URL and MCPLOCAL_MCPD_TOKEN are required and must come from
+# the Pulumi-managed Secret. Other env vars default sensibly.
+CMD ["node", "src/mcplocal/dist/serve.js"]
diff --git a/docs/mcptoken-implementation.md b/docs/mcptoken-implementation.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f2f24f1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/mcptoken-implementation.md
@@ -0,0 +1,174 @@
+# mcptoken + HTTP-mode mcplocal — implementation log
+
+Companion to the approved plan at `/home/michal/.claude/plans/lets-discuss-something-i-bright-lovelace.md`.
+This file is updated as each milestone lands, so you can review what was actually done vs. what was planned.
+
+## Context (why)
+
+You're running your own vLLM inference outside Claude Code and want it to consume mcpctl over MCP with the same UX Claude gets: project-scoped server discovery, proxy models, the pipeline cache. Today `mcplocal` is systemd-only and serves STDIO — unreachable from off-host and unauthenticated. This work adds:
+
+1. A containerized, network-accessible `mcplocal` serving Streamable HTTP.
+2. A new `McpToken` resource (CLI: `mcpctl get/create/delete mcptoken`) — project-scoped bearer tokens with the same RBAC stack as users. Hashed at rest; raw value shown once.
+3. Tokens as a first-class RBAC subject kind (`McpToken:<sha>`), with a creator-permission ceiling so non-admins cannot mint escalated tokens.
+4. k8s deploy (Service `mcp`, Ingress `mcp.ad.itaz.eu`, PVC-backed `FileCache`).
+5. A CLI breaking change: `mcpctl create rbac --binding edit:servers` → `--roleBindings role:edit,resource:servers`. You explicitly asked for this; only one command uses it.
+6. A product-grade `mcpctl test mcp <url>` verb for validating any Streamable-HTTP MCP endpoint, reused by smoke tests.
+
+## Branch
+
+All work lives on `feat/mcptoken` (off `main` at `3149ea3`).
+
+## Pre-work committed to main (outside this branch)
+
+Before starting the feature, we flushed your in-flight changes to main so they wouldn't travel with the branch:
+
+- **`3149ea3 fix: MCP proxy resilience — discovery cache, default liveness probes`** — per-server `tools/list` cache in `McpRouter` with positive+negative TTL so dead upstreams only stall the first call; default liveness probe (tools/list through the real production path) applied to any RUNNING instance without an explicit healthCheck. Already pushed to origin.
+
+## Status legend
+
+- ✅ done
+- 🚧 in progress
+- ⬜ not started
+
+## PR 1 — Schema + token helpers + mcpd CRUD routes ✅
+
+| # | Step | Status |
+|---|---|---|
+| 1 | `McpToken` Prisma model + Project/User reverse relations; `AuditEvent.tokenName` / `tokenSha` + index | ✅ |
+| 2 | `src/shared/src/tokens/index.ts` — `generateToken`, `hashToken`, `isMcpToken`, `timingSafeEqualHex`, `TOKEN_PREFIX` | ✅ |
+| 3 | `src/mcpd/src/repositories/mcp-token.repository.ts` + new interfaces in `repositories/interfaces.ts` | ✅ |
+| 4 | `src/mcpd/src/services/mcp-token.service.ts` — creator-ceiling via `rbacService.canAccess`/`canRunOperation`, raw token returned only once, auto-creates an `RbacDefinition` with subject `McpToken:<sha>` when bindings are non-empty | ✅ |
+| 5 | `src/mcpd/src/routes/mcp-tokens.ts` — POST / GET / GET:id / DELETE:id + POST:id/revoke + GET /introspect | ✅ |
+| 6 | Wired into `main.ts` — repo/service constructed, routes registered, `mcptokens` added to URL→permission map + name resolver; `/mcptokens/introspect` added to auth-skip list so mcplocal can call it with a raw McpToken bearer | ✅ |
+| 7 | RBAC extensions: new subject kind `McpToken` in `rbac-definition.schema.ts`; `mcptokens` added to `RBAC_RESOURCES` and `RESOURCE_ALIASES`; `rbac.service.ts` threads optional `mcpTokenSha` through `canAccess`, `canRunOperation`, `getAllowedScope`, `getPermissions`; resolver matches `{kind:'McpToken', name: sha}` | ✅ |
+| 8 | Unit tests — `tests/mcp-token-service.test.ts` covering: empty/clone modes, ceiling rejection, RbacDefinition auto-create with correct `McpToken:<sha>` subject, duplicate-name conflict, introspect valid/revoked/expired/unknown, revoke deletes the RbacDefinition. 11/11 green. Full mcpd suite still 648/648. | ✅ |
+
+### What this PR does NOT do yet (coming in PR 3)
+
+- The mcpd **auth middleware** does not yet dispatch on the token prefix. A raw `mcpctl_pat_…` bearer sent to any `/api/v1/*` endpoint (other than `/introspect`) is still rejected as an invalid session. That's intentional — PR 3 extends `middleware/auth.ts` to recognize both session bearers and McpToken bearers.
+- No CLI yet. Tokens can be created only via `POST /api/v1/mcptokens` for now.
+
+## PR 2 — RBAC CLI migration ✅
+
+Migrated `mcpctl create rbac` from positional flag syntax to the key=value form you asked for.
+
+Before:
+```
+mcpctl create rbac developers \
+  --subject User:alice@test.com \
+  --binding edit:servers \
+  --binding view:servers:my-ha \
+  --operation logs
+```
+After:
+```
+mcpctl create rbac developers \
+  --subject User:alice@test.com \
+  --roleBindings role:edit,resource:servers \
+  --roleBindings role:view,resource:servers,name:my-ha \
+  --roleBindings action:logs
+```
+
+| # | Step | Status |
+|---|---|---|
+| 1 | New shared parser at `src/cli/src/commands/rbac-bindings.ts` exporting `parseRoleBinding(entry)` | ✅ |
+| 2 | `src/cli/src/commands/create.ts` — old `--binding`/`--operation` flags replaced with one repeatable `--roleBindings <kv>`. Uses the new parser. | ✅ |
+| 3 | Tests in `src/cli/tests/commands/create.test.ts` rewritten to the new form (8 RBAC tests updated) | ✅ |
+| 4 | New dedicated unit test `src/cli/tests/commands/rbac-bindings.test.ts` — 9 cases covering unscoped / name-scoped / action / trim / empty-value / unknown-key / action-conflict / missing-role rejections | ✅ |
+| 5 | Shell completions regenerated via `pnpm completions:generate` — both `completions/mcpctl.{bash,fish}` now offer `--roleBindings`, no longer `--binding`/`--operation` | ✅ |
+| 6 | Nothing in `docs/` or `README.md` referenced the old flags | ✅ |
+
+Full CLI suite still 406/406 green. On-disk YAML shape (`roleBindings: [...]`) is unchanged, so backups and existing `apply -f` files keep working.
+
+The extracted `parseRoleBinding` helper is what PR 3's `mcpctl create mcptoken --bind <kv>` flag will reuse.
+
+## PR 3 — CLI mcptoken verbs + mcpd auth dispatch + audit ✅
+
+| # | Step | Status |
+|---|---|---|
+| 1 | `src/mcpd/src/middleware/auth.ts` — dispatch on the bearer prefix. `mcpctl_pat_…` → new `findMcpToken(hash)` dep → populates `request.mcpToken` + `request.userId = ownerId`. Other bearers → existing `findSession` path. Returns 401 for revoked, expired, or unknown tokens. Fastify module augmentation adds `request.mcpToken?: McpTokenPrincipal`. | ✅ |
+| 2 | `src/mcpd/src/main.ts` — wires `findMcpToken: mcpTokenRepo.findByHash`. Threads `mcpTokenSha` into `canAccess` / `canRunOperation` / `getAllowedScope`. Adds a second project-scope check: `McpToken` principals can only reach resources inside their bound project (additional guard on top of the route handler checks). | ✅ |
+| 3 | New auth tests (`tests/auth.test.ts`) — 3 McpToken dispatch cases: happy path sets userId + mcpToken, revoked → 401, no findMcpToken wired → 401. Session path unchanged. | ✅ |
+| 4 | `mcpctl create mcptoken <name> -p <proj> [--rbac empty\|clone] [--bind …] [--ttl …]` — new subcommand. Reuses `parseRoleBinding` from PR 2. `parseTtl` helper accepts `30d`/`12h`/`never`/ISO8601. `--force` revokes the existing active token and creates a new one. Raw token is printed once with a "copy now" banner. | ✅ |
+| 5 | `mcpctl get mcptokens` + `mcpctl get mcptoken <name> -p <proj>` + `mcpctl describe mcptoken <name> -p <proj>` + `mcpctl delete mcptoken <name> -p <proj>`. Names are project-scoped, so all verbs require `-p` unless a CUID is passed. Table columns: NAME / PROJECT / PREFIX / CREATED / LAST USED / EXPIRES / STATUS. Describe surfaces the auto-created RbacDefinition's bindings (matched by `mcptoken-<id>` name convention). | ✅ |
+| 6 | `mcpctl apply -f` — added `McpTokenSpecSchema`, `mcpton: 'mcptokens'` in `KIND_TO_RESOURCE`, and an applier that creates if missing or logs "already active — skipped" (tokens are immutable). Raw token printed on create. | ✅ |
+| 7 | Resource aliases — `mcptoken`/`mcptokens`/`token`/`tokens` all resolve to `mcptokens`. `stripInternalFields` scrubs the secret and derived fields and promotes `projectName` → `project` for YAML round-trip. | ✅ |
+| 8 | Audit pipeline — `src/mcplocal/src/audit/types.ts` gains `tokenName?`/`tokenSha?`; collector gets `setSessionMcpToken(sessionId, {tokenName, tokenSha})` alongside `setSessionUserName`, both merged into a per-session principal map. `src/mcpd/src/services/audit-event.service.ts` accepts `tokenName` and `tokenSha` query params (repo already extended in PR 1). `console/audit-types.ts` carries the new optional fields so the TUI can surface them in a follow-up. | ✅ |
+| 9 | Shell completions regenerated — `mcpctl create mcptoken` flags (`--project`, `--rbac`, `--bind`, `--ttl`, `--description`, `--force`) and the new resource alias land in both bash and fish completions. `completions.test.ts` freshness check passes. | ✅ |
+
+### What this PR does NOT do yet (coming in PR 4)
+
+- No HTTP-mode mcplocal binary yet. Tokens can be used to hit mcpd directly via `/api/v1/…` with `Authorization: Bearer mcpctl_pat_…`, but the containerized `/projects/<p>/mcp` endpoint and its token-auth preHandler don't exist yet.
+- The audit-console TUI still shows only `userName` columns; adding a `TOKEN` column is a UI polish follow-up.
+
+### Test stats
+
+- 1764/1764 tests pass workspace-wide (up from ~1750 before PR 3).
+- Build clean across all 5 packages.
+- Completions freshness check green.
+
+## PR 4 — HTTP-mode mcplocal + container + `mcpctl test mcp` + smoke ✅
+
+| # | Step | Status |
+|---|---|---|
+| 1 | **Shared HTTP MCP client** — `src/shared/src/mcp-http/index.ts`. `McpHttpSession(url, {bearer?, headers?, timeoutMs?})` with `initialize / listTools / callTool / close / send / sendNotification`. Handles http + https, multiplexed SSE bodies, JSON-RPC id correlation. Distinct `McpProtocolError` / `McpTransportError` classes for contract-vs-transport failures. Plus `deriveBaseUrl(url)` + `mcpHealthCheck(base)`. Exported from `@mcpctl/shared`. | ✅ |
+| 2 | **`mcpctl test mcp <url>`** — new CLI verb under `src/cli/src/commands/test-mcp.ts`. Flags: `--token` (also reads `$MCPCTL_TOKEN`), `--tool`, `--args` (JSON), `--expect-tools`, `--timeout`, `-o text\|json`, `--no-health`. Exit codes: 0 PASS, 1 TRANSPORT/AUTH FAIL, 2 CONTRACT FAIL (e.g. missing tool or `isError=true`). | ✅ |
+| 3 | **Unit tests** for the verb — `src/cli/tests/commands/test-mcp.test.ts`. 9 cases: happy path, health preflight failure, `--expect-tools` miss / hit, transport throw, `--tool` + `isError` → exit 2, `-o json` report, `$MCPCTL_TOKEN` env fallback, invalid `--args`. All green. | ✅ |
+| 4 | **`src/mcplocal/src/serve.ts`** — new HTTP-only entry. Drops `StdioProxyServer` and `--upstream`; forces host/port from `MCPLOCAL_HTTP_HOST`/`MCPLOCAL_HTTP_PORT`; requires `MCPLOCAL_MCPD_URL`. Registers a Fastify preHandler that runs the new `token-auth` middleware on `/projects/*` and `/mcp`. Preserves LLM provider loading + proxymodel hot-reload watchers. | ✅ |
+| 5 | **`src/mcplocal/src/http/token-auth.ts`** — Fastify preHandler that validates `mcpctl_pat_…` bearers by calling `GET <mcpd>/api/v1/mcptokens/introspect`. Cache: 30s positive / 5s negative TTL keyed on `hashToken(raw)`. Rejects non-Bearer, non-`mcpctl_pat_`, revoked, expired, and wrong-project (403 when path `projectName` ≠ token's bound project). Sets `request.mcpToken = { tokenName, tokenSha, projectName }` for the audit collector. | ✅ |
+| 6 | **FileCache PVC plumbing** — `src/mcplocal/src/http/project-mcp-endpoint.ts` now honours `process.env.MCPLOCAL_CACHE_DIR` at both `FileCache` construction sites (gated + dynamic). No constructor change needed — `FileCache` already accepted a `dir` config; we just wire the env-derived value through. | ✅ |
+| 7 | **Audit collector integration** — when `request.mcpToken` is set, the `onsessioninitialized` handler in `project-mcp-endpoint.ts` now also calls `collector.setSessionMcpToken(id, {tokenName, tokenSha})` alongside the existing `setSessionUserName`. Session map from PR 3 merges both principals. | ✅ |
+| 8 | **Container image** — `deploy/Dockerfile.mcplocal` mirrors `Dockerfile.mcpd` shape: multi-stage Node 20 Alpine, pnpm workspace build of `@mcpctl/shared` + `@mcpctl/mcplocal`, runtime `CMD node src/mcplocal/dist/serve.js`, `EXPOSE 3200`, `VOLUME /var/lib/mcplocal/cache`, `HEALTHCHECK` on `/healthz`. | ✅ |
+| 9 | **Build + push script** — `scripts/build-mcplocal.sh` (executable, 755) mirrors `build-mcpd.sh`. Pushes to `10.0.0.194:3012/michal/mcplocal:latest`. | ✅ |
+| 10 | **`fulldeploy.sh`** — now a 4-step pipeline: (1) build + push mcpd, (2) build + push mcplocal, (3) rollout both deployments on k8s (mcplocal gated behind a `kubectl get deployment/mcplocal` check so the script stays green before the Pulumi stack lands), (4) RPM release. Smoke suite runs at the end as before. | ✅ |
+| 11 | **`mcpctl test mcp` + new create flags in completions** — bash + fish regenerated. `src/mcplocal/package.json` gains a `serve` script for convenience. | ✅ |
+| 12 | **Smoke test** — `src/mcplocal/tests/smoke/mcptoken.smoke.test.ts`. Gated on `healthz($MCPGW_URL)`; skipped with a clear warning if the gateway is unreachable. Scenarios: happy path via `mcpctl test mcp` → exit 0; cross-project → exit 1 with a 403 message; `--expect-tools __nonexistent__` → exit 2; delete-then-retry after the 5s negative-cache window → exit 1 with 401. Cleans up both projects at the end. | ✅ |
+
+### Deploy-time steps still owed (outside this repo)
+
+- **Pulumi (`../kubernetes-deployment`, stack `homelab`)** — add a `Deployment` named `mcplocal` in ns `mcpctl` pointing at `10.0.0.194:3012/michal/mcplocal:latest` (internal registry), a `Service` named `mcp` (port 3200→80, ClusterIP), an `Ingress` for `mcp.ad.itaz.eu` with TLS via the existing cluster-issuer, a PVC `mcplocal-cache` (10Gi RWO, mounted `/var/lib/mcplocal/cache`), and a NetworkPolicy mirroring mcpd's. Required env: **just `MCPLOCAL_MCPD_URL`** (point at `http://mcpd.mcpctl.svc.cluster.local:3100`). Optionally `MCPLOCAL_TOKEN_POSITIVE_TTL_MS` / `MCPLOCAL_TOKEN_NEGATIVE_TTL_MS` for stricter revocation. `fulldeploy.sh` already runs `pulumi preview` first and halts on drift.
+- **No pod-level secret required** (revised from earlier draft) — the pod has no persistent identity to mcpd. Every inbound `Authorization: Bearer mcpctl_pat_…` is forwarded verbatim to mcpd, and mcpd's auth middleware resolves the McpToken principal. This eliminates the original `MCPLOCAL_MCPD_TOKEN` secret and its rotation story. Trade-off: a token with `--rbac=empty` can't read `/api/v1/projects/:name/servers`, but it also can't meaningfully serve MCP, so this is the right failure mode. See `src/mcplocal/src/serve.ts` header comment.
+- **LLM provider config** — if any project served by this pod is `gated: true`, mount your `~/.mcpctl/config.json` as a ConfigMap at `/root/.mcpctl/config.json`. Ungated projects (proxyModel `content-pipeline` or no LLM-driven stages) need nothing.
+
+### Test stats
+
+- 1773/1773 workspace tests pass (up from 1764 before PR 4).
+- All five packages build clean.
+- Shell completions fresh.
+- `mcpctl test mcp --help` and `mcpctl create mcptoken --help` render expected surfaces.
+
+## End-to-end verification (manual, after Pulumi resources land)
+
+```bash
+# From a workstation outside the k8s cluster:
+mcpctl create project vllm --force
+TOK=$(mcpctl create mcptoken vllm-token --project vllm --rbac clone | grep mcpctl_pat_)
+export MCPCTL_TOKEN="$TOK"
+
+# Probe the public gateway
+mcpctl test mcp https://mcp.ad.itaz.eu/projects/vllm/mcp --expect-tools begin_session
+
+# Negative: wrong project → exit 1
+mcpctl test mcp https://mcp.ad.itaz.eu/projects/other/mcp
+echo $?   # 1
+
+# Audit — the call should be tagged with tokenName=vllm-token
+mcpctl console --audit  # look for the TOKEN column once the TUI patch lands
+```
+
+## Design decisions recap (so you don't have to re-read the plan)
+
+| Decision | Choice |
+|---|---|
+| Transport | Streamable HTTP only |
+| Binary shape | Same `@mcpctl/mcplocal` package, two entry files (`main.ts` STDIO, `serve.ts` HTTP) |
+| Container runtime | Node (not bun-compiled) — mirrors mcpd |
+| Cache | PVC at `/var/lib/mcplocal/cache` |
+| Hostname | k8s Service `mcp`, Ingress `mcp.ad.itaz.eu` |
+| Token format | `mcpctl_pat_<32-byte base62>`, stored as SHA-256, shown-once at create |
+| Resource | `McpToken`, CLI noun `mcptoken`, one-project-per-token, FK cascade |
+| Subject kind | New `McpToken:<sha>` |
+| TTL | No default. Optional `--ttl 30d` / `never` / ISO date |
+| Default bindings | `--rbac=empty` (default), `--rbac=clone`, `--bind <kv>` — creator ceiling enforced server-side |
+| Binding CLI | `--roleBindings role:view,resource:servers[,name:foo]` or `--roleBindings action:logs` |
+| Project enforcement | Endpoint visibility only (no strict create-time check) — same mechanism Claude uses |
diff --git a/fulldeploy.sh b/fulldeploy.sh
index 1471494..10d1c3e 100755
--- a/fulldeploy.sh
+++ b/fulldeploy.sh
@@ -53,18 +53,30 @@ else
 fi
 
 echo ""
-echo ">>> Step 1/3: Build & push mcpd Docker image"
+echo ">>> Step 1/4: Build & push mcpd Docker image"
 echo ""
 bash scripts/build-mcpd.sh "$@"
 
 echo ""
-echo ">>> Step 2/3: Roll out mcpd on k8s ($KUBE_CONTEXT / $KUBE_NAMESPACE)"
+echo ">>> Step 2/4: Build & push mcplocal (HTTP-mode) Docker image"
+echo ""
+bash scripts/build-mcplocal.sh "$@"
+
+echo ""
+echo ">>> Step 3/4: Roll out mcpd + mcplocal on k8s ($KUBE_CONTEXT / $KUBE_NAMESPACE)"
 echo ""
 kubectl --context "$KUBE_CONTEXT" -n "$KUBE_NAMESPACE" rollout restart "deployment/$KUBE_DEPLOYMENT"
 kubectl --context "$KUBE_CONTEXT" -n "$KUBE_NAMESPACE" rollout status "deployment/$KUBE_DEPLOYMENT" --timeout=3m
+if kubectl --context "$KUBE_CONTEXT" -n "$KUBE_NAMESPACE" get deployment/mcplocal >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+  kubectl --context "$KUBE_CONTEXT" -n "$KUBE_NAMESPACE" rollout restart deployment/mcplocal
+  kubectl --context "$KUBE_CONTEXT" -n "$KUBE_NAMESPACE" rollout status deployment/mcplocal --timeout=3m
+else
+  echo "  NOTE: deployment/mcplocal does not exist in the cluster yet — skipping rollout."
+  echo "        Apply the Pulumi stack in ../kubernetes-deployment to create it."
+fi
 
 echo ""
-echo ">>> Step 3/3: Build, publish & install RPM"
+echo ">>> Step 4/4: Build, publish & install RPM"
 echo ""
 bash scripts/release.sh
 
diff --git a/scripts/build-mcplocal.sh b/scripts/build-mcplocal.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..e05a4c7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/build-mcplocal.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,83 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+# Build mcplocal (HTTP-only) Docker image and push to Gitea container registry.
+#
+# Usage:
+#   ./build-mcplocal.sh [tag]                    # Build for native arch
+#   ./build-mcplocal.sh [tag] --platform linux/amd64
+#   ./build-mcplocal.sh [tag] --multi-arch
+set -e
+
+SCRIPT_DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "$0")" && pwd)"
+PROJECT_ROOT="$(dirname "$SCRIPT_DIR")"
+cd "$PROJECT_ROOT"
+
+# Load .env for GITEA_TOKEN
+if [ -f .env ]; then
+  set -a; source .env; set +a
+fi
+
+# Push directly to internal address (external proxy has body size limit)
+REGISTRY="10.0.0.194:3012"
+IMAGE="mcplocal"
+TAG="${1:-latest}"
+
+PLATFORM=""
+MULTI_ARCH=false
+shift 2>/dev/null || true
+while [[ $# -gt 0 ]]; do
+  case "$1" in
+    --platform)
+      PLATFORM="$2"
+      shift 2
+      ;;
+    --multi-arch)
+      MULTI_ARCH=true
+      shift
+      ;;
+    *)
+      shift
+      ;;
+  esac
+done
+
+if [ "$MULTI_ARCH" = true ]; then
+  echo "==> Building multi-arch $IMAGE image (linux/amd64 + linux/arm64)..."
+  podman build --platform linux/amd64,linux/arm64 \
+    --manifest "$IMAGE:$TAG" -f deploy/Dockerfile.mcplocal .
+
+  echo "==> Tagging manifest as $REGISTRY/michal/$IMAGE:$TAG..."
+  podman tag "$IMAGE:$TAG" "$REGISTRY/michal/$IMAGE:$TAG"
+
+  echo "==> Logging in to $REGISTRY..."
+  podman login --tls-verify=false -u michal -p "$GITEA_TOKEN" "$REGISTRY"
+
+  echo "==> Pushing manifest to $REGISTRY/michal/$IMAGE:$TAG..."
+  podman manifest push --tls-verify=false --all \
+    "$REGISTRY/michal/$IMAGE:$TAG" "docker://$REGISTRY/michal/$IMAGE:$TAG"
+else
+  PLATFORM_FLAG=""
+  if [ -n "$PLATFORM" ]; then
+    PLATFORM_FLAG="--platform $PLATFORM"
+    echo "==> Building $IMAGE image for $PLATFORM..."
+  else
+    echo "==> Building $IMAGE image (native arch)..."
+  fi
+
+  podman build $PLATFORM_FLAG -t "$IMAGE:$TAG" -f deploy/Dockerfile.mcplocal .
+
+  echo "==> Tagging as $REGISTRY/michal/$IMAGE:$TAG..."
+  podman tag "$IMAGE:$TAG" "$REGISTRY/michal/$IMAGE:$TAG"
+
+  echo "==> Logging in to $REGISTRY..."
+  podman login --tls-verify=false -u michal -p "$GITEA_TOKEN" "$REGISTRY"
+
+  echo "==> Pushing to $REGISTRY/michal/$IMAGE:$TAG..."
+  podman push --tls-verify=false "$REGISTRY/michal/$IMAGE:$TAG"
+fi
+
+# Ensure package is linked to the repository
+source "$SCRIPT_DIR/link-package.sh"
+link_package "container" "$IMAGE"
+
+echo "==> Done!"
+echo "    Image: $REGISTRY/michal/$IMAGE:$TAG"
diff --git a/scripts/demo-mcp-call.py b/scripts/demo-mcp-call.py
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..765444e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/demo-mcp-call.py
@@ -0,0 +1,169 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env python3
+"""
+Demo: make an MCP request against mcplocal using an McpToken bearer.
+
+This is the standalone counterpart to `mcpctl test mcp` — intended to show
+exactly what a non-Claude client (e.g. a vLLM-driven agent) would do.
+
+Usage:
+    # Default: localhost mcplocal, sre project, token from $MCPCTL_TOKEN
+    export MCPCTL_TOKEN=mcpctl_pat_...
+    python3 scripts/demo-mcp-call.py
+
+    # Custom URL/project/tool
+    python3 scripts/demo-mcp-call.py \\
+        --url https://mcp.ad.itaz.eu \\
+        --project sre \\
+        --token "$MCPCTL_TOKEN" \\
+        --tool begin_session \\
+        --args '{"description":"hello"}'
+
+No third-party deps — pure stdlib. Mirrors the protocol that
+src/shared/src/mcp-http/index.ts implements on the TypeScript side.
+"""
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import argparse
+import json
+import os
+import sys
+import urllib.error
+import urllib.request
+from typing import Any
+
+
+def _parse_sse(body: str) -> list[dict[str, Any]]:
+    """Parse a text/event-stream body into a list of JSON-RPC messages."""
+    out: list[dict[str, Any]] = []
+    for line in body.splitlines():
+        if line.startswith("data: "):
+            try:
+                out.append(json.loads(line[6:]))
+            except json.JSONDecodeError:
+                pass
+    return out
+
+
+class McpSession:
+    def __init__(self, url: str, bearer: str | None = None, timeout: float = 30.0):
+        self.url = url
+        self.bearer = bearer
+        self.timeout = timeout
+        self.session_id: str | None = None
+        self._next_id = 1
+
+    def _headers(self) -> dict[str, str]:
+        h = {
+            "Content-Type": "application/json",
+            "Accept": "application/json, text/event-stream",
+        }
+        if self.bearer:
+            h["Authorization"] = f"Bearer {self.bearer}"
+        if self.session_id:
+            h["mcp-session-id"] = self.session_id
+        return h
+
+    def send(self, method: str, params: dict[str, Any] | None = None) -> Any:
+        rid = self._next_id
+        self._next_id += 1
+        payload = {"jsonrpc": "2.0", "id": rid, "method": method, "params": params or {}}
+        req = urllib.request.Request(
+            self.url,
+            data=json.dumps(payload).encode("utf-8"),
+            headers=self._headers(),
+            method="POST",
+        )
+        try:
+            with urllib.request.urlopen(req, timeout=self.timeout) as resp:
+                body = resp.read().decode("utf-8")
+                content_type = resp.headers.get("content-type", "")
+                # First successful response carries the session id.
+                if self.session_id is None:
+                    sid = resp.headers.get("mcp-session-id")
+                    if sid:
+                        self.session_id = sid
+                messages: list[dict[str, Any]] = (
+                    _parse_sse(body) if "text/event-stream" in content_type else [json.loads(body)]
+                )
+        except urllib.error.HTTPError as e:
+            err_body = e.read().decode("utf-8", errors="replace")
+            raise SystemExit(f"HTTP {e.code} from {self.url}: {err_body}") from None
+        except urllib.error.URLError as e:
+            raise SystemExit(f"transport error reaching {self.url}: {e.reason}") from None
+
+        # Pick the response matching our id; fall back to first message.
+        matched = next((m for m in messages if m.get("id") == rid), messages[0] if messages else None)
+        if matched is None:
+            raise SystemExit(f"no response for {method}")
+        if "error" in matched:
+            err = matched["error"]
+            raise SystemExit(f"MCP error {err.get('code')}: {err.get('message')}")
+        return matched.get("result")
+
+    def initialize(self) -> dict[str, Any]:
+        return self.send(
+            "initialize",
+            {
+                "protocolVersion": "2024-11-05",
+                "capabilities": {},
+                "clientInfo": {"name": "demo-mcp-call.py", "version": "1.0.0"},
+            },
+        )
+
+    def list_tools(self) -> list[dict[str, Any]]:
+        result = self.send("tools/list")
+        return result.get("tools", []) if isinstance(result, dict) else []
+
+    def call_tool(self, name: str, args: dict[str, Any]) -> Any:
+        return self.send("tools/call", {"name": name, "arguments": args})
+
+
+def main() -> int:
+    ap = argparse.ArgumentParser(description="Demo MCP request via McpToken bearer.")
+    ap.add_argument("--url", default=os.environ.get("MCPGW_URL", "http://localhost:3200"),
+                    help="Base URL of mcplocal (default: $MCPGW_URL or http://localhost:3200)")
+    ap.add_argument("--project", default="sre",
+                    help="Project name (default: sre). Must match the token's bound project.")
+    ap.add_argument("--token", default=os.environ.get("MCPCTL_TOKEN"),
+                    help="Raw mcpctl_pat_* bearer (default: $MCPCTL_TOKEN)")
+    ap.add_argument("--tool", help="Optionally call a tool after tools/list")
+    ap.add_argument("--args", default="{}", help="JSON-encoded arguments for --tool")
+    ap.add_argument("--timeout", type=float, default=30.0)
+    opts = ap.parse_args()
+
+    if not opts.token:
+        ap.error("--token or $MCPCTL_TOKEN required")
+
+    endpoint = f"{opts.url.rstrip('/')}/projects/{opts.project}/mcp"
+    print(f"→ POST {endpoint}")
+    print(f"  Bearer: {opts.token[:16]}…")
+    print()
+
+    sess = McpSession(endpoint, bearer=opts.token, timeout=opts.timeout)
+
+    info = sess.initialize()
+    server_info = info.get("serverInfo", {}) if isinstance(info, dict) else {}
+    print(f"initialize:  protocol={info.get('protocolVersion') if isinstance(info, dict) else '?'} "
+          f"server={server_info.get('name', '?')}/{server_info.get('version', '?')} "
+          f"sessionId={sess.session_id}")
+
+    tools = sess.list_tools()
+    print(f"tools/list:  {len(tools)} tool(s)")
+    for t in tools:
+        desc = (t.get("description") or "").splitlines()[0][:80]
+        print(f"  - {t['name']}  {desc}")
+
+    if opts.tool:
+        try:
+            args = json.loads(opts.args)
+        except json.JSONDecodeError as e:
+            raise SystemExit(f"--args must be valid JSON: {e}")
+        print(f"\ntools/call: {opts.tool} {args}")
+        result = sess.call_tool(opts.tool, args)
+        print(json.dumps(result, indent=2)[:2000])
+
+    return 0
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    sys.exit(main())
diff --git a/src/cli/src/api-client.ts b/src/cli/src/api-client.ts
index 6acc36b..d5e6067 100644
--- a/src/cli/src/api-client.ts
+++ b/src/cli/src/api-client.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 import http from 'node:http';
+import https from 'node:https';
 
 export interface ApiClientOptions {
   baseUrl: string;
@@ -31,16 +32,18 @@ function request<T>(method: string, url: string, timeout: number, body?: unknown
     if (token) {
       headers['Authorization'] = `Bearer ${token}`;
     }
+    const isHttps = parsed.protocol === 'https:';
     const opts: http.RequestOptions = {
       hostname: parsed.hostname,
-      port: parsed.port,
+      port: parsed.port || (isHttps ? 443 : 80),
       path: parsed.pathname + parsed.search,
       method,
       timeout,
       headers,
     };
 
-    const req = http.request(opts, (res) => {
+    const driver = isHttps ? https : http;
+    const req = driver.request(opts, (res) => {
       const chunks: Buffer[] = [];
       res.on('data', (chunk: Buffer) => chunks.push(chunk));
       res.on('end', () => {
diff --git a/src/cli/src/commands/apply.ts b/src/cli/src/commands/apply.ts
index 973157d..9c5e0d7 100644
--- a/src/cli/src/commands/apply.ts
+++ b/src/cli/src/commands/apply.ts
@@ -132,6 +132,15 @@ const ProjectSpecSchema = z.object({
   servers: z.array(z.string()).default([]),
 });
 
+const McpTokenSpecSchema = z.object({
+  name: z.string().min(1).max(100).regex(/^[a-z0-9-]+$/),
+  project: z.string().min(1),
+  description: z.string().default(''),
+  expiresAt: z.union([z.string().datetime(), z.null()]).optional(),
+  rbacMode: z.enum(['empty', 'clone']).default('empty'),
+  bindings: z.array(RbacRoleBindingSchema).default([]),
+});
+
 const ApplyConfigSchema = z.object({
   secrets: z.array(SecretSpecSchema).default([]),
   servers: z.array(ServerSpecSchema).default([]),
@@ -143,6 +152,7 @@ const ApplyConfigSchema = z.object({
   rbacBindings: z.array(RbacBindingSpecSchema).default([]),
   rbac: z.array(RbacBindingSpecSchema).default([]),
   prompts: z.array(PromptSpecSchema).default([]),
+  mcptokens: z.array(McpTokenSpecSchema).default([]),
 }).transform((data) => ({
   ...data,
   // Merge rbac into rbacBindings so both keys work
@@ -182,6 +192,7 @@ export function createApplyCommand(deps: ApplyCommandDeps): Command {
         if (config.serverattachments.length > 0) log(`  ${config.serverattachments.length} serverattachment(s)`);
         if (config.rbacBindings.length > 0) log(`  ${config.rbacBindings.length} rbacBinding(s)`);
         if (config.prompts.length > 0) log(`  ${config.prompts.length} prompt(s)`);
+        if (config.mcptokens.length > 0) log(`  ${config.mcptokens.length} mcptoken(s)`);
         return;
       }
 
@@ -217,6 +228,7 @@ const KIND_TO_RESOURCE: Record<string, string> = {
   prompt: 'prompts',
   promptrequest: 'promptrequests',
   serverattachment: 'serverattachments',
+  mcptoken: 'mcptokens',
 };
 
 /**
@@ -529,6 +541,46 @@ async function applyConfig(client: ApiClient, config: ApplyConfig, log: (...args
       log(`Error applying prompt '${prompt.name}': ${err instanceof Error ? err.message : err}`);
     }
   }
+
+  // --- McpTokens ---
+  // Apply semantics: tokens are immutable (their secret is minted once). If an
+  // active token with the same name+project already exists we skip, logging the
+  // state. Otherwise we create and log the raw token (shown exactly once).
+  for (const tok of config.mcptokens) {
+    try {
+      const proj = await cachedFindByName('projects', tok.project);
+      if (!proj) {
+        log(`Error applying mcptoken '${tok.name}': project '${tok.project}' not found`);
+        continue;
+      }
+
+      // Check if an active one already exists
+      const existing = await client
+        .get<Array<{ id: string; name: string; status: string }>>(`/api/v1/mcptokens?projectName=${encodeURIComponent(tok.project)}`)
+        .catch(() => []);
+      const active = existing.find((t) => t.name === tok.name && t.status === 'active');
+      if (active) {
+        log(`mcptoken '${tok.name}' already active in project '${tok.project}' — skipped (tokens are immutable)`);
+        continue;
+      }
+
+      const body: Record<string, unknown> = {
+        name: tok.name,
+        projectId: proj.id,
+        description: tok.description,
+        rbacMode: tok.rbacMode,
+        bindings: tok.bindings,
+      };
+      if (tok.expiresAt !== undefined) body.expiresAt = tok.expiresAt;
+
+      const created = await withRetry(() => client.post<{ id: string; name: string; token: string }>('/api/v1/mcptokens', body));
+      log(`Created mcptoken: ${tok.name} (project: ${tok.project})`);
+      log(`  token: ${created.token}`);
+      log('  (raw token shown once — copy it now)');
+    } catch (err) {
+      log(`Error applying mcptoken '${tok.name}': ${err instanceof Error ? err.message : err}`);
+    }
+  }
 }
 
 async function findByField<T extends string>(client: ApiClient, resource: string, field: T, value: string): Promise<unknown | null> {
diff --git a/src/cli/src/commands/console/audit-types.ts b/src/cli/src/commands/console/audit-types.ts
index 23be66f..6044e02 100644
--- a/src/cli/src/commands/console/audit-types.ts
+++ b/src/cli/src/commands/console/audit-types.ts
@@ -23,6 +23,9 @@ export interface AuditEvent {
   serverName: string | null;
   correlationId: string | null;
   parentEventId: string | null;
+  userName?: string | null;
+  tokenName?: string | null;
+  tokenSha?: string | null;
   payload: Record<string, unknown>;
 }
 
diff --git a/src/cli/src/commands/create.ts b/src/cli/src/commands/create.ts
index 7954884..42be2cd 100644
--- a/src/cli/src/commands/create.ts
+++ b/src/cli/src/commands/create.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 import { Command } from 'commander';
 import { type ApiClient, ApiError } from '../api-client.js';
 import { resolveNameOrId } from './shared.js';
+import { parseRoleBinding } from './rbac-bindings.js';
 export interface CreateCommandDeps {
   client: ApiClient;
   log: (...args: unknown[]) => void;
@@ -10,6 +11,37 @@ function collect(value: string, prev: string[]): string[] {
   return [...prev, value];
 }
 
+/**
+ * Parse a `--ttl` value.
+ *
+ * - `"never"` → null (no expiry)
+ * - `"30d"`, `"12h"`, `"2w"`, `"90m"`, `"60s"` → ISO8601 string relative to now
+ * - An ISO8601 datetime → returned as-is
+ */
+function parseTtl(value: string): string | null {
+  const trimmed = value.trim();
+  if (trimmed.toLowerCase() === 'never') return null;
+  const match = trimmed.match(/^(\d+)([smhdw])$/i);
+  if (match) {
+    const amount = Number(match[1]);
+    const unit = match[2]!.toLowerCase();
+    const multipliers: Record<string, number> = {
+      s: 1000,
+      m: 60 * 1000,
+      h: 3600 * 1000,
+      d: 86400 * 1000,
+      w: 7 * 86400 * 1000,
+    };
+    return new Date(Date.now() + amount * multipliers[unit]!).toISOString();
+  }
+  // Try to parse as ISO8601
+  const parsed = new Date(trimmed);
+  if (isNaN(parsed.getTime())) {
+    throw new Error(`Invalid --ttl '${value}'. Expected 'never', a duration like '30d' / '12h', or an ISO8601 datetime.`);
+  }
+  return parsed.toISOString();
+}
+
 interface ServerEnvEntry {
   name: string;
   value?: string;
@@ -331,8 +363,12 @@ export function createCreateCommand(deps: CreateCommandDeps): Command {
     .description('Create an RBAC binding definition')
     .argument('<name>', 'RBAC binding name')
     .option('--subject <entry>', 'Subject as Kind:name (repeat for multiple)', collect, [])
-    .option('--binding <entry>', 'Role binding as role:resource (e.g. edit:servers, run:projects)', collect, [])
-    .option('--operation <action>', 'Operation binding (e.g. logs, backup)', collect, [])
+    .option(
+      '--roleBindings <entry>',
+      'Role binding as key:value pairs, e.g. "role:view,resource:servers" or "role:view,resource:servers,name:my-ha" or "action:logs" (repeat for multiple)',
+      collect,
+      [],
+    )
     .option('--force', 'Update if already exists')
     .action(async (name: string, opts) => {
       const subjects = (opts.subject as string[]).map((entry: string) => {
@@ -343,24 +379,7 @@ export function createCreateCommand(deps: CreateCommandDeps): Command {
         return { kind: entry.slice(0, colonIdx), name: entry.slice(colonIdx + 1) };
       });
 
-      const roleBindings: Array<Record<string, string>> = [];
-
-      // Resource bindings from --binding flag (role:resource or role:resource:name)
-      for (const entry of opts.binding as string[]) {
-        const parts = entry.split(':');
-        if (parts.length === 2) {
-          roleBindings.push({ role: parts[0]!, resource: parts[1]! });
-        } else if (parts.length === 3) {
-          roleBindings.push({ role: parts[0]!, resource: parts[1]!, name: parts[2]! });
-        } else {
-          throw new Error(`Invalid binding format '${entry}'. Expected role:resource or role:resource:name (e.g. edit:servers, view:servers:my-ha)`);
-        }
-      }
-
-      // Operation bindings from --operation flag
-      for (const action of opts.operation as string[]) {
-        roleBindings.push({ role: 'run', action });
-      }
+      const roleBindings = (opts.roleBindings as string[]).map((entry: string) => parseRoleBinding(entry));
 
       const body: Record<string, unknown> = {
         name,
@@ -384,6 +403,83 @@ export function createCreateCommand(deps: CreateCommandDeps): Command {
       }
     });
 
+  // --- create mcptoken ---
+  cmd.command('mcptoken')
+    .description('Create a project-scoped API token for HTTP-mode mcplocal. The raw token is printed once.')
+    .argument('<name>', 'Token name (unique within a project)')
+    .requiredOption('-p, --project <name>', 'Project this token is bound to')
+    .option('--rbac <mode>', "Base RBAC: 'empty' (default, no bindings) or 'clone' (snapshot creator's perms)", 'empty')
+    .option(
+      '--bind <entry>',
+      'Additional role binding as key:value pairs, e.g. "role:view,resource:servers" or "action:logs" (repeat for multiple). Creator perms are the ceiling.',
+      collect,
+      [],
+    )
+    .option('--ttl <duration>', "Expiry: '30d', '12h', 'never', or an ISO8601 datetime")
+    .option('--description <text>', 'Freeform description')
+    .option('--force', 'Revoke any existing active token with this name, then create a new one')
+    .action(async (name: string, opts) => {
+      // Resolve project name → id (mcpd's create route accepts either, but resolve client-side for clearer errors)
+      const projectId = await resolveNameOrId(client, 'projects', opts.project as string);
+
+      const bindings = (opts.bind as string[]).map((entry: string) => parseRoleBinding(entry));
+
+      const rbacMode = (opts.rbac as string).toLowerCase();
+      if (rbacMode !== 'empty' && rbacMode !== 'clone') {
+        throw new Error(`--rbac must be 'empty' or 'clone' (got '${opts.rbac as string}')`);
+      }
+
+      let expiresAt: string | null | undefined;
+      if (opts.ttl !== undefined) {
+        expiresAt = parseTtl(opts.ttl as string);
+      }
+
+      const body: Record<string, unknown> = {
+        name,
+        projectId,
+        rbacMode,
+        bindings,
+      };
+      if (expiresAt !== undefined) body.expiresAt = expiresAt;
+      if (opts.description !== undefined) body.description = opts.description;
+
+      type Created = {
+        id: string;
+        name: string;
+        projectName: string;
+        tokenPrefix: string;
+        token: string;
+        expiresAt: string | null;
+      };
+
+      const doCreate = async (): Promise<Created> => client.post<Created>('/api/v1/mcptokens', body);
+
+      let created: Created;
+      try {
+        created = await doCreate();
+      } catch (err) {
+        if (err instanceof ApiError && err.status === 409 && opts.force) {
+          // Find the existing active token by name+project and revoke it, then retry.
+          const existing = (await client.get<Array<{ id: string; name: string }>>(
+            `/api/v1/mcptokens?projectName=${encodeURIComponent(opts.project as string)}`,
+          )).find((r) => r.name === name);
+          if (!existing) throw err;
+          await client.post(`/api/v1/mcptokens/${existing.id}/revoke`, {});
+          created = await doCreate();
+        } else {
+          throw err;
+        }
+      }
+
+      log(`mcptoken '${created.name}' created (project: ${created.projectName}, id: ${created.id})`);
+      log('');
+      log('Copy this token now — it will NOT be shown again:');
+      log('');
+      log(`  ${created.token}`);
+      log('');
+      log(`Export it with:  export MCPCTL_TOKEN=${created.token}`);
+    });
+
   // --- create prompt ---
   cmd.command('prompt')
     .description('Create an approved prompt')
diff --git a/src/cli/src/commands/delete.ts b/src/cli/src/commands/delete.ts
index cb73fd2..cd5af79 100644
--- a/src/cli/src/commands/delete.ts
+++ b/src/cli/src/commands/delete.ts
@@ -29,6 +29,27 @@ export function createDeleteCommand(deps: DeleteCommandDeps): Command {
         return;
       }
 
+      // Mcptokens: names are scoped to a project, so require --project unless the caller passes a CUID
+      if (resource === 'mcptokens') {
+        let tokenId: string;
+        if (/^c[a-z0-9]{24}/.test(idOrName)) {
+          tokenId = idOrName;
+        } else {
+          if (!opts.project) {
+            throw new Error('--project is required to delete an mcptoken by name (or pass the id).');
+          }
+          const items = await client.get<Array<{ id: string; name: string }>>(
+            `/api/v1/mcptokens?projectName=${encodeURIComponent(opts.project)}`,
+          );
+          const match = items.find((i) => i.name === idOrName);
+          if (!match) throw new Error(`mcptoken '${idOrName}' not found in project '${opts.project}'`);
+          tokenId = match.id;
+        }
+        await client.delete(`/api/v1/mcptokens/${tokenId}`);
+        log(`mcptoken '${idOrName}' deleted.`);
+        return;
+      }
+
       // Resolve name → ID for any resource type
       let id: string;
       try {
diff --git a/src/cli/src/commands/describe.ts b/src/cli/src/commands/describe.ts
index 9fc1d24..a3f2b3c 100644
--- a/src/cli/src/commands/describe.ts
+++ b/src/cli/src/commands/describe.ts
@@ -503,6 +503,42 @@ function formatRbacDetail(rbac: Record<string, unknown>): string {
   return lines.join('\n');
 }
 
+function formatMcpTokenDetail(token: Record<string, unknown>, allRbac: RbacDef[]): string {
+  const lines: string[] = [];
+  lines.push(`=== McpToken: ${token.name} ===`);
+  lines.push(`${pad('Name:')}${token.name}`);
+  lines.push(`${pad('Project:')}${token.projectName ?? token.projectId ?? '-'}`);
+  lines.push(`${pad('Status:')}${token.status ?? '-'}`);
+  lines.push(`${pad('Prefix:')}${token.tokenPrefix ?? '-'}`);
+  if (token.description) lines.push(`${pad('Description:')}${token.description}`);
+  lines.push(`${pad('Owner:')}${token.ownerEmail ?? token.ownerId ?? '-'}`);
+  lines.push(`${pad('Created:')}${token.createdAt ?? '-'}`);
+  lines.push(`${pad('Last Used:')}${token.lastUsedAt ?? 'never'}`);
+  lines.push(`${pad('Expires:')}${token.expiresAt ?? 'never'}`);
+  if (token.revokedAt) lines.push(`${pad('Revoked At:')}${token.revokedAt}`);
+
+  // Find the auto-created RbacDefinition (subject McpToken:<sha>) to surface bindings.
+  // We don't know the sha from the describe response — match by convention: name 'mcptoken-<id>'.
+  const rbacDef = allRbac.find((r) => r.name === `mcptoken-${token.id as string}`);
+  if (rbacDef && Array.isArray(rbacDef.roleBindings) && rbacDef.roleBindings.length > 0) {
+    lines.push('');
+    lines.push('Bindings:');
+    for (const b of rbacDef.roleBindings as Array<{ role: string; resource?: string; action?: string; name?: string }>) {
+      if (b.action !== undefined) {
+        lines.push(`  run ${b.action}`);
+      } else if (b.resource !== undefined) {
+        lines.push(`  ${b.role} ${b.resource}${b.name !== undefined ? `/${b.name}` : ''}`);
+      }
+    }
+  }
+
+  lines.push('');
+  lines.push('Metadata:');
+  lines.push(`  ${pad('ID:', 12)}${token.id}`);
+
+  return lines.join('\n');
+}
+
 async function formatPromptDetail(prompt: Record<string, unknown>, client?: ApiClient): Promise<string> {
   const lines: string[] = [];
   lines.push(`=== Prompt: ${prompt.name} ===`);
@@ -801,6 +837,14 @@ export function createDescribeCommand(deps: DescribeCommandDeps): Command {
           case 'prompts':
             deps.log(await formatPromptDetail(item, deps.client));
             break;
+          case 'mcptokens': {
+            // Fetch the auto-created RbacDefinition (if any) so bindings are visible in describe.
+            const rbacForToken = await deps.client
+              .get<RbacDef[]>('/api/v1/rbac')
+              .catch(() => [] as RbacDef[]);
+            deps.log(formatMcpTokenDetail(item, rbacForToken));
+            break;
+          }
           default:
             deps.log(formatGenericDetail(item));
         }
diff --git a/src/cli/src/commands/get.ts b/src/cli/src/commands/get.ts
index 30c38cd..1777db5 100644
--- a/src/cli/src/commands/get.ts
+++ b/src/cli/src/commands/get.ts
@@ -119,6 +119,27 @@ const rbacColumns: Column<RbacRow>[] = [
   { header: 'ID', key: 'id' },
 ];
 
+interface McpTokenRow {
+  id: string;
+  name: string;
+  projectName: string;
+  tokenPrefix: string;
+  createdAt: string;
+  lastUsedAt: string | null;
+  expiresAt: string | null;
+  status: 'active' | 'revoked' | 'expired';
+}
+
+const mcpTokenColumns: Column<McpTokenRow>[] = [
+  { header: 'NAME', key: 'name', width: 24 },
+  { header: 'PROJECT', key: 'projectName', width: 20 },
+  { header: 'PREFIX', key: 'tokenPrefix', width: 18 },
+  { header: 'CREATED', key: (r) => new Date(r.createdAt).toLocaleString(), width: 20 },
+  { header: 'LAST USED', key: (r) => r.lastUsedAt ? new Date(r.lastUsedAt).toLocaleString() : '-', width: 20 },
+  { header: 'EXPIRES', key: (r) => r.expiresAt ? new Date(r.expiresAt).toLocaleString() : 'never', width: 20 },
+  { header: 'STATUS', key: 'status', width: 10 },
+];
+
 const secretColumns: Column<SecretRow>[] = [
   { header: 'NAME', key: 'name' },
   { header: 'KEYS', key: (r) => Object.keys(r.data).join(', ') || '-', width: 40 },
@@ -242,6 +263,8 @@ function getColumnsForResource(resource: string): Column<Record<string, unknown>
       return serverAttachmentColumns as unknown as Column<Record<string, unknown>>[];
     case 'proxymodels':
       return proxymodelColumns as unknown as Column<Record<string, unknown>>[];
+    case 'mcptokens':
+      return mcpTokenColumns as unknown as Column<Record<string, unknown>>[];
     default:
       return [
         { header: 'ID', key: 'id' as keyof Record<string, unknown> },
@@ -263,6 +286,7 @@ const RESOURCE_KIND: Record<string, string> = {
   prompts: 'prompt',
   promptrequests: 'promptrequest',
   serverattachments: 'serverattachment',
+  mcptokens: 'mcptoken',
 };
 
 /**
diff --git a/src/cli/src/commands/rbac-bindings.ts b/src/cli/src/commands/rbac-bindings.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9601ee8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/cli/src/commands/rbac-bindings.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,49 @@
+/**
+ * Parse one `--roleBindings <kv>` entry into a role-binding object the API accepts.
+ *
+ * Accepted forms:
+ *   role:view,resource:servers                       → resource binding (unscoped)
+ *   role:view,resource:servers,name:my-ha            → resource binding (name-scoped)
+ *   action:logs                                       → operation binding (role:run is implied)
+ *
+ * Whitespace around keys/values is trimmed. Keys must be one of: role, resource, name, action.
+ */
+export type RoleBindingEntry =
+  | { role: string; resource: string; name?: string }
+  | { role: 'run'; action: string };
+
+export function parseRoleBinding(entry: string): RoleBindingEntry {
+  const pairs: Record<string, string> = {};
+  for (const part of entry.split(',')) {
+    const colonIdx = part.indexOf(':');
+    if (colonIdx === -1) {
+      throw new Error(`Invalid roleBindings entry '${entry}': expected key:value pairs separated by commas`);
+    }
+    const key = part.slice(0, colonIdx).trim();
+    const value = part.slice(colonIdx + 1).trim();
+    if (!key || !value) {
+      throw new Error(`Invalid roleBindings entry '${entry}': empty key or value`);
+    }
+    if (!['role', 'resource', 'name', 'action'].includes(key)) {
+      throw new Error(`Invalid roleBindings key '${key}' in '${entry}': expected one of role, resource, name, action`);
+    }
+    pairs[key] = value;
+  }
+
+  // Operation binding: presence of `action:` implies role:run
+  if (pairs['action'] !== undefined) {
+    if (pairs['resource'] !== undefined || pairs['name'] !== undefined) {
+      throw new Error(`Invalid roleBindings entry '${entry}': 'action' cannot be combined with 'resource' or 'name'`);
+    }
+    return { role: 'run', action: pairs['action'] };
+  }
+
+  // Resource binding
+  if (pairs['role'] === undefined || pairs['resource'] === undefined) {
+    throw new Error(`Invalid roleBindings entry '${entry}': need either 'action:…' or both 'role:…,resource:…'`);
+  }
+  if (pairs['name'] !== undefined) {
+    return { role: pairs['role'], resource: pairs['resource'], name: pairs['name'] };
+  }
+  return { role: pairs['role'], resource: pairs['resource'] };
+}
diff --git a/src/cli/src/commands/shared.ts b/src/cli/src/commands/shared.ts
index ded9aad..abc5584 100644
--- a/src/cli/src/commands/shared.ts
+++ b/src/cli/src/commands/shared.ts
@@ -27,6 +27,10 @@ export const RESOURCE_ALIASES: Record<string, string> = {
   proxymodel: 'proxymodels',
   proxymodels: 'proxymodels',
   pm: 'proxymodels',
+  mcptoken: 'mcptokens',
+  mcptokens: 'mcptokens',
+  token: 'mcptokens',
+  tokens: 'mcptokens',
   all: 'all',
 };
 
@@ -72,6 +76,21 @@ export function stripInternalFields(obj: Record<string, unknown>): Record<string
     delete result[key];
   }
 
+  // McpToken-specific: promote projectName → project; drop secret/derived fields
+  if ('tokenHash' in result || 'tokenPrefix' in result) {
+    delete result.tokenHash;
+    delete result.tokenPrefix;
+    delete result.lastUsedAt;
+    delete result.revokedAt;
+    delete result.status;
+    delete result.ownerEmail;
+    if (typeof result.projectName === 'string') {
+      result.project = result.projectName;
+      delete result.projectName;
+      delete result.projectId;
+    }
+  }
+
   // Rename linkTarget → link for cleaner YAML
   if ('linkTarget' in result) {
     result.link = result.linkTarget;
diff --git a/src/cli/src/commands/status.ts b/src/cli/src/commands/status.ts
index e6cb9a3..604eac1 100644
--- a/src/cli/src/commands/status.ts
+++ b/src/cli/src/commands/status.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,11 @@
 import { Command } from 'commander';
 import http from 'node:http';
+import https from 'node:https';
+
+/** Pick the http or https driver based on the URL scheme. */
+function httpDriverFor(url: string): typeof http | typeof https {
+  return new URL(url).protocol === 'https:' ? https : http;
+}
 import { loadConfig } from '../config/index.js';
 import type { ConfigLoaderDeps } from '../config/index.js';
 import { loadCredentials } from '../auth/index.js';
@@ -45,10 +51,16 @@ export interface StatusCommandDeps {
 
 function defaultCheckHealth(url: string): Promise<boolean> {
   return new Promise((resolve) => {
-    const req = http.get(`${url}/health`, { timeout: 3000 }, (res) => {
-      resolve(res.statusCode !== undefined && res.statusCode >= 200 && res.statusCode < 400);
-      res.resume();
-    });
+    let req: http.ClientRequest;
+    try {
+      req = httpDriverFor(url).get(`${url}/health`, { timeout: 3000 }, (res) => {
+        resolve(res.statusCode !== undefined && res.statusCode >= 200 && res.statusCode < 400);
+        res.resume();
+      });
+    } catch {
+      resolve(false);
+      return;
+    }
     req.on('error', () => resolve(false));
     req.on('timeout', () => {
       req.destroy();
@@ -63,26 +75,32 @@ function defaultCheckHealth(url: string): Promise<boolean> {
  */
 function defaultCheckLlm(mcplocalUrl: string): Promise<string> {
   return new Promise((resolve) => {
-    const req = http.get(`${mcplocalUrl}/llm/health`, { timeout: 45000 }, (res) => {
-      const chunks: Buffer[] = [];
-      res.on('data', (chunk: Buffer) => chunks.push(chunk));
-      res.on('end', () => {
-        try {
-          const body = JSON.parse(Buffer.concat(chunks).toString('utf-8')) as { status: string; error?: string };
-          if (body.status === 'ok') {
-            resolve('ok');
-          } else if (body.status === 'not configured') {
-            resolve('not configured');
-          } else if (body.error) {
-            resolve(body.error.slice(0, 80));
-          } else {
-            resolve(body.status);
+    let req: http.ClientRequest;
+    try {
+      req = httpDriverFor(mcplocalUrl).get(`${mcplocalUrl}/llm/health`, { timeout: 45000 }, (res) => {
+        const chunks: Buffer[] = [];
+        res.on('data', (chunk: Buffer) => chunks.push(chunk));
+        res.on('end', () => {
+          try {
+            const body = JSON.parse(Buffer.concat(chunks).toString('utf-8')) as { status: string; error?: string };
+            if (body.status === 'ok') {
+              resolve('ok');
+            } else if (body.status === 'not configured') {
+              resolve('not configured');
+            } else if (body.error) {
+              resolve(body.error.slice(0, 80));
+            } else {
+              resolve(body.status);
+            }
+          } catch {
+            resolve('invalid response');
           }
-        } catch {
-          resolve('invalid response');
-        }
+        });
       });
-    });
+    } catch {
+      resolve('mcplocal unreachable');
+      return;
+    }
     req.on('error', () => resolve('mcplocal unreachable'));
     req.on('timeout', () => { req.destroy(); resolve('timeout'); });
   });
@@ -90,18 +108,24 @@ function defaultCheckLlm(mcplocalUrl: string): Promise<string> {
 
 function defaultFetchModels(mcplocalUrl: string): Promise<string[]> {
   return new Promise((resolve) => {
-    const req = http.get(`${mcplocalUrl}/llm/models`, { timeout: 5000 }, (res) => {
-      const chunks: Buffer[] = [];
-      res.on('data', (chunk: Buffer) => chunks.push(chunk));
-      res.on('end', () => {
-        try {
-          const body = JSON.parse(Buffer.concat(chunks).toString('utf-8')) as { models?: string[] };
-          resolve(body.models ?? []);
-        } catch {
-          resolve([]);
-        }
+    let req: http.ClientRequest;
+    try {
+      req = httpDriverFor(mcplocalUrl).get(`${mcplocalUrl}/llm/models`, { timeout: 5000 }, (res) => {
+        const chunks: Buffer[] = [];
+        res.on('data', (chunk: Buffer) => chunks.push(chunk));
+        res.on('end', () => {
+          try {
+            const body = JSON.parse(Buffer.concat(chunks).toString('utf-8')) as { models?: string[] };
+            resolve(body.models ?? []);
+          } catch {
+            resolve([]);
+          }
+        });
       });
-    });
+    } catch {
+      resolve([]);
+      return;
+    }
     req.on('error', () => resolve([]));
     req.on('timeout', () => { req.destroy(); resolve([]); });
   });
@@ -109,18 +133,24 @@ function defaultFetchModels(mcplocalUrl: string): Promise<string[]> {
 
 function defaultFetchProviders(mcplocalUrl: string): Promise<ProvidersInfo | null> {
   return new Promise((resolve) => {
-    const req = http.get(`${mcplocalUrl}/llm/providers`, { timeout: 5000 }, (res) => {
-      const chunks: Buffer[] = [];
-      res.on('data', (chunk: Buffer) => chunks.push(chunk));
-      res.on('end', () => {
-        try {
-          const body = JSON.parse(Buffer.concat(chunks).toString('utf-8')) as ProvidersInfo;
-          resolve(body);
-        } catch {
-          resolve(null);
-        }
+    let req: http.ClientRequest;
+    try {
+      req = httpDriverFor(mcplocalUrl).get(`${mcplocalUrl}/llm/providers`, { timeout: 5000 }, (res) => {
+        const chunks: Buffer[] = [];
+        res.on('data', (chunk: Buffer) => chunks.push(chunk));
+        res.on('end', () => {
+          try {
+            const body = JSON.parse(Buffer.concat(chunks).toString('utf-8')) as ProvidersInfo;
+            resolve(body);
+          } catch {
+            resolve(null);
+          }
+        });
       });
-    });
+    } catch {
+      resolve(null);
+      return;
+    }
     req.on('error', () => resolve(null));
     req.on('timeout', () => { req.destroy(); resolve(null); });
   });
diff --git a/src/cli/src/commands/test-mcp.ts b/src/cli/src/commands/test-mcp.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..17ccc89
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/cli/src/commands/test-mcp.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,176 @@
+import { Command } from 'commander';
+import { McpHttpSession, McpProtocolError, McpTransportError, deriveBaseUrl, mcpHealthCheck } from '@mcpctl/shared';
+
+export interface TestMcpCommandDeps {
+  log: (...args: unknown[]) => void;
+  /**
+   * Inject a session factory for testing. The default creates a real `McpHttpSession`.
+   */
+  createSession?: (url: string, opts: { bearer?: string; timeoutMs?: number }) => {
+    initialize(): Promise<unknown>;
+    listTools(): Promise<Array<{ name: string }>>;
+    callTool(name: string, args: Record<string, unknown>): Promise<unknown>;
+    close(): Promise<void>;
+  };
+  healthCheck?: (baseUrl: string) => Promise<boolean>;
+}
+
+export type TestMcpExitCode = 0 | 1 | 2;
+
+export interface TestMcpReport {
+  url: string;
+  health: 'ok' | 'fail' | 'skipped';
+  initialize: 'ok' | 'fail';
+  tools: string[] | null;
+  toolCall?: { name: string; result: unknown; isError?: boolean };
+  missingTools?: string[];
+  exitCode: TestMcpExitCode;
+  error?: string;
+}
+
+export function createTestCommand(deps: TestMcpCommandDeps): Command {
+  const { log } = deps;
+  const createSession = deps.createSession ?? ((url, opts) => new McpHttpSession(url, opts));
+  const healthCheck = deps.healthCheck ?? mcpHealthCheck;
+
+  const test = new Command('test').description('Utilities for testing MCP endpoints and config');
+
+  test
+    .command('mcp')
+    .description('Verify a Streamable-HTTP MCP endpoint: health, initialize, tools/list, optionally call a tool.')
+    .argument('<url>', 'Full URL of the MCP endpoint (e.g. https://mcp.example.com/projects/foo/mcp)')
+    .option('--token <bearer>', 'Bearer token (also reads $MCPCTL_TOKEN)')
+    .option('--tool <name>', 'Invoke a specific tool after listing')
+    .option('--args <json>', 'JSON-encoded arguments for --tool', '{}')
+    .option('--expect-tools <list>', 'Comma-separated tool names that MUST appear; fails otherwise')
+    .option('--timeout <seconds>', 'Per-request timeout in seconds', '10')
+    .option('-o, --output <format>', 'Output format: text or json', 'text')
+    .option('--no-health', 'Skip the /healthz preflight check')
+    .action(async (url: string, opts: {
+      token?: string;
+      tool?: string;
+      args: string;
+      expectTools?: string;
+      timeout: string;
+      output: string;
+      health: boolean;
+    }) => {
+      const bearer = opts.token ?? process.env.MCPCTL_TOKEN;
+      const timeoutMs = Number(opts.timeout) * 1000;
+      if (!Number.isFinite(timeoutMs) || timeoutMs <= 0) {
+        throw new Error(`--timeout must be a positive number of seconds (got '${opts.timeout}')`);
+      }
+
+      const report: TestMcpReport = {
+        url,
+        health: 'skipped',
+        initialize: 'fail',
+        tools: null,
+        exitCode: 1,
+      };
+
+      // 1. Health preflight
+      if (opts.health !== false) {
+        const baseUrl = deriveBaseUrl(url);
+        const ok = await healthCheck(baseUrl);
+        report.health = ok ? 'ok' : 'fail';
+        if (!ok) {
+          report.error = `healthz preflight failed at ${baseUrl}/healthz`;
+          return emit(report, opts.output, log);
+        }
+      }
+
+      const sessionOpts: { bearer?: string; timeoutMs: number } = { timeoutMs };
+      if (bearer !== undefined) sessionOpts.bearer = bearer;
+      const session = createSession(url, sessionOpts);
+
+      try {
+        // 2. Initialize
+        await session.initialize();
+        report.initialize = 'ok';
+
+        // 3. tools/list
+        const tools = await session.listTools();
+        report.tools = tools.map((t) => t.name);
+
+        // 4. --expect-tools check
+        if (opts.expectTools !== undefined && opts.expectTools.trim() !== '') {
+          const expected = opts.expectTools.split(',').map((s) => s.trim()).filter(Boolean);
+          const missing = expected.filter((name) => !report.tools!.includes(name));
+          if (missing.length > 0) {
+            report.missingTools = missing;
+            report.exitCode = 2;
+            report.error = `Missing tools: ${missing.join(', ')}`;
+            return emit(report, opts.output, log);
+          }
+        }
+
+        // 5. Optional --tool call
+        if (opts.tool !== undefined) {
+          let parsedArgs: Record<string, unknown> = {};
+          try {
+            parsedArgs = JSON.parse(opts.args) as Record<string, unknown>;
+          } catch {
+            throw new Error(`--args must be valid JSON (got '${opts.args}')`);
+          }
+          const result = await session.callTool(opts.tool, parsedArgs);
+          const toolCall: TestMcpReport['toolCall'] = { name: opts.tool, result };
+          if (typeof result === 'object' && result !== null && 'isError' in result) {
+            toolCall.isError = Boolean((result as { isError?: boolean }).isError);
+          }
+          report.toolCall = toolCall;
+          if (toolCall.isError) {
+            report.exitCode = 2;
+            report.error = `Tool '${opts.tool}' returned isError=true`;
+            return emit(report, opts.output, log);
+          }
+        }
+
+        report.exitCode = 0;
+      } catch (err) {
+        if (err instanceof McpProtocolError) {
+          report.exitCode = 1;
+          report.error = `protocol error ${err.code}: ${err.message}`;
+        } else if (err instanceof McpTransportError) {
+          report.exitCode = 1;
+          report.error = `transport error (HTTP ${err.status}): ${err.message}`;
+        } else {
+          report.exitCode = 1;
+          report.error = err instanceof Error ? err.message : String(err);
+        }
+      } finally {
+        await session.close().catch(() => { /* best-effort */ });
+      }
+
+      return emit(report, opts.output, log);
+    });
+
+  return test;
+}
+
+function emit(report: TestMcpReport, output: string, log: (...args: unknown[]) => void): void {
+  if (output === 'json') {
+    log(JSON.stringify(report, null, 2));
+  } else {
+    log(`URL:        ${report.url}`);
+    log(`Health:     ${report.health}`);
+    log(`Initialize: ${report.initialize}`);
+    if (report.tools !== null) {
+      log(`Tools (${report.tools.length}): ${report.tools.slice(0, 10).join(', ')}${report.tools.length > 10 ? `, …(+${report.tools.length - 10})` : ''}`);
+    }
+    if (report.missingTools !== undefined) {
+      log(`Missing:    ${report.missingTools.join(', ')}`);
+    }
+    if (report.toolCall !== undefined) {
+      log(`Tool call:  ${report.toolCall.name} → ${report.toolCall.isError ? 'ERROR' : 'ok'}`);
+    }
+    if (report.error !== undefined) {
+      log(`Error:      ${report.error}`);
+    }
+    log(`Result:     ${report.exitCode === 0 ? 'PASS' : report.exitCode === 2 ? 'CONTRACT FAIL' : 'TRANSPORT/AUTH FAIL'}`);
+  }
+
+  if (report.exitCode !== 0) {
+    process.exitCode = report.exitCode;
+  }
+}
diff --git a/src/cli/src/index.ts b/src/cli/src/index.ts
index eccd191..ca395b8 100644
--- a/src/cli/src/index.ts
+++ b/src/cli/src/index.ts
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ import { createDescribeCommand } from './commands/describe.js';
 import { createDeleteCommand } from './commands/delete.js';
 import { createLogsCommand } from './commands/logs.js';
 import { createApplyCommand } from './commands/apply.js';
+import { createTestCommand } from './commands/test-mcp.js';
 import { createCreateCommand } from './commands/create.js';
 import { createEditCommand } from './commands/edit.js';
 import { createBackupCommand } from './commands/backup.js';
@@ -99,6 +100,25 @@ export function createProgram(): Command {
       }
     }
 
+    // --project scoping for mcptokens
+    if (!nameOrId && resource === 'mcptokens' && projectName) {
+      return client.get<unknown[]>(`/api/v1/mcptokens?projectName=${encodeURIComponent(projectName)}`);
+    }
+
+    // Name-based lookup for mcptokens: names are unique only within a project
+    if (nameOrId && resource === 'mcptokens' && !/^c[a-z0-9]{24}/.test(nameOrId)) {
+      if (!projectName) {
+        throw new Error('mcptoken names are scoped to a project — pass --project <name> or use the token id (cuid)');
+      }
+      const items = await client.get<Array<{ id: string; name: string }>>(
+        `/api/v1/mcptokens?projectName=${encodeURIComponent(projectName)}`,
+      );
+      const match = items.find((i) => i.name === nameOrId);
+      if (!match) throw new Error(`mcptoken '${nameOrId}' not found in project '${projectName}'`);
+      const item = await client.get(`/api/v1/mcptokens/${match.id}`);
+      return [item];
+    }
+
     if (nameOrId) {
       // Glob pattern — use query param filtering
       if (nameOrId.includes('*')) {
@@ -132,6 +152,19 @@ export function createProgram(): Command {
       return client.get(`/api/v1/${resource}/${match.id as string}`);
     }
 
+    // Mcptokens: names are project-scoped. CUIDs pass straight through.
+    if (resource === 'mcptokens' && !/^c[a-z0-9]{24}/.test(nameOrId)) {
+      if (!projectName) {
+        throw new Error('mcptoken names are scoped to a project — pass --project <name> or use the token id (cuid)');
+      }
+      const items = await client.get<Array<Record<string, unknown>>>(
+        `/api/v1/mcptokens?projectName=${encodeURIComponent(projectName)}`,
+      );
+      const match = items.find((item) => item.name === nameOrId);
+      if (!match) throw new Error(`mcptoken '${nameOrId}' not found in project '${projectName}'`);
+      return client.get(`/api/v1/mcptokens/${match.id as string}`);
+    }
+
     let id: string;
     try {
       id = await resolveNameOrId(client, resource, nameOrId);
@@ -212,6 +245,10 @@ export function createProgram(): Command {
     mcplocalUrl: config.mcplocalUrl,
   }));
 
+  program.addCommand(createTestCommand({
+    log: (...args) => console.log(...args),
+  }));
+
   return program;
 }
 
diff --git a/src/cli/tests/commands/create.test.ts b/src/cli/tests/commands/create.test.ts
index fe8eb0f..d1d2f32 100644
--- a/src/cli/tests/commands/create.test.ts
+++ b/src/cli/tests/commands/create.test.ts
@@ -318,8 +318,8 @@ describe('create command', () => {
         'rbac', 'developers',
         '--subject', 'User:alice@test.com',
         '--subject', 'Group:dev-team',
-        '--binding', 'edit:servers',
-        '--binding', 'view:instances',
+        '--roleBindings', 'role:edit,resource:servers',
+        '--roleBindings', 'role:view,resource:instances',
       ], { from: 'user' });
 
       expect(client.post).toHaveBeenCalledWith('/api/v1/rbac', {
@@ -342,7 +342,7 @@ describe('create command', () => {
       await cmd.parseAsync([
         'rbac', 'admins',
         '--subject', 'User:admin@test.com',
-        '--binding', 'edit:*',
+        '--roleBindings', 'role:edit,resource:*',
       ], { from: 'user' });
 
       expect(client.post).toHaveBeenCalledWith('/api/v1/rbac', {
@@ -371,18 +371,18 @@ describe('create command', () => {
       ).rejects.toThrow('Invalid subject format');
     });
 
-    it('throws on invalid binding format', async () => {
+    it('throws on invalid roleBindings format', async () => {
       const cmd = createCreateCommand({ client, log });
       await expect(
-        cmd.parseAsync(['rbac', 'bad', '--binding', 'no-colon'], { from: 'user' }),
-      ).rejects.toThrow('Invalid binding format');
+        cmd.parseAsync(['rbac', 'bad', '--roleBindings', 'no-colon'], { from: 'user' }),
+      ).rejects.toThrow(/Invalid roleBindings/);
     });
 
     it('throws on 409 without --force', async () => {
       vi.mocked(client.post).mockRejectedValueOnce(new ApiError(409, '{"error":"RBAC already exists"}'));
       const cmd = createCreateCommand({ client, log });
       await expect(
-        cmd.parseAsync(['rbac', 'developers', '--subject', 'User:a@b.com', '--binding', 'edit:servers'], { from: 'user' }),
+        cmd.parseAsync(['rbac', 'developers', '--subject', 'User:a@b.com', '--roleBindings', 'role:edit,resource:servers'], { from: 'user' }),
       ).rejects.toThrow('API error 409');
     });
 
@@ -393,7 +393,7 @@ describe('create command', () => {
       await cmd.parseAsync([
         'rbac', 'developers',
         '--subject', 'User:new@test.com',
-        '--binding', 'edit:*',
+        '--roleBindings', 'role:edit,resource:*',
         '--force',
       ], { from: 'user' });
 
@@ -404,15 +404,15 @@ describe('create command', () => {
       expect(output.join('\n')).toContain("rbac 'developers' updated");
     });
 
-    it('creates an RBAC definition with operation bindings', async () => {
+    it('creates an RBAC definition with operation bindings (action:… shorthand)', async () => {
       vi.mocked(client.post).mockResolvedValueOnce({ id: 'rbac-1', name: 'ops' });
       const cmd = createCreateCommand({ client, log });
       await cmd.parseAsync([
         'rbac', 'ops',
         '--subject', 'Group:ops-team',
-        '--binding', 'edit:servers',
-        '--operation', 'logs',
-        '--operation', 'backup',
+        '--roleBindings', 'role:edit,resource:servers',
+        '--roleBindings', 'action:logs',
+        '--roleBindings', 'action:backup',
       ], { from: 'user' });
 
       expect(client.post).toHaveBeenCalledWith('/api/v1/rbac', {
@@ -433,7 +433,7 @@ describe('create command', () => {
       await cmd.parseAsync([
         'rbac', 'ha-viewer',
         '--subject', 'User:alice@test.com',
-        '--binding', 'view:servers:my-ha',
+        '--roleBindings', 'role:view,resource:servers,name:my-ha',
       ], { from: 'user' });
 
       expect(client.post).toHaveBeenCalledWith('/api/v1/rbac', {
diff --git a/src/cli/tests/commands/rbac-bindings.test.ts b/src/cli/tests/commands/rbac-bindings.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9a1ec6a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/cli/tests/commands/rbac-bindings.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,54 @@
+import { describe, it, expect } from 'vitest';
+import { parseRoleBinding } from '../../src/commands/rbac-bindings.js';
+
+describe('parseRoleBinding', () => {
+  it('parses an unscoped resource binding', () => {
+    expect(parseRoleBinding('role:view,resource:servers')).toEqual({
+      role: 'view',
+      resource: 'servers',
+    });
+  });
+
+  it('parses a name-scoped resource binding', () => {
+    expect(parseRoleBinding('role:view,resource:servers,name:my-ha')).toEqual({
+      role: 'view',
+      resource: 'servers',
+      name: 'my-ha',
+    });
+  });
+
+  it('parses an operation binding via the action shorthand', () => {
+    expect(parseRoleBinding('action:logs')).toEqual({
+      role: 'run',
+      action: 'logs',
+    });
+  });
+
+  it('trims whitespace around keys and values', () => {
+    expect(parseRoleBinding('role: edit , resource: * ')).toEqual({
+      role: 'edit',
+      resource: '*',
+    });
+  });
+
+  it('rejects a pair with no colon', () => {
+    expect(() => parseRoleBinding('role=view')).toThrow(/key:value pairs/);
+  });
+
+  it('rejects an unknown key', () => {
+    expect(() => parseRoleBinding('role:view,resource:servers,scope:project')).toThrow(/Invalid roleBindings key 'scope'/);
+  });
+
+  it('rejects an empty value', () => {
+    expect(() => parseRoleBinding('role:view,resource:')).toThrow(/empty key or value/);
+  });
+
+  it('rejects action combined with resource/name', () => {
+    expect(() => parseRoleBinding('action:logs,resource:servers')).toThrow(/cannot be combined/);
+  });
+
+  it('requires both role and resource when action is absent', () => {
+    expect(() => parseRoleBinding('role:view')).toThrow(/need either 'action/);
+    expect(() => parseRoleBinding('resource:servers')).toThrow(/need either 'action/);
+  });
+});
diff --git a/src/cli/tests/commands/test-mcp.test.ts b/src/cli/tests/commands/test-mcp.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..97b5259
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/cli/tests/commands/test-mcp.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,168 @@
+import { describe, it, expect, vi, beforeEach, afterEach } from 'vitest';
+import { createTestCommand } from '../../src/commands/test-mcp.js';
+
+function makeSession(overrides: Partial<{
+  initialize: () => Promise<unknown>;
+  listTools: () => Promise<Array<{ name: string }>>;
+  callTool: (name: string, args: Record<string, unknown>) => Promise<unknown>;
+  close: () => Promise<void>;
+}> = {}) {
+  return {
+    initialize: overrides.initialize ?? vi.fn(async () => ({ protocolVersion: '2024-11-05' })),
+    listTools: overrides.listTools ?? vi.fn(async () => [{ name: 'echo' }, { name: 'search' }]),
+    callTool: overrides.callTool ?? vi.fn(async () => ({ content: [{ type: 'text', text: 'hi' }] })),
+    close: overrides.close ?? vi.fn(async () => { /* no-op */ }),
+  };
+}
+
+describe('mcpctl test mcp', () => {
+  const output: string[] = [];
+  const log = (...args: unknown[]) => {
+    output.push(args.map(String).join(' '));
+  };
+
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    output.length = 0;
+    process.exitCode = 0;
+  });
+
+  afterEach(() => {
+    process.exitCode = 0;
+  });
+
+  it('exits 0 on happy path (health + initialize + tools/list)', async () => {
+    const session = makeSession();
+    const cmd = createTestCommand({
+      log,
+      createSession: () => session,
+      healthCheck: async () => true,
+    });
+    await cmd.parseAsync(['mcp', 'https://mcp.example.com/projects/foo/mcp'], { from: 'user' });
+    expect(process.exitCode).toBe(0);
+    expect(session.initialize).toHaveBeenCalled();
+    expect(session.listTools).toHaveBeenCalled();
+    expect(output.join('\n')).toContain('Result:     PASS');
+  });
+
+  it('exits 1 when the /healthz preflight fails', async () => {
+    const cmd = createTestCommand({
+      log,
+      createSession: () => makeSession(),
+      healthCheck: async () => false,
+    });
+    await cmd.parseAsync(['mcp', 'https://mcp.example.com/projects/foo/mcp'], { from: 'user' });
+    expect(process.exitCode).toBe(1);
+    expect(output.join('\n')).toContain('healthz preflight failed');
+  });
+
+  it('exits 2 (contract fail) when --expect-tools are missing', async () => {
+    const cmd = createTestCommand({
+      log,
+      createSession: () => makeSession({
+        listTools: async () => [{ name: 'echo' }],
+      }),
+      healthCheck: async () => true,
+    });
+    await cmd.parseAsync(
+      ['mcp', 'https://mcp.example.com/projects/foo/mcp', '--expect-tools', 'echo,search'],
+      { from: 'user' },
+    );
+    expect(process.exitCode).toBe(2);
+    expect(output.join('\n')).toContain('Missing:    search');
+    expect(output.join('\n')).toContain('CONTRACT FAIL');
+  });
+
+  it('exits 0 when --expect-tools all match', async () => {
+    const cmd = createTestCommand({
+      log,
+      createSession: () => makeSession({
+        listTools: async () => [{ name: 'echo' }, { name: 'search' }, { name: 'x' }],
+      }),
+      healthCheck: async () => true,
+    });
+    await cmd.parseAsync(
+      ['mcp', 'https://mcp.example.com/projects/foo/mcp', '--expect-tools', 'echo,search'],
+      { from: 'user' },
+    );
+    expect(process.exitCode).toBe(0);
+  });
+
+  it('exits 1 on transport/auth failure (initialize throws)', async () => {
+    const cmd = createTestCommand({
+      log,
+      createSession: () => makeSession({
+        initialize: async () => { throw new Error('HTTP 401: unauthorized'); },
+      }),
+      healthCheck: async () => true,
+    });
+    await cmd.parseAsync(['mcp', 'https://mcp.example.com/projects/foo/mcp'], { from: 'user' });
+    expect(process.exitCode).toBe(1);
+    expect(output.join('\n')).toContain('Error:');
+    expect(output.join('\n')).toContain('TRANSPORT/AUTH FAIL');
+  });
+
+  it('invokes --tool with --args and reports isError', async () => {
+    const callTool = vi.fn(async () => ({ content: [{ type: 'text', text: 'oops' }], isError: true }));
+    const cmd = createTestCommand({
+      log,
+      createSession: () => makeSession({ callTool }),
+      healthCheck: async () => true,
+    });
+    await cmd.parseAsync(
+      ['mcp', 'https://mcp.example.com/projects/foo/mcp', '--tool', 'echo', '--args', '{"msg":"hi"}'],
+      { from: 'user' },
+    );
+    expect(callTool).toHaveBeenCalledWith('echo', { msg: 'hi' });
+    expect(process.exitCode).toBe(2);
+  });
+
+  it('outputs a JSON report with -o json', async () => {
+    const cmd = createTestCommand({
+      log,
+      createSession: () => makeSession(),
+      healthCheck: async () => true,
+    });
+    await cmd.parseAsync(
+      ['mcp', 'https://mcp.example.com/projects/foo/mcp', '-o', 'json'],
+      { from: 'user' },
+    );
+    const parsed = JSON.parse(output.join('\n')) as { exitCode: number; tools: string[] };
+    expect(parsed.exitCode).toBe(0);
+    expect(parsed.tools).toEqual(['echo', 'search']);
+  });
+
+  it('reads $MCPCTL_TOKEN when --token is not given', async () => {
+    let observedBearer: string | undefined;
+    const cmd = createTestCommand({
+      log,
+      createSession: (_url, opts) => {
+        observedBearer = opts.bearer;
+        return makeSession();
+      },
+      healthCheck: async () => true,
+    });
+    const prev = process.env.MCPCTL_TOKEN;
+    process.env.MCPCTL_TOKEN = 'mcpctl_pat_fromenv';
+    try {
+      await cmd.parseAsync(['mcp', 'https://mcp.example.com/projects/foo/mcp'], { from: 'user' });
+    } finally {
+      if (prev === undefined) delete process.env.MCPCTL_TOKEN;
+      else process.env.MCPCTL_TOKEN = prev;
+    }
+    expect(observedBearer).toBe('mcpctl_pat_fromenv');
+  });
+
+  it('rejects invalid --args as JSON', async () => {
+    const cmd = createTestCommand({
+      log,
+      createSession: () => makeSession(),
+      healthCheck: async () => true,
+    });
+    await cmd.parseAsync(
+      ['mcp', 'https://mcp.example.com/projects/foo/mcp', '--tool', 'echo', '--args', 'not-json'],
+      { from: 'user' },
+    );
+    expect(process.exitCode).toBe(1);
+    expect(output.join('\n')).toContain('must be valid JSON');
+  });
+});
diff --git a/src/db/prisma/schema.prisma b/src/db/prisma/schema.prisma
index 978036e..2186eb8 100644
--- a/src/db/prisma/schema.prisma
+++ b/src/db/prisma/schema.prisma
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@ model User {
   auditLogs          AuditLog[]
   ownedProjects      Project[]
   groupMemberships   GroupMember[]
+  mcpTokens          McpToken[]
 
   @@index([email])
 }
@@ -187,6 +188,7 @@ model Project {
   servers        ProjectServer[]
   prompts        Prompt[]
   promptRequests PromptRequest[]
+  mcpTokens      McpToken[]
 
   @@index([name])
   @@index([ownerId])
@@ -204,6 +206,36 @@ model ProjectServer {
   @@unique([projectId, serverId])
 }
 
+// ── MCP Tokens (bearer credentials for HTTP-mode mcplocal) ──
+//
+// Raw value format: `mcpctl_pat_<32 base62 chars>`. The raw value is shown
+// exactly once at create time; only the SHA-256 hash is persisted. Tokens are
+// scoped to exactly one project — they're only valid at
+// `/projects/<that-project>/mcp`. Creator's RBAC is the ceiling; the service
+// rejects bindings that exceed what the creator themselves can do.
+
+model McpToken {
+  id          String    @id @default(cuid())
+  name        String
+  projectId   String
+  tokenHash   String    @unique
+  tokenPrefix String
+  ownerId     String
+  description String    @default("")
+  createdAt   DateTime  @default(now())
+  expiresAt   DateTime?
+  lastUsedAt  DateTime?
+  revokedAt   DateTime?
+
+  project Project @relation(fields: [projectId], references: [id], onDelete: Cascade)
+  owner   User    @relation(fields: [ownerId], references: [id], onDelete: Cascade)
+
+  @@unique([name, projectId])
+  @@index([tokenHash])
+  @@index([projectId])
+  @@index([ownerId])
+}
+
 // ── MCP Instances (running containers) ──
 
 model McpInstance {
@@ -288,6 +320,8 @@ model AuditEvent {
   correlationId  String?
   parentEventId  String?
   userName       String?
+  tokenName      String?
+  tokenSha       String?
   payload        Json
   createdAt      DateTime @default(now())
 
@@ -297,6 +331,7 @@ model AuditEvent {
   @@index([timestamp])
   @@index([eventKind])
   @@index([userName])
+  @@index([tokenSha])
 }
 
 // ── Backup Pending Queue ──
diff --git a/src/mcpd/src/main.ts b/src/mcpd/src/main.ts
index 7afef23..71545fa 100644
--- a/src/mcpd/src/main.ts
+++ b/src/mcpd/src/main.ts
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ import {
   UserRepository,
   GroupRepository,
   AuditEventRepository,
+  McpTokenRepository,
 } from './repositories/index.js';
 import { PromptRepository } from './repositories/prompt.repository.js';
 import { PromptRequestRepository } from './repositories/prompt-request.repository.js';
@@ -43,6 +44,7 @@ import {
   UserService,
   GroupService,
   AuditEventService,
+  McpTokenService,
 } from './services/index.js';
 import type { RbacAction } from './services/index.js';
 import type { UpdateRbacDefinitionInput } from './validation/rbac-definition.schema.js';
@@ -62,6 +64,7 @@ import {
   registerUserRoutes,
   registerGroupRoutes,
   registerAuditEventRoutes,
+  registerMcpTokenRoutes,
 } from './routes/index.js';
 import { registerPromptRoutes } from './routes/prompts.js';
 import { registerGitBackupRoutes } from './routes/git-backup.js';
@@ -104,6 +107,7 @@ function mapUrlToPermission(method: string, url: string): PermissionCheck {
     'mcp': 'servers',
     'prompts': 'prompts',
     'promptrequests': 'promptrequests',
+    'mcptokens': 'mcptokens',
   };
 
   const resource = resourceMap[segment];
@@ -116,6 +120,12 @@ function mapUrlToPermission(method: string, url: string): PermissionCheck {
     return { kind: 'resource', resource: 'promptrequests', action: 'delete', resourceName: approveMatch[1] };
   }
 
+  // Special case: /api/v1/mcptokens/:id/revoke → treated as 'delete' on the token.
+  const revokeMatch = url.match(/^\/api\/v1\/mcptokens\/([^/?]+)\/revoke/);
+  if (revokeMatch?.[1]) {
+    return { kind: 'resource', resource: 'mcptokens', action: 'delete', resourceName: revokeMatch[1] };
+  }
+
   // Special case: /api/v1/projects/:name/prompts/visible → view prompts
   const visiblePromptsMatch = url.match(/^\/api\/v1\/projects\/([^/?]+)\/prompts\/visible/);
   if (visiblePromptsMatch?.[1]) {
@@ -259,6 +269,7 @@ async function main(): Promise<void> {
   const rbacDefinitionRepo = new RbacDefinitionRepository(prisma);
   const userRepo = new UserRepository(prisma);
   const groupRepo = new GroupRepository(prisma);
+  const mcpTokenRepo = new McpTokenRepository(prisma);
 
   // CUID detection for RBAC name resolution
   const CUID_RE = /^c[^\s-]{8,}$/i;
@@ -267,6 +278,7 @@ async function main(): Promise<void> {
     secrets: secretRepo,
     projects: projectRepo,
     groups: groupRepo,
+    mcptokens: mcpTokenRepo,
   };
 
   // Migrate legacy 'admin' role → granular roles
@@ -292,6 +304,7 @@ async function main(): Promise<void> {
   const mcpProxyService = new McpProxyService(instanceRepo, serverRepo, orchestrator);
   const rbacDefinitionService = new RbacDefinitionService(rbacDefinitionRepo);
   const rbacService = new RbacService(rbacDefinitionRepo, prisma);
+  const mcpTokenService = new McpTokenService(mcpTokenRepo, projectRepo, rbacDefinitionRepo, rbacService);
   const userService = new UserService(userRepo);
   const groupService = new GroupService(groupRepo, userRepo);
   const promptRepo = new PromptRepository(prisma);
@@ -302,10 +315,28 @@ async function main(): Promise<void> {
   const backupService = new BackupService(serverRepo, projectRepo, secretRepo, userRepo, groupRepo, rbacDefinitionRepo, promptRepo, templateRepo);
   const restoreService = new RestoreService(serverRepo, projectRepo, secretRepo, userRepo, groupRepo, rbacDefinitionRepo, promptRepo, templateRepo);
 
-  // Auth middleware for global hooks
-  const authMiddleware = createAuthMiddleware({
-    findSession: (token) => authService.findSession(token),
-  });
+  // Shared auth dependencies. Both the global auth hook and the per-route
+  // preHandler on /api/v1/mcp/proxy must know how to resolve both session
+  // bearers AND mcpctl_pat_ bearers, or mcplocal→mcpd proxy calls with a
+  // McpToken will 401 at the route layer even though the global hook accepts them.
+  const authDeps = {
+    findSession: (token: string) => authService.findSession(token),
+    findMcpToken: async (tokenHash: string) => {
+      const row = await mcpTokenRepo.findByHash(tokenHash);
+      if (row === null) return null;
+      return {
+        tokenId: row.id,
+        tokenName: row.name,
+        tokenSha: row.tokenHash,
+        projectId: row.projectId,
+        projectName: row.project.name,
+        ownerId: row.ownerId,
+        expiresAt: row.expiresAt,
+        revokedAt: row.revokedAt,
+      };
+    },
+  };
+  const authMiddleware = createAuthMiddleware(authDeps);
 
   // Server
   const app = await createServer(config, {
@@ -329,6 +360,8 @@ async function main(): Promise<void> {
     const url = request.url;
     // Skip auth for health, auth, and root
     if (url.startsWith('/api/v1/auth/') || url === '/healthz' || url === '/health') return;
+    // Introspection authenticates via the McpToken bearer itself — route handles its own auth.
+    if (url.startsWith('/api/v1/mcptokens/introspect')) return;
     if (!url.startsWith('/api/v1/')) return;
 
     // Run auth middleware
@@ -351,9 +384,28 @@ async function main(): Promise<void> {
     const saHeader = request.headers['x-service-account'];
     const serviceAccountName = typeof saHeader === 'string' ? saHeader : undefined;
 
+    // McpToken principal (set by authMiddleware when the bearer was mcpctl_pat_…)
+    const mcpTokenSha = request.mcpToken?.tokenSha;
+
+    // Second layer of project-scope enforcement: a McpToken principal can only
+    // hit resources inside its bound project.
+    if (request.mcpToken !== undefined) {
+      const projectMatch = url.match(/^\/api\/v1\/projects\/([^/?]+)/);
+      if (projectMatch?.[1]) {
+        let targetProjectName = projectMatch[1];
+        if (CUID_RE.test(targetProjectName)) {
+          const entity = await projectRepo.findById(targetProjectName);
+          if (entity) targetProjectName = entity.name;
+        }
+        if (targetProjectName !== request.mcpToken.projectName) {
+          return reply.code(403).send({ error: 'Token is not valid for this project' });
+        }
+      }
+    }
+
     let allowed: boolean;
     if (check.kind === 'operation') {
-      allowed = await rbacService.canRunOperation(request.userId, check.operation, serviceAccountName);
+      allowed = await rbacService.canRunOperation(request.userId, check.operation, serviceAccountName, mcpTokenSha);
     } else {
       // Resolve CUID → human name for name-scoped RBAC bindings
       if (check.resourceName !== undefined && CUID_RE.test(check.resourceName)) {
@@ -363,10 +415,10 @@ async function main(): Promise<void> {
           if (entity) check.resourceName = entity.name;
         }
       }
-      allowed = await rbacService.canAccess(request.userId, check.action, check.resource, check.resourceName, serviceAccountName);
+      allowed = await rbacService.canAccess(request.userId, check.action, check.resource, check.resourceName, serviceAccountName, mcpTokenSha);
       // Compute scope for list filtering (used by preSerialization hook)
       if (allowed && check.resourceName === undefined) {
-        request.rbacScope = await rbacService.getAllowedScope(request.userId, check.action, check.resource, serviceAccountName);
+        request.rbacScope = await rbacService.getAllowedScope(request.userId, check.action, check.resource, serviceAccountName, mcpTokenSha);
       }
     }
     if (!allowed) {
@@ -388,11 +440,12 @@ async function main(): Promise<void> {
   registerMcpProxyRoutes(app, {
     mcpProxyService,
     auditLogService,
-    authDeps: { findSession: (token) => authService.findSession(token) },
+    authDeps,
   });
   registerRbacRoutes(app, rbacDefinitionService);
   registerUserRoutes(app, userService);
   registerGroupRoutes(app, groupService);
+  registerMcpTokenRoutes(app, { tokenService: mcpTokenService, projectRepo });
   registerPromptRoutes(app, promptService, projectRepo);
 
   // ── Git-based backup ──
diff --git a/src/mcpd/src/middleware/auth.ts b/src/mcpd/src/middleware/auth.ts
index 6d7dd97..0bc3a3c 100644
--- a/src/mcpd/src/middleware/auth.ts
+++ b/src/mcpd/src/middleware/auth.ts
@@ -1,13 +1,41 @@
 import type { FastifyRequest, FastifyReply } from 'fastify';
+import { isMcpToken, hashToken } from '@mcpctl/shared';
+
+export interface McpTokenPrincipal {
+  tokenId: string;
+  tokenName: string;
+  tokenSha: string;
+  projectId: string;
+  projectName: string;
+  ownerId: string;
+}
+
+export interface McpTokenLookup {
+  tokenId: string;
+  tokenName: string;
+  tokenSha: string;
+  projectId: string;
+  projectName: string;
+  ownerId: string;
+  expiresAt: Date | null;
+  revokedAt: Date | null;
+}
 
 export interface AuthDeps {
   findSession: (token: string) => Promise<{ userId: string; expiresAt: Date } | null>;
+  /**
+   * Look up an McpToken by SHA-256 hash. Optional — when absent, Bearer tokens
+   * that look like `mcpctl_pat_…` are rejected (400).
+   */
+  findMcpToken?: (tokenHash: string) => Promise<McpTokenLookup | null>;
 }
 
 declare module 'fastify' {
   interface FastifyRequest {
     userId?: string;
     rbacScope?: { wildcard: boolean; names: Set<string> };
+    /** Set by the auth hook when the caller authenticated via a McpToken bearer (prefix `mcpctl_pat_`). */
+    mcpToken?: McpTokenPrincipal;
   }
 }
 
@@ -25,6 +53,37 @@ export function createAuthMiddleware(deps: AuthDeps) {
       return;
     }
 
+    // Dispatch on the prefix: `mcpctl_pat_…` → McpToken path; anything else → session path.
+    if (isMcpToken(token)) {
+      if (deps.findMcpToken === undefined) {
+        reply.code(401).send({ error: 'McpToken auth not enabled' });
+        return;
+      }
+      const row = await deps.findMcpToken(hashToken(token));
+      if (row === null) {
+        reply.code(401).send({ error: 'Invalid token' });
+        return;
+      }
+      if (row.revokedAt !== null) {
+        reply.code(401).send({ error: 'Token revoked' });
+        return;
+      }
+      if (row.expiresAt !== null && row.expiresAt < new Date()) {
+        reply.code(401).send({ error: 'Token expired' });
+        return;
+      }
+      request.userId = row.ownerId;
+      request.mcpToken = {
+        tokenId: row.tokenId,
+        tokenName: row.tokenName,
+        tokenSha: row.tokenSha,
+        projectId: row.projectId,
+        projectName: row.projectName,
+        ownerId: row.ownerId,
+      };
+      return;
+    }
+
     const session = await deps.findSession(token);
     if (session === null) {
       reply.code(401).send({ error: 'Invalid token' });
diff --git a/src/mcpd/src/repositories/audit-event.repository.ts b/src/mcpd/src/repositories/audit-event.repository.ts
index f64aaf6..4fe1bb7 100644
--- a/src/mcpd/src/repositories/audit-event.repository.ts
+++ b/src/mcpd/src/repositories/audit-event.repository.ts
@@ -30,6 +30,8 @@ export class AuditEventRepository implements IAuditEventRepository {
       correlationId: e.correlationId ?? null,
       parentEventId: e.parentEventId ?? null,
       userName: e.userName ?? null,
+      tokenName: e.tokenName ?? null,
+      tokenSha: e.tokenSha ?? null,
       payload: e.payload as Prisma.InputJsonValue,
     }));
     const result = await this.prisma.auditEvent.createMany({ data });
@@ -132,6 +134,8 @@ function buildWhere(filter?: AuditEventFilter): Prisma.AuditEventWhereInput {
   if (filter.serverName !== undefined) where.serverName = filter.serverName;
   if (filter.correlationId !== undefined) where.correlationId = filter.correlationId;
   if (filter.userName !== undefined) where.userName = filter.userName;
+  if (filter.tokenName !== undefined) where.tokenName = filter.tokenName;
+  if (filter.tokenSha !== undefined) where.tokenSha = filter.tokenSha;
 
   if (filter.from !== undefined || filter.to !== undefined) {
     const timestamp: Prisma.DateTimeFilter = {};
diff --git a/src/mcpd/src/repositories/index.ts b/src/mcpd/src/repositories/index.ts
index 8a9fa33..09fb235 100644
--- a/src/mcpd/src/repositories/index.ts
+++ b/src/mcpd/src/repositories/index.ts
@@ -15,3 +15,5 @@ export type { IGroupRepository, GroupWithMembers } from './group.repository.js';
 export { GroupRepository } from './group.repository.js';
 export type { IAuditEventRepository, AuditEventFilter, AuditEventCreateInput } from './interfaces.js';
 export { AuditEventRepository } from './audit-event.repository.js';
+export type { IMcpTokenRepository, McpTokenFilter, McpTokenWithRelations, CreateMcpTokenRepoInput } from './interfaces.js';
+export { McpTokenRepository } from './mcp-token.repository.js';
diff --git a/src/mcpd/src/repositories/interfaces.ts b/src/mcpd/src/repositories/interfaces.ts
index 53b81b3..950c339 100644
--- a/src/mcpd/src/repositories/interfaces.ts
+++ b/src/mcpd/src/repositories/interfaces.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import type { McpServer, McpInstance, AuditLog, AuditEvent, Secret, InstanceStatus } from '@prisma/client';
+import type { McpServer, McpInstance, AuditLog, AuditEvent, McpToken, Secret, InstanceStatus } from '@prisma/client';
 import type { CreateMcpServerInput, UpdateMcpServerInput } from '../validation/mcp-server.schema.js';
 import type { CreateSecretInput, UpdateSecretInput } from '../validation/secret.schema.js';
 
@@ -57,6 +57,8 @@ export interface AuditEventFilter {
   serverName?: string;
   correlationId?: string;
   userName?: string;
+  tokenName?: string;
+  tokenSha?: string;
   from?: Date;
   to?: Date;
   limit?: number;
@@ -74,6 +76,8 @@ export interface AuditEventCreateInput {
   correlationId?: string;
   parentEventId?: string;
   userName?: string;
+  tokenName?: string;
+  tokenSha?: string;
   payload: Record<string, unknown>;
 }
 
@@ -95,3 +99,37 @@ export interface IAuditEventRepository {
   listSessions(filter?: { projectName?: string; userName?: string; from?: Date; to?: Date; limit?: number; offset?: number }): Promise<AuditSessionSummary[]>;
   countSessions(filter?: { projectName?: string; userName?: string; from?: Date; to?: Date }): Promise<number>;
 }
+
+// ── MCP Tokens ──
+
+export interface McpTokenFilter {
+  projectId?: string;
+  ownerId?: string;
+  includeRevoked?: boolean;
+}
+
+export interface CreateMcpTokenRepoInput {
+  name: string;
+  projectId: string;
+  ownerId: string;
+  tokenHash: string;
+  tokenPrefix: string;
+  description?: string;
+  expiresAt?: Date | null;
+}
+
+export type McpTokenWithRelations = McpToken & {
+  project: { id: string; name: string };
+  owner: { id: string; email: string };
+};
+
+export interface IMcpTokenRepository {
+  findAll(filter?: McpTokenFilter): Promise<McpTokenWithRelations[]>;
+  findById(id: string): Promise<McpTokenWithRelations | null>;
+  findByHash(tokenHash: string): Promise<McpTokenWithRelations | null>;
+  findByNameAndProject(name: string, projectId: string): Promise<McpTokenWithRelations | null>;
+  create(data: CreateMcpTokenRepoInput): Promise<McpTokenWithRelations>;
+  revoke(id: string): Promise<McpTokenWithRelations>;
+  touchLastUsed(id: string): Promise<void>;
+  delete(id: string): Promise<void>;
+}
diff --git a/src/mcpd/src/repositories/mcp-token.repository.ts b/src/mcpd/src/repositories/mcp-token.repository.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c2a845b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/mcpd/src/repositories/mcp-token.repository.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,83 @@
+import type { PrismaClient } from '@prisma/client';
+import type {
+  IMcpTokenRepository,
+  McpTokenFilter,
+  McpTokenWithRelations,
+  CreateMcpTokenRepoInput,
+} from './interfaces.js';
+
+const INCLUDE_RELATIONS = {
+  project: { select: { id: true, name: true } },
+  owner: { select: { id: true, email: true } },
+} as const;
+
+export class McpTokenRepository implements IMcpTokenRepository {
+  constructor(private readonly prisma: PrismaClient) {}
+
+  async findAll(filter?: McpTokenFilter): Promise<McpTokenWithRelations[]> {
+    const where: Record<string, unknown> = {};
+    if (filter?.projectId !== undefined) where['projectId'] = filter.projectId;
+    if (filter?.ownerId !== undefined) where['ownerId'] = filter.ownerId;
+    if (!filter?.includeRevoked) where['revokedAt'] = null;
+    return this.prisma.mcpToken.findMany({
+      where,
+      include: INCLUDE_RELATIONS,
+      orderBy: { createdAt: 'desc' },
+    }) as Promise<McpTokenWithRelations[]>;
+  }
+
+  async findById(id: string): Promise<McpTokenWithRelations | null> {
+    return this.prisma.mcpToken.findUnique({
+      where: { id },
+      include: INCLUDE_RELATIONS,
+    }) as Promise<McpTokenWithRelations | null>;
+  }
+
+  async findByHash(tokenHash: string): Promise<McpTokenWithRelations | null> {
+    return this.prisma.mcpToken.findUnique({
+      where: { tokenHash },
+      include: INCLUDE_RELATIONS,
+    }) as Promise<McpTokenWithRelations | null>;
+  }
+
+  async findByNameAndProject(name: string, projectId: string): Promise<McpTokenWithRelations | null> {
+    return this.prisma.mcpToken.findUnique({
+      where: { name_projectId: { name, projectId } },
+      include: INCLUDE_RELATIONS,
+    }) as Promise<McpTokenWithRelations | null>;
+  }
+
+  async create(data: CreateMcpTokenRepoInput): Promise<McpTokenWithRelations> {
+    return this.prisma.mcpToken.create({
+      data: {
+        name: data.name,
+        projectId: data.projectId,
+        ownerId: data.ownerId,
+        tokenHash: data.tokenHash,
+        tokenPrefix: data.tokenPrefix,
+        description: data.description ?? '',
+        expiresAt: data.expiresAt ?? null,
+      },
+      include: INCLUDE_RELATIONS,
+    }) as Promise<McpTokenWithRelations>;
+  }
+
+  async revoke(id: string): Promise<McpTokenWithRelations> {
+    return this.prisma.mcpToken.update({
+      where: { id },
+      data: { revokedAt: new Date() },
+      include: INCLUDE_RELATIONS,
+    }) as Promise<McpTokenWithRelations>;
+  }
+
+  async touchLastUsed(id: string): Promise<void> {
+    await this.prisma.mcpToken.update({
+      where: { id },
+      data: { lastUsedAt: new Date() },
+    });
+  }
+
+  async delete(id: string): Promise<void> {
+    await this.prisma.mcpToken.delete({ where: { id } });
+  }
+}
diff --git a/src/mcpd/src/routes/index.ts b/src/mcpd/src/routes/index.ts
index 8880fa0..084f004 100644
--- a/src/mcpd/src/routes/index.ts
+++ b/src/mcpd/src/routes/index.ts
@@ -18,3 +18,5 @@ export { registerRbacRoutes } from './rbac-definitions.js';
 export { registerUserRoutes } from './users.js';
 export { registerGroupRoutes } from './groups.js';
 export { registerAuditEventRoutes } from './audit-events.js';
+export { registerMcpTokenRoutes } from './mcp-tokens.js';
+export type { McpTokenRouteDeps } from './mcp-tokens.js';
diff --git a/src/mcpd/src/routes/mcp-tokens.ts b/src/mcpd/src/routes/mcp-tokens.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..af82fa1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/mcpd/src/routes/mcp-tokens.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,142 @@
+import type { FastifyInstance, FastifyReply, FastifyRequest } from 'fastify';
+import { isMcpToken } from '@mcpctl/shared';
+import type { McpTokenService } from '../services/mcp-token.service.js';
+import { PermissionCeilingError } from '../services/mcp-token.service.js';
+import { NotFoundError, ConflictError } from '../services/mcp-server.service.js';
+import type { IProjectRepository } from '../repositories/project.repository.js';
+
+export interface McpTokenRouteDeps {
+  tokenService: McpTokenService;
+  projectRepo: IProjectRepository;
+}
+
+export function registerMcpTokenRoutes(app: FastifyInstance, deps: McpTokenRouteDeps): void {
+  const { tokenService, projectRepo } = deps;
+
+  // ── List ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+  app.get<{ Querystring: { projectId?: string; projectName?: string; includeRevoked?: string } }>(
+    '/api/v1/mcptokens',
+    async (request) => {
+      const { projectId, projectName, includeRevoked } = request.query;
+
+      // Allow filtering by project name for CLI ergonomics.
+      let resolvedProjectId = projectId;
+      if (resolvedProjectId === undefined && projectName !== undefined) {
+        const project = await projectRepo.findByName(projectName);
+        if (project === null) throw new NotFoundError(`Project not found: ${projectName}`);
+        resolvedProjectId = project.id;
+      }
+
+      const filter: { projectId?: string; includeRevoked?: boolean } = {};
+      if (resolvedProjectId !== undefined) filter.projectId = resolvedProjectId;
+      if (includeRevoked === 'true') filter.includeRevoked = true;
+
+      const rows = await tokenService.list(filter);
+      return rows.map(toListResponse);
+    },
+  );
+
+  // ── Describe ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+  app.get<{ Params: { id: string } }>('/api/v1/mcptokens/:id', async (request) => {
+    const row = await tokenService.getById(request.params.id);
+    return toListResponse(row);
+  });
+
+  // ── Create ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+  app.post('/api/v1/mcptokens', async (request, reply) => {
+    const userId = request.userId;
+    if (userId === undefined) {
+      reply.code(401);
+      return { error: 'Not authenticated' };
+    }
+
+    try {
+      // Accept projectName OR projectId for CLI ergonomics.
+      const body = (request.body ?? {}) as Record<string, unknown>;
+      if (typeof body['projectName'] === 'string' && typeof body['projectId'] !== 'string') {
+        const project = await projectRepo.findByName(body['projectName']);
+        if (project === null) throw new NotFoundError(`Project not found: ${body['projectName']}`);
+        body['projectId'] = project.id;
+      }
+
+      const result = await tokenService.create(userId, body);
+      reply.code(201);
+      return {
+        ...toListResponse(result.mcpToken),
+        token: result.raw,
+      };
+    } catch (err) {
+      if (err instanceof NotFoundError) {
+        reply.code(404);
+        return { error: err.message };
+      }
+      if (err instanceof ConflictError) {
+        reply.code(409);
+        return { error: err.message };
+      }
+      if (err instanceof PermissionCeilingError) {
+        reply.code(403);
+        return { error: err.message };
+      }
+      throw err;
+    }
+  });
+
+  // ── Revoke (soft-delete) ────────────────────────────────────────────
+  app.post<{ Params: { id: string } }>('/api/v1/mcptokens/:id/revoke', async (request) => {
+    const row = await tokenService.revoke(request.params.id);
+    return toListResponse(row);
+  });
+
+  // ── Delete (hard) ────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+  app.delete<{ Params: { id: string } }>('/api/v1/mcptokens/:id', async (request, reply) => {
+    await tokenService.delete(request.params.id);
+    reply.code(204);
+  });
+
+  // ── Introspect ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+  // Called by mcplocal's HTTP-mode auth preHandler to resolve a raw bearer
+  // to principal info. Accepts a McpToken bearer directly — bypasses the
+  // session-auth path.
+  app.get('/api/v1/mcptokens/introspect', async (request: FastifyRequest, reply: FastifyReply) => {
+    const header = request.headers.authorization;
+    if (header === undefined || !header.startsWith('Bearer ')) {
+      reply.code(401);
+      return { ok: false, error: 'Missing Authorization' };
+    }
+    const token = header.slice(7);
+    if (!isMcpToken(token)) {
+      reply.code(401);
+      return { ok: false, error: 'Not a mcptoken bearer' };
+    }
+    const result = await tokenService.introspectRaw(token);
+    if (!result.ok) {
+      reply.code(401);
+    }
+    return result;
+  });
+}
+
+function toListResponse(row: import('../repositories/interfaces.js').McpTokenWithRelations): Record<string, unknown> {
+  return {
+    id: row.id,
+    name: row.name,
+    projectId: row.projectId,
+    projectName: row.project.name,
+    tokenPrefix: row.tokenPrefix,
+    ownerId: row.ownerId,
+    ownerEmail: row.owner.email,
+    description: row.description,
+    createdAt: row.createdAt,
+    expiresAt: row.expiresAt,
+    lastUsedAt: row.lastUsedAt,
+    revokedAt: row.revokedAt,
+    status: statusOf(row),
+  };
+}
+
+function statusOf(row: import('../repositories/interfaces.js').McpTokenWithRelations): 'active' | 'revoked' | 'expired' {
+  if (row.revokedAt !== null) return 'revoked';
+  if (row.expiresAt !== null && row.expiresAt < new Date()) return 'expired';
+  return 'active';
+}
diff --git a/src/mcpd/src/services/audit-event.service.ts b/src/mcpd/src/services/audit-event.service.ts
index 43d6793..e5b3ec7 100644
--- a/src/mcpd/src/services/audit-event.service.ts
+++ b/src/mcpd/src/services/audit-event.service.ts
@@ -9,6 +9,8 @@ export interface AuditEventQueryParams {
   serverName?: string;
   correlationId?: string;
   userName?: string;
+  tokenName?: string;
+  tokenSha?: string;
   from?: string;
   to?: string;
   limit?: number;
@@ -71,6 +73,8 @@ export class AuditEventService {
     if (params.serverName !== undefined) filter.serverName = params.serverName;
     if (params.correlationId !== undefined) filter.correlationId = params.correlationId;
     if (params.userName !== undefined) filter.userName = params.userName;
+    if (params.tokenName !== undefined) filter.tokenName = params.tokenName;
+    if (params.tokenSha !== undefined) filter.tokenSha = params.tokenSha;
     if (params.from !== undefined) filter.from = new Date(params.from);
     if (params.to !== undefined) filter.to = new Date(params.to);
     if (params.limit !== undefined) filter.limit = params.limit;
diff --git a/src/mcpd/src/services/index.ts b/src/mcpd/src/services/index.ts
index f9d724a..2841435 100644
--- a/src/mcpd/src/services/index.ts
+++ b/src/mcpd/src/services/index.ts
@@ -34,3 +34,5 @@ export { UserService } from './user.service.js';
 export { GroupService } from './group.service.js';
 export { AuditEventService } from './audit-event.service.js';
 export type { AuditEventQueryParams } from './audit-event.service.js';
+export { McpTokenService, PermissionCeilingError } from './mcp-token.service.js';
+export type { CreateMcpTokenResult, IntrospectResult } from './mcp-token.service.js';
diff --git a/src/mcpd/src/services/mcp-token.service.ts b/src/mcpd/src/services/mcp-token.service.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d022b82
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/mcpd/src/services/mcp-token.service.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,222 @@
+import { generateToken, hashToken } from '@mcpctl/shared';
+import type { McpToken } from '@prisma/client';
+import type { IMcpTokenRepository, McpTokenWithRelations, McpTokenFilter } from '../repositories/interfaces.js';
+import type { IRbacDefinitionRepository } from '../repositories/rbac-definition.repository.js';
+import type { IProjectRepository } from '../repositories/project.repository.js';
+import { CreateMcpTokenSchema } from '../validation/mcp-token.schema.js';
+import { isResourceBinding, type RbacRoleBinding, type RbacSubject } from '../validation/rbac-definition.schema.js';
+import type { RbacService, Permission } from './rbac.service.js';
+import { ROLE_ACTIONS_FOR_CEILING } from './rbac.service.js';
+import { NotFoundError, ConflictError } from './mcp-server.service.js';
+
+/** Thrown when the requesting user tries to mint a token with bindings they cannot grant themselves. */
+export class PermissionCeilingError extends Error {
+  constructor(message: string) {
+    super(message);
+    this.name = 'PermissionCeilingError';
+  }
+}
+
+export interface CreateMcpTokenResult {
+  /** The database row (with project/owner relations). */
+  mcpToken: McpTokenWithRelations;
+  /** The raw bearer token — shown exactly once. */
+  raw: string;
+}
+
+export interface IntrospectResult {
+  ok: boolean;
+  tokenId?: string;
+  tokenName?: string;
+  tokenSha?: string;
+  projectId?: string;
+  projectName?: string;
+  ownerId?: string;
+  expired?: boolean;
+  revoked?: boolean;
+}
+
+export class McpTokenService {
+  constructor(
+    private readonly tokenRepo: IMcpTokenRepository,
+    private readonly projectRepo: IProjectRepository,
+    private readonly rbacRepo: IRbacDefinitionRepository,
+    private readonly rbacService: RbacService,
+  ) {}
+
+  async list(filter?: McpTokenFilter): Promise<McpTokenWithRelations[]> {
+    return this.tokenRepo.findAll(filter);
+  }
+
+  async getById(id: string): Promise<McpTokenWithRelations> {
+    const row = await this.tokenRepo.findById(id);
+    if (row === null) throw new NotFoundError(`McpToken not found: ${id}`);
+    return row;
+  }
+
+  /** Hash + lookup a raw bearer. Returns the row if valid and active; null if missing, revoked, or expired. */
+  async introspectRaw(raw: string): Promise<IntrospectResult> {
+    const hash = hashToken(raw);
+    const row = await this.tokenRepo.findByHash(hash);
+    if (row === null) return { ok: false };
+
+    const now = new Date();
+    const revoked = row.revokedAt !== null;
+    const expired = row.expiresAt !== null && row.expiresAt < now;
+
+    if (revoked || expired) {
+      return {
+        ok: false,
+        tokenId: row.id,
+        tokenName: row.name,
+        tokenSha: row.tokenHash,
+        revoked,
+        expired,
+      };
+    }
+
+    // Best-effort last-used tracking (don't block on this).
+    this.tokenRepo.touchLastUsed(row.id).catch(() => { /* ignore */ });
+
+    return {
+      ok: true,
+      tokenId: row.id,
+      tokenName: row.name,
+      tokenSha: row.tokenHash,
+      projectId: row.projectId,
+      projectName: row.project.name,
+      ownerId: row.ownerId,
+      expired: false,
+      revoked: false,
+    };
+  }
+
+  async create(creatorUserId: string, input: unknown): Promise<CreateMcpTokenResult> {
+    const data = CreateMcpTokenSchema.parse(input);
+
+    const project = await this.projectRepo.findById(data.projectId);
+    if (project === null) throw new NotFoundError(`Project not found: ${data.projectId}`);
+
+    const existing = await this.tokenRepo.findByNameAndProject(data.name, data.projectId);
+    if (existing !== null && existing.revokedAt === null) {
+      throw new ConflictError(`McpToken already exists: ${data.name} in project ${project.name}`);
+    }
+
+    // Resolve the effective bindings:
+    //   base = rbacMode === 'clone' ? snapshot(creator) : []
+    //   effective = base + explicit bindings
+    const basePerms = data.rbacMode === 'clone'
+      ? await this.rbacService.getPermissions(creatorUserId)
+      : [];
+    const baseBindings = basePerms.map(permissionToBinding);
+    const effectiveBindings: RbacRoleBinding[] = [...baseBindings, ...data.bindings];
+
+    // Creator ceiling: every effective binding must be within what creator can do.
+    // Cloned bindings are trivially satisfied; explicit ones may not be.
+    for (const binding of data.bindings) {
+      const violation = await this.checkCeiling(creatorUserId, binding);
+      if (violation !== null) throw new PermissionCeilingError(violation);
+    }
+
+    // Generate the token
+    const { raw, hash, prefix } = generateToken();
+
+    // Normalize expiresAt
+    let expiresAt: Date | null = null;
+    if (data.expiresAt !== undefined && data.expiresAt !== null) {
+      expiresAt = typeof data.expiresAt === 'string' ? new Date(data.expiresAt) : data.expiresAt;
+    }
+
+    const createArgs: {
+      name: string;
+      projectId: string;
+      ownerId: string;
+      tokenHash: string;
+      tokenPrefix: string;
+      description?: string;
+      expiresAt: Date | null;
+    } = {
+      name: data.name,
+      projectId: data.projectId,
+      ownerId: creatorUserId,
+      tokenHash: hash,
+      tokenPrefix: prefix,
+      expiresAt,
+    };
+    if (data.description !== undefined) createArgs.description = data.description;
+    const row = await this.tokenRepo.create(createArgs);
+
+    // If the token has bindings, auto-create an RbacDefinition so the token is a real RBAC principal.
+    if (effectiveBindings.length > 0) {
+      const subject: RbacSubject = { kind: 'McpToken', name: hash };
+      await this.rbacRepo.create({
+        name: rbacDefNameFor(row),
+        subjects: [subject],
+        roleBindings: effectiveBindings,
+      });
+    }
+
+    return { mcpToken: row, raw };
+  }
+
+  async revoke(id: string): Promise<McpTokenWithRelations> {
+    const existing = await this.getById(id);
+    const row = await this.tokenRepo.revoke(id);
+    // Remove the RBAC definition so the token's bindings stop resolving immediately.
+    await this.deleteRbacDefinitionFor(existing).catch(() => { /* ignore */ });
+    return row;
+  }
+
+  async delete(id: string): Promise<void> {
+    const existing = await this.getById(id);
+    await this.deleteRbacDefinitionFor(existing).catch(() => { /* ignore */ });
+    await this.tokenRepo.delete(id);
+  }
+
+  private async deleteRbacDefinitionFor(row: McpToken): Promise<void> {
+    const name = rbacDefNameFor(row);
+    const existing = await this.rbacRepo.findByName(name);
+    if (existing === null) return;
+    await this.rbacRepo.delete(existing.id);
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * For a single requested binding, return null if the creator can grant it,
+   * or a human-readable reason string if they cannot.
+   */
+  private async checkCeiling(creatorUserId: string, binding: RbacRoleBinding): Promise<string | null> {
+    if (isResourceBinding(binding)) {
+      const grantedActions = ROLE_ACTIONS_FOR_CEILING[binding.role] ?? [];
+      for (const action of grantedActions) {
+        const ok = await this.rbacService.canAccess(
+          creatorUserId,
+          action,
+          binding.resource,
+          binding.name,
+        );
+        if (!ok) {
+          return `Ceiling violation: you do not have permission '${action}' on ${binding.resource}${binding.name !== undefined ? `/${binding.name}` : ''}`;
+        }
+      }
+      return null;
+    }
+    // Operation binding
+    const ok = await this.rbacService.canRunOperation(creatorUserId, binding.action);
+    if (!ok) return `Ceiling violation: you cannot run operation '${binding.action}'`;
+    return null;
+  }
+}
+
+function permissionToBinding(p: Permission): RbacRoleBinding {
+  if ('resource' in p) {
+    return p.name !== undefined
+      ? { role: p.role as RbacRoleBinding extends { role: infer R } ? R : never, resource: p.resource, name: p.name } as RbacRoleBinding
+      : { role: p.role, resource: p.resource } as RbacRoleBinding;
+  }
+  return { role: 'run', action: p.action };
+}
+
+function rbacDefNameFor(row: { id: string }): string {
+  // Must match the regex in CreateRbacDefinitionSchema (lowercase alphanumeric with hyphens).
+  return `mcptoken-${row.id.toLowerCase()}`;
+}
diff --git a/src/mcpd/src/services/rbac.service.ts b/src/mcpd/src/services/rbac.service.ts
index bbb437d..ddc7fe2 100644
--- a/src/mcpd/src/services/rbac.service.ts
+++ b/src/mcpd/src/services/rbac.service.ts
@@ -38,6 +38,9 @@ const ROLE_ACTIONS: Record<string, readonly RbacAction[]> = {
   expose: ['expose', 'view'],
 };
 
+/** Exported alias for permission-ceiling checks elsewhere (e.g. McpTokenService). */
+export const ROLE_ACTIONS_FOR_CEILING = ROLE_ACTIONS;
+
 export class RbacService {
   constructor(
     private readonly rbacRepo: IRbacDefinitionRepository,
@@ -50,8 +53,8 @@ export class RbacService {
    *   If provided, name-scoped bindings only match when their name equals this.
    *   If omitted (listing), name-scoped bindings still grant access.
    */
-  async canAccess(userId: string, action: RbacAction, resource: string, resourceName?: string, serviceAccountName?: string): Promise<boolean> {
-    const permissions = await this.getPermissions(userId, serviceAccountName);
+  async canAccess(userId: string, action: RbacAction, resource: string, resourceName?: string, serviceAccountName?: string, mcpTokenSha?: string): Promise<boolean> {
+    const permissions = await this.getPermissions(userId, serviceAccountName, mcpTokenSha);
     const normalized = normalizeResource(resource);
 
     for (const perm of permissions) {
@@ -73,8 +76,8 @@ export class RbacService {
    * Check whether a user is allowed to perform a named operation.
    * Operations require an explicit 'run' role binding with a matching action.
    */
-  async canRunOperation(userId: string, operation: string, serviceAccountName?: string): Promise<boolean> {
-    const permissions = await this.getPermissions(userId, serviceAccountName);
+  async canRunOperation(userId: string, operation: string, serviceAccountName?: string, mcpTokenSha?: string): Promise<boolean> {
+    const permissions = await this.getPermissions(userId, serviceAccountName, mcpTokenSha);
 
     for (const perm of permissions) {
       if ('action' in perm && perm.role === 'run' && perm.action === operation) {
@@ -90,8 +93,8 @@ export class RbacService {
    * Returns wildcard:true if any matching binding is unscoped (no name constraint).
    * Returns wildcard:false with a set of allowed names if all bindings are name-scoped.
    */
-  async getAllowedScope(userId: string, action: RbacAction, resource: string, serviceAccountName?: string): Promise<AllowedScope> {
-    const permissions = await this.getPermissions(userId, serviceAccountName);
+  async getAllowedScope(userId: string, action: RbacAction, resource: string, serviceAccountName?: string, mcpTokenSha?: string): Promise<AllowedScope> {
+    const permissions = await this.getPermissions(userId, serviceAccountName, mcpTokenSha);
     const normalized = normalizeResource(resource);
     const names = new Set<string>();
 
@@ -113,13 +116,13 @@ export class RbacService {
   /**
    * Collect all permissions for a user across all matching RbacDefinitions.
    */
-  async getPermissions(userId: string, serviceAccountName?: string): Promise<Permission[]> {
+  async getPermissions(userId: string, serviceAccountName?: string, mcpTokenSha?: string): Promise<Permission[]> {
     // 1. Resolve user email
     const user = await this.prisma.user.findUnique({
       where: { id: userId },
       select: { email: true },
     });
-    if (user === null && serviceAccountName === undefined) return [];
+    if (user === null && serviceAccountName === undefined && mcpTokenSha === undefined) return [];
 
     // 2. Resolve group names the user belongs to
     let groupNames: string[] = [];
@@ -142,6 +145,7 @@ export class RbacService {
         if (s.kind === 'User') return user !== null && s.name === user.email;
         if (s.kind === 'Group') return groupNames.includes(s.name);
         if (s.kind === 'ServiceAccount') return serviceAccountName !== undefined && s.name === serviceAccountName;
+        if (s.kind === 'McpToken') return mcpTokenSha !== undefined && s.name === mcpTokenSha;
         return false;
       });
 
diff --git a/src/mcpd/src/validation/mcp-token.schema.ts b/src/mcpd/src/validation/mcp-token.schema.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b6884e9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/mcpd/src/validation/mcp-token.schema.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+import { z } from 'zod';
+import { RbacRoleBindingSchema } from './rbac-definition.schema.js';
+
+export const McpTokenRbacMode = z.enum(['empty', 'clone']);
+export type McpTokenRbacMode = z.infer<typeof McpTokenRbacMode>;
+
+export const CreateMcpTokenSchema = z.object({
+  name: z
+    .string()
+    .min(1)
+    .max(100)
+    .regex(/^[a-z0-9-]+$/, 'Name must be lowercase alphanumeric with hyphens'),
+  projectId: z.string().min(1),
+  description: z.string().optional(),
+  expiresAt: z.union([z.string().datetime(), z.date(), z.null()]).optional(),
+  rbacMode: McpTokenRbacMode.default('empty'),
+  /** Explicit bindings, added on top of the `rbacMode` base (empty or clone). */
+  bindings: z.array(RbacRoleBindingSchema).default([]),
+});
+
+export type CreateMcpTokenInput = z.infer<typeof CreateMcpTokenSchema>;
diff --git a/src/mcpd/src/validation/rbac-definition.schema.ts b/src/mcpd/src/validation/rbac-definition.schema.ts
index 2982b59..6594394 100644
--- a/src/mcpd/src/validation/rbac-definition.schema.ts
+++ b/src/mcpd/src/validation/rbac-definition.schema.ts
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 import { z } from 'zod';
 
 export const RBAC_ROLES = ['edit', 'view', 'create', 'delete', 'run', 'expose'] as const;
-export const RBAC_RESOURCES = ['*', 'servers', 'instances', 'secrets', 'projects', 'templates', 'users', 'groups', 'rbac', 'prompts', 'promptrequests'] as const;
+export const RBAC_RESOURCES = ['*', 'servers', 'instances', 'secrets', 'projects', 'templates', 'users', 'groups', 'rbac', 'prompts', 'promptrequests', 'mcptokens'] as const;
 
 /** Singular→plural map for resource names. */
 const RESOURCE_ALIASES: Record<string, string> = {
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ const RESOURCE_ALIASES: Record<string, string> = {
   group: 'groups',
   prompt: 'prompts',
   promptrequest: 'promptrequests',
+  mcptoken: 'mcptokens',
 };
 
 /** Normalize a resource name to its canonical plural form. */
@@ -22,7 +23,7 @@ export function normalizeResource(resource: string): string {
 }
 
 export const RbacSubjectSchema = z.object({
-  kind: z.enum(['User', 'Group', 'ServiceAccount']),
+  kind: z.enum(['User', 'Group', 'ServiceAccount', 'McpToken']),
   name: z.string().min(1),
 });
 
diff --git a/src/mcpd/tests/auth.test.ts b/src/mcpd/tests/auth.test.ts
index 938b8a2..389ded8 100644
--- a/src/mcpd/tests/auth.test.ts
+++ b/src/mcpd/tests/auth.test.ts
@@ -99,3 +99,76 @@ describe('auth middleware', () => {
     expect(findSession).toHaveBeenCalledWith('my-token');
   });
 });
+
+describe('auth middleware — McpToken dispatch', () => {
+  async function setupAppWithMcpToken(deps: Parameters<typeof createAuthMiddleware>[0]) {
+    app = Fastify({ logger: false });
+    const authMiddleware = createAuthMiddleware(deps);
+    app.addHook('preHandler', authMiddleware);
+    app.get('/protected', async (request) => ({
+      userId: request.userId,
+      mcpToken: request.mcpToken,
+    }));
+    return app.ready();
+  }
+
+  it('routes mcpctl_pat_ bearers to findMcpToken and skips findSession', async () => {
+    const findSession = vi.fn(async () => null);
+    const findMcpToken = vi.fn(async () => ({
+      tokenId: 'ctok1',
+      tokenName: 'mytok',
+      tokenSha: 'deadbeef',
+      projectId: 'cproj1',
+      projectName: 'myproj',
+      ownerId: 'cuser1',
+      expiresAt: null,
+      revokedAt: null,
+    }));
+    await setupAppWithMcpToken({ findSession, findMcpToken });
+    const res = await app.inject({
+      method: 'GET',
+      url: '/protected',
+      headers: { authorization: 'Bearer mcpctl_pat_abcdefghij' },
+    });
+    expect(res.statusCode).toBe(200);
+    expect(findSession).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    expect(findMcpToken).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+    const body = res.json<{ userId: string; mcpToken: { tokenName: string; projectName: string } }>();
+    expect(body.userId).toBe('cuser1');
+    expect(body.mcpToken.tokenName).toBe('mytok');
+    expect(body.mcpToken.projectName).toBe('myproj');
+  });
+
+  it('returns 401 for a revoked McpToken', async () => {
+    await setupAppWithMcpToken({
+      findSession: async () => null,
+      findMcpToken: async () => ({
+        tokenId: 'ctok1',
+        tokenName: 'mytok',
+        tokenSha: 'x',
+        projectId: 'p',
+        projectName: 'p',
+        ownerId: 'u',
+        expiresAt: null,
+        revokedAt: new Date(),
+      }),
+    });
+    const res = await app.inject({
+      method: 'GET',
+      url: '/protected',
+      headers: { authorization: 'Bearer mcpctl_pat_revoked' },
+    });
+    expect(res.statusCode).toBe(401);
+    expect(res.json<{ error: string }>().error).toContain('revoked');
+  });
+
+  it('returns 401 when a mcpctl_pat_ bearer arrives but findMcpToken is not configured', async () => {
+    await setupAppWithMcpToken({ findSession: async () => null });
+    const res = await app.inject({
+      method: 'GET',
+      url: '/protected',
+      headers: { authorization: 'Bearer mcpctl_pat_no-lookup-wired' },
+    });
+    expect(res.statusCode).toBe(401);
+  });
+});
diff --git a/src/mcpd/tests/mcp-token-service.test.ts b/src/mcpd/tests/mcp-token-service.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d5f514a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/mcpd/tests/mcp-token-service.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,246 @@
+import { describe, it, expect, vi, beforeEach } from 'vitest';
+import { McpTokenService, PermissionCeilingError } from '../src/services/mcp-token.service.js';
+import { NotFoundError, ConflictError } from '../src/services/mcp-server.service.js';
+import type { IMcpTokenRepository, McpTokenWithRelations } from '../src/repositories/interfaces.js';
+import type { IProjectRepository } from '../src/repositories/project.repository.js';
+import type { IRbacDefinitionRepository } from '../src/repositories/rbac-definition.repository.js';
+import type { RbacService } from '../src/services/rbac.service.js';
+import { hashToken, isMcpToken, TOKEN_PREFIX } from '@mcpctl/shared';
+
+const PROJECT = { id: 'cproj1', name: 'myproj' };
+
+function makeRow(overrides: Partial<McpTokenWithRelations> = {}): McpTokenWithRelations {
+  return {
+    id: 'ctok1',
+    name: 'mytok',
+    projectId: PROJECT.id,
+    tokenHash: 'deadbeef',
+    tokenPrefix: 'mcpctl_pat_abcd',
+    ownerId: 'cuser1',
+    description: '',
+    createdAt: new Date(),
+    expiresAt: null,
+    lastUsedAt: null,
+    revokedAt: null,
+    project: PROJECT,
+    owner: { id: 'cuser1', email: 'alice@example.com' },
+    ...overrides,
+  };
+}
+
+function mockTokenRepo(): IMcpTokenRepository {
+  return {
+    findAll: vi.fn(async () => []),
+    findById: vi.fn(async () => null),
+    findByHash: vi.fn(async () => null),
+    findByNameAndProject: vi.fn(async () => null),
+    create: vi.fn(async (input) => makeRow({
+      name: input.name,
+      projectId: input.projectId,
+      tokenHash: input.tokenHash,
+      tokenPrefix: input.tokenPrefix,
+      ownerId: input.ownerId,
+      description: input.description ?? '',
+      expiresAt: input.expiresAt ?? null,
+    })),
+    revoke: vi.fn(async (id) => makeRow({ id, revokedAt: new Date() })),
+    touchLastUsed: vi.fn(async () => {}),
+    delete: vi.fn(async () => {}),
+  };
+}
+
+function mockProjectRepo(): IProjectRepository {
+  return {
+    findById: vi.fn(async (id) => (id === PROJECT.id ? PROJECT : null)),
+    findByName: vi.fn(async (name) => (name === PROJECT.name ? PROJECT : null)),
+    // minimal stubs for the rest — not exercised in these tests
+    findAll: vi.fn(async () => []),
+    create: vi.fn(),
+    update: vi.fn(),
+    delete: vi.fn(),
+    attachServer: vi.fn(),
+    detachServer: vi.fn(),
+    listServers: vi.fn(async () => []),
+  } as unknown as IProjectRepository;
+}
+
+function mockRbacRepo(): IRbacDefinitionRepository {
+  return {
+    findAll: vi.fn(async () => []),
+    findById: vi.fn(async () => null),
+    findByName: vi.fn(async () => null),
+    create: vi.fn(async () => ({ id: 'rbac-1', name: 'x', subjects: [], roleBindings: [], version: 1, createdAt: new Date(), updatedAt: new Date() })),
+    update: vi.fn(),
+    delete: vi.fn(async () => {}),
+  };
+}
+
+function mockRbacService(overrides: Partial<RbacService> = {}): RbacService {
+  return {
+    canAccess: vi.fn(async () => true),
+    canRunOperation: vi.fn(async () => true),
+    getAllowedScope: vi.fn(async () => ({ wildcard: true, names: new Set() })),
+    getPermissions: vi.fn(async () => []),
+    ...overrides,
+  } as unknown as RbacService;
+}
+
+describe('McpTokenService.create', () => {
+  let tokenRepo: ReturnType<typeof mockTokenRepo>;
+  let projectRepo: IProjectRepository;
+  let rbacRepo: ReturnType<typeof mockRbacRepo>;
+  let rbacService: RbacService;
+  let service: McpTokenService;
+
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    tokenRepo = mockTokenRepo();
+    projectRepo = mockProjectRepo();
+    rbacRepo = mockRbacRepo();
+    rbacService = mockRbacService();
+    service = new McpTokenService(tokenRepo, projectRepo, rbacRepo, rbacService);
+  });
+
+  it('creates a token with no bindings (rbacMode=empty, default)', async () => {
+    const result = await service.create('cuser1', {
+      name: 'mytok',
+      projectId: PROJECT.id,
+    });
+    expect(result.raw).toMatch(new RegExp(`^${TOKEN_PREFIX}`));
+    expect(isMcpToken(result.raw)).toBe(true);
+    expect(tokenRepo.create).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+    // Hash must be persisted, never raw
+    const args = vi.mocked(tokenRepo.create).mock.calls[0]![0];
+    expect(args.tokenHash).toBe(hashToken(result.raw));
+    expect(args.tokenPrefix).toBe(result.raw.slice(0, 16));
+    // No RBAC definition should be created when there are no bindings
+    expect(rbacRepo.create).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
+
+  it('creates an RbacDefinition with subject McpToken:<sha> when bindings are given', async () => {
+    const result = await service.create('cuser1', {
+      name: 'mytok',
+      projectId: PROJECT.id,
+      bindings: [{ role: 'view', resource: 'servers' }],
+    });
+    expect(rbacRepo.create).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+    const defArgs = vi.mocked(rbacRepo.create).mock.calls[0]![0];
+    const subjects = defArgs.subjects as Array<{ kind: string; name: string }>;
+    expect(subjects).toEqual([{ kind: 'McpToken', name: hashToken(result.raw) }]);
+    expect(defArgs.roleBindings).toEqual([{ role: 'view', resource: 'servers' }]);
+  });
+
+  it('rejects bindings the creator does not have (ceiling violation)', async () => {
+    rbacService = mockRbacService({
+      canAccess: vi.fn(async () => false),
+    } as Partial<RbacService>);
+    service = new McpTokenService(tokenRepo, projectRepo, rbacRepo, rbacService);
+
+    await expect(
+      service.create('cuser1', {
+        name: 'mytok',
+        projectId: PROJECT.id,
+        bindings: [{ role: 'edit', resource: 'servers' }],
+      }),
+    ).rejects.toThrow(PermissionCeilingError);
+    expect(tokenRepo.create).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
+
+  it('clones the creator\'s permissions when rbacMode=clone', async () => {
+    rbacService = mockRbacService({
+      getPermissions: vi.fn(async () => [
+        { role: 'view', resource: 'servers' },
+        { role: 'run', action: 'logs' },
+      ]),
+    } as Partial<RbacService>);
+    service = new McpTokenService(tokenRepo, projectRepo, rbacRepo, rbacService);
+
+    await service.create('cuser1', {
+      name: 'mytok',
+      projectId: PROJECT.id,
+      rbacMode: 'clone',
+    });
+    expect(rbacRepo.create).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+    const defArgs = vi.mocked(rbacRepo.create).mock.calls[0]![0];
+    expect(defArgs.roleBindings).toEqual([
+      { role: 'view', resource: 'servers' },
+      { role: 'run', action: 'logs' },
+    ]);
+  });
+
+  it('throws NotFoundError if project does not exist', async () => {
+    await expect(
+      service.create('cuser1', { name: 'mytok', projectId: 'nope' }),
+    ).rejects.toThrow(NotFoundError);
+  });
+
+  it('throws ConflictError if active token with same name in same project exists', async () => {
+    vi.mocked(tokenRepo.findByNameAndProject).mockResolvedValueOnce(makeRow());
+    await expect(
+      service.create('cuser1', { name: 'mytok', projectId: PROJECT.id }),
+    ).rejects.toThrow(ConflictError);
+  });
+});
+
+describe('McpTokenService.introspectRaw', () => {
+  let tokenRepo: ReturnType<typeof mockTokenRepo>;
+  let service: McpTokenService;
+
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    tokenRepo = mockTokenRepo();
+    service = new McpTokenService(tokenRepo, mockProjectRepo(), mockRbacRepo(), mockRbacService());
+  });
+
+  it('returns ok=false for unknown tokens', async () => {
+    const result = await service.introspectRaw(`${TOKEN_PREFIX}unknown`);
+    expect(result.ok).toBe(false);
+    expect(result.tokenName).toBeUndefined();
+  });
+
+  it('returns ok=true and principal info for active tokens, and updates lastUsedAt', async () => {
+    const raw = `${TOKEN_PREFIX}aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa`;
+    const hash = hashToken(raw);
+    vi.mocked(tokenRepo.findByHash).mockResolvedValueOnce(makeRow({ tokenHash: hash }));
+    const result = await service.introspectRaw(raw);
+    expect(result.ok).toBe(true);
+    expect(result.projectName).toBe(PROJECT.name);
+    expect(result.tokenName).toBe('mytok');
+    expect(tokenRepo.touchLastUsed).toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
+
+  it('rejects revoked tokens', async () => {
+    const raw = `${TOKEN_PREFIX}bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb`;
+    vi.mocked(tokenRepo.findByHash).mockResolvedValueOnce(makeRow({ tokenHash: hashToken(raw), revokedAt: new Date() }));
+    const result = await service.introspectRaw(raw);
+    expect(result.ok).toBe(false);
+    expect(result.revoked).toBe(true);
+  });
+
+  it('rejects expired tokens', async () => {
+    const raw = `${TOKEN_PREFIX}cccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccc`;
+    const past = new Date(Date.now() - 60_000);
+    vi.mocked(tokenRepo.findByHash).mockResolvedValueOnce(makeRow({ tokenHash: hashToken(raw), expiresAt: past }));
+    const result = await service.introspectRaw(raw);
+    expect(result.ok).toBe(false);
+    expect(result.expired).toBe(true);
+  });
+});
+
+describe('McpTokenService.revoke', () => {
+  it('marks revokedAt and removes the auto-created RbacDefinition', async () => {
+    const tokenRepo = mockTokenRepo();
+    const rbacRepo = mockRbacRepo();
+    const service = new McpTokenService(tokenRepo, mockProjectRepo(), rbacRepo, mockRbacService());
+
+    const row = makeRow();
+    vi.mocked(tokenRepo.findById).mockResolvedValue(row);
+    vi.mocked(rbacRepo.findByName).mockResolvedValue({
+      id: 'rbac-ctok1', name: 'mcptoken-ctok1', subjects: [], roleBindings: [], version: 1, createdAt: new Date(), updatedAt: new Date(),
+    });
+
+    await service.revoke('ctok1');
+
+    expect(tokenRepo.revoke).toHaveBeenCalledWith('ctok1');
+    expect(rbacRepo.findByName).toHaveBeenCalledWith('mcptoken-ctok1');
+    expect(rbacRepo.delete).toHaveBeenCalledWith('rbac-ctok1');
+  });
+});
diff --git a/src/mcplocal/package.json b/src/mcplocal/package.json
index 5f748aa..9c01eff 100644
--- a/src/mcplocal/package.json
+++ b/src/mcplocal/package.json
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@
     "clean": "rimraf dist",
     "dev": "tsx watch src/index.ts",
     "start": "node dist/index.js",
+    "serve": "node dist/serve.js",
     "test": "vitest",
     "test:run": "vitest run",
     "test:smoke": "vitest run --config vitest.smoke.config.ts"
diff --git a/src/mcplocal/src/audit/collector.ts b/src/mcplocal/src/audit/collector.ts
index 082faec..0cd73c3 100644
--- a/src/mcplocal/src/audit/collector.ts
+++ b/src/mcplocal/src/audit/collector.ts
@@ -10,11 +10,17 @@ import type { McpdClient } from '../http/mcpd-client.js';
 const BATCH_SIZE = 50;
 const FLUSH_INTERVAL_MS = 5_000;
 
+interface SessionPrincipal {
+  userName?: string;
+  tokenName?: string;
+  tokenSha?: string;
+}
+
 export class AuditCollector {
   private queue: AuditEvent[] = [];
   private flushTimer: ReturnType<typeof setInterval> | null = null;
   private flushing = false;
-  private sessionUserNames = new Map<string, string>();
+  private sessionPrincipals = new Map<string, SessionPrincipal>();
 
   constructor(
     private readonly mcpdClient: McpdClient,
@@ -25,15 +31,31 @@ export class AuditCollector {
 
   /** Register a userName for a session. All future events for this session auto-fill it. */
   setSessionUserName(sessionId: string, userName: string): void {
-    this.sessionUserNames.set(sessionId, userName);
+    const existing = this.sessionPrincipals.get(sessionId) ?? {};
+    this.sessionPrincipals.set(sessionId, { ...existing, userName });
   }
 
-  /** Queue an audit event. Auto-fills projectName and userName (from session map). */
+  /** Register McpToken identity for a session (HTTP-mode authenticated requests). */
+  setSessionMcpToken(sessionId: string, token: { tokenName: string; tokenSha: string }): void {
+    const existing = this.sessionPrincipals.get(sessionId) ?? {};
+    this.sessionPrincipals.set(sessionId, { ...existing, tokenName: token.tokenName, tokenSha: token.tokenSha });
+  }
+
+  /** Look up the McpToken SHA for a session. Returns undefined for non-HTTP-mode sessions. */
+  getSessionMcpTokenSha(sessionId: string): string | undefined {
+    return this.sessionPrincipals.get(sessionId)?.tokenSha;
+  }
+
+  /** Queue an audit event. Auto-fills projectName, userName, tokenName, and tokenSha. */
   emit(event: Omit<AuditEvent, 'projectName'>): void {
     const enriched: AuditEvent = { ...event, projectName: this.projectName };
-    if (!enriched.userName && enriched.sessionId) {
-      const name = this.sessionUserNames.get(enriched.sessionId);
-      if (name) enriched.userName = name;
+    if (enriched.sessionId) {
+      const principal = this.sessionPrincipals.get(enriched.sessionId);
+      if (principal) {
+        if (!enriched.userName && principal.userName) enriched.userName = principal.userName;
+        if (!enriched.tokenName && principal.tokenName) enriched.tokenName = principal.tokenName;
+        if (!enriched.tokenSha && principal.tokenSha) enriched.tokenSha = principal.tokenSha;
+      }
     }
     this.queue.push(enriched);
     if (this.queue.length >= BATCH_SIZE) {
diff --git a/src/mcplocal/src/audit/types.ts b/src/mcplocal/src/audit/types.ts
index 8a17701..68d102a 100644
--- a/src/mcplocal/src/audit/types.ts
+++ b/src/mcplocal/src/audit/types.ts
@@ -32,5 +32,9 @@ export interface AuditEvent {
   correlationId?: string;
   parentEventId?: string;
   userName?: string;
+  /** Set when the session authenticated via an McpToken (HTTP-mode mcplocal). */
+  tokenName?: string;
+  /** SHA-256 hash of the McpToken that made the request. */
+  tokenSha?: string;
   payload: Record<string, unknown>;
 }
diff --git a/src/mcplocal/src/discovery.ts b/src/mcplocal/src/discovery.ts
index 2eb99b1..89ee424 100644
--- a/src/mcplocal/src/discovery.ts
+++ b/src/mcplocal/src/discovery.ts
@@ -46,7 +46,13 @@ export async function refreshProjectUpstreams(
     servers = await mcpdClient.get<McpdServer[]>(path);
   }
 
-  return syncUpstreams(router, mcpdClient, servers);
+  // Downstream upstream-proxy calls go through `mcpdClient` too. In HTTP-mode
+  // mcplocal the pod has no credentials of its own, so the default token on
+  // `mcpdClient` is an empty string — every /api/v1/mcp/proxy call would 401.
+  // Bind a per-request client with the caller's bearer so each McpdUpstream
+  // forwards the same identity that passed project discovery.
+  const upstreamClient = authToken ? mcpdClient.withToken(authToken) : mcpdClient;
+  return syncUpstreams(router, upstreamClient, servers);
 }
 
 /**
diff --git a/src/mcplocal/src/gate/session-gate.ts b/src/mcplocal/src/gate/session-gate.ts
index 920451a..137516f 100644
--- a/src/mcplocal/src/gate/session-gate.ts
+++ b/src/mcplocal/src/gate/session-gate.ts
@@ -3,6 +3,21 @@
  *
  * Tracks whether a session has gone through the prompt selection flow.
  * When gated, only begin_session is accessible. After ungating, all tools work.
+ *
+ * Per-token ungate cache:
+ * When the caller authenticated via an `McpToken` (HTTP-mode service agent),
+ * we also remember the ungate keyed on the token's SHA. Subsequent sessions
+ * from the same token automatically start ungated for a TTL window.
+ *
+ * Why: LiteLLM and similar MCP-proxying clients don't preserve the
+ * `mcp-session-id` header across chat completion calls, so every tool call
+ * lands on a fresh upstream session — which would otherwise be gated anew,
+ * forcing the agent into a begin_session loop. Keying on the token (which IS
+ * preserved, because it's in the Authorization header) gives us a stable
+ * identity that survives stateless proxies.
+ *
+ * Claude Code's stdio path keeps its session-id, so this code is a no-op for
+ * that case (session-id ungate still applies, token ungate is purely additive).
  */
 
 import type { PromptIndexEntry, TagMatchResult } from './tag-matcher.js';
@@ -14,15 +29,37 @@ export interface SessionState {
   briefing: string | null;
 }
 
+interface TokenUngateEntry {
+  tokenSha: string;
+  tags: string[];
+  ungatedAt: number;
+  retrievedPrompts: Set<string>;
+}
+
+/** Default TTL for per-token ungate cache (1 hour). Tunable via env for testing. */
+const DEFAULT_TOKEN_UNGATE_TTL_MS = Number(process.env['MCPLOCAL_TOKEN_UNGATE_TTL_MS']) || 60 * 60 * 1000;
+
 export class SessionGate {
   private sessions = new Map<string, SessionState>();
+  private tokenUngates = new Map<string, TokenUngateEntry>();
+  private readonly tokenUngateTtlMs: number;
 
-  /** Create a new session. Starts gated if the project is gated. */
-  createSession(sessionId: string, projectGated: boolean): void {
+  constructor(tokenUngateTtlMs = DEFAULT_TOKEN_UNGATE_TTL_MS) {
+    this.tokenUngateTtlMs = tokenUngateTtlMs;
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Create a new session. Starts gated if the project is gated, UNLESS the
+   * caller's McpToken already ungated within the last TTL window — in which
+   * case the session inherits the previous tags + retrievedPrompts so the
+   * agent doesn't get the full gated greeting on every fresh session.
+   */
+  createSession(sessionId: string, projectGated: boolean, tokenSha?: string): void {
+    const priorEntry = tokenSha ? this.getActiveTokenEntry(tokenSha) : null;
     this.sessions.set(sessionId, {
-      gated: projectGated,
-      tags: [],
-      retrievedPrompts: new Set(),
+      gated: projectGated && priorEntry === null,
+      tags: priorEntry ? [...priorEntry.tags] : [],
+      retrievedPrompts: priorEntry ? new Set(priorEntry.retrievedPrompts) : new Set(),
       briefing: null,
     });
   }
@@ -37,18 +74,37 @@ export class SessionGate {
     return this.sessions.get(sessionId)?.gated ?? false;
   }
 
-  /** Ungate a session after prompt selection is complete. */
-  ungate(sessionId: string, tags: string[], matchResult: TagMatchResult): void {
+  /** True when a token has an active (non-expired) ungate entry. */
+  isTokenUngated(tokenSha: string): boolean {
+    return this.getActiveTokenEntry(tokenSha) !== null;
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Ungate a session after prompt selection is complete.
+   *
+   * When `tokenSha` is supplied, also remember the ungate keyed on the token
+   * so future sessions from the same token start ungated (survives proxies
+   * that drop `mcp-session-id`).
+   */
+  ungate(sessionId: string, tags: string[], matchResult: TagMatchResult, tokenSha?: string): void {
     const session = this.sessions.get(sessionId);
     if (!session) return;
 
     session.gated = false;
     session.tags = [...session.tags, ...tags];
 
-    // Track which prompts have been sent
     for (const p of matchResult.fullContent) {
       session.retrievedPrompts.add(p.name);
     }
+
+    if (tokenSha !== undefined && tokenSha !== '') {
+      this.tokenUngates.set(tokenSha, {
+        tokenSha,
+        tags: [...session.tags],
+        ungatedAt: Date.now(),
+        retrievedPrompts: new Set(session.retrievedPrompts),
+      });
+    }
   }
 
   /** Record additional prompts retrieved via read_prompts. */
@@ -73,4 +129,19 @@ export class SessionGate {
   removeSession(sessionId: string): void {
     this.sessions.delete(sessionId);
   }
+
+  /** Forget a token's ungate entry (e.g. on revocation signal). */
+  revokeToken(tokenSha: string): void {
+    this.tokenUngates.delete(tokenSha);
+  }
+
+  private getActiveTokenEntry(tokenSha: string): TokenUngateEntry | null {
+    const entry = this.tokenUngates.get(tokenSha);
+    if (!entry) return null;
+    if (Date.now() - entry.ungatedAt > this.tokenUngateTtlMs) {
+      this.tokenUngates.delete(tokenSha);
+      return null;
+    }
+    return entry;
+  }
 }
diff --git a/src/mcplocal/src/http/mcpd-client.ts b/src/mcplocal/src/http/mcpd-client.ts
index b4541a3..53511e5 100644
--- a/src/mcplocal/src/http/mcpd-client.ts
+++ b/src/mcplocal/src/http/mcpd-client.ts
@@ -60,6 +60,16 @@ export class McpdClient {
     return new McpdClient(this.baseUrl, this.token, { ...this.extraHeaders }, timeoutMs);
   }
 
+  /**
+   * Create a new client with a different Bearer token. The HTTP-mode mcplocal
+   * pod has no credentials of its own — each incoming client request carries
+   * its McpToken, and this method is how we thread that token through to the
+   * McpdUpstream instances created during project discovery.
+   */
+  withToken(token: string): McpdClient {
+    return new McpdClient(this.baseUrl, token, { ...this.extraHeaders }, this.timeoutMs);
+  }
+
   async get<T>(path: string): Promise<T> {
     return this.request<T>('GET', path);
   }
diff --git a/src/mcplocal/src/http/project-mcp-endpoint.ts b/src/mcplocal/src/http/project-mcp-endpoint.ts
index cb20d7c..42ec24a 100644
--- a/src/mcplocal/src/http/project-mcp-endpoint.ts
+++ b/src/mcplocal/src/http/project-mcp-endpoint.ts
@@ -62,21 +62,31 @@ export function registerProjectMcpEndpoint(app: FastifyInstance, mcpdClient: Mcp
       return existing.router;
     }
 
+    // HTTP-mode mcplocal has no pod-level credentials — the default
+    // `mcpdClient.token` is an empty string. Every downstream call from this
+    // request (upstream discovery, LLM config fetch, prompt index for
+    // begin_session) has to use the CALLER's McpToken as the bearer, or mcpd
+    // rejects with 401. Build one per-request client here and thread it
+    // everywhere instead of sprinkling `.withToken(authToken)` at each call site.
+    const requestClient = authToken ? mcpdClient.withToken(authToken) : mcpdClient;
+
     // Create new router or refresh existing one
     const router = existing?.router ?? new McpRouter();
     await refreshProjectUpstreams(router, mcpdClient, projectName, authToken);
 
     // Resolve project LLM model: local override → mcpd recommendation → global default
     const localOverride = loadProjectLlmOverride(projectName);
-    const mcpdConfig = await fetchProjectLlmConfig(mcpdClient, projectName);
+    const mcpdConfig = await fetchProjectLlmConfig(requestClient, projectName);
     const resolvedModel = localOverride?.model ?? mcpdConfig.llmModel ?? undefined;
 
     // If project llmProvider is "none", disable LLM for this project
     const llmDisabled = mcpdConfig.llmProvider === 'none' || localOverride?.provider === 'none';
     const effectiveRegistry = llmDisabled ? null : (providerRegistry ?? null);
 
-    // Configure prompt resources with SA-scoped client for RBAC
-    const saClient = mcpdClient.withHeaders({ 'X-Service-Account': `project:${projectName}` });
+    // Configure prompt resources with SA-scoped client for RBAC.
+    // Keep the X-Service-Account header for mcpd-side audit tagging, but carry
+    // the caller's bearer so auth passes (the principal resolves as McpToken:<sha>).
+    const saClient = requestClient.withHeaders({ 'X-Service-Account': `project:${projectName}` });
     router.setPromptConfig(saClient, projectName);
 
     // System prompt fetcher for LLM consumers (uses router's cached fetcher)
@@ -97,7 +107,8 @@ export function registerProjectMcpEndpoint(app: FastifyInstance, mcpdClient: Mcp
       ?? effectiveRegistry?.getActiveName()
       ?? 'none';
     const llmModel = resolvedModel ?? 'default';
-    const cache = new FileCache(`${llmProvider}--${llmModel}--${proxyModelName}`);
+    const cacheConfig = process.env.MCPLOCAL_CACHE_DIR ? { dir: process.env.MCPLOCAL_CACHE_DIR } : undefined;
+    const cache = new FileCache(`${llmProvider}--${llmModel}--${proxyModelName}`, cacheConfig);
     router.setProxyModel(proxyModelName, llmAdapter, cache);
 
     // Per-server proxymodel overrides (if mcpd provides them)
@@ -200,6 +211,17 @@ export function registerProjectMcpEndpoint(app: FastifyInstance, mcpdClient: Mcp
           void ensureUserName().then((name) => {
             if (name) collector.setSessionUserName(id, name);
           });
+
+          // HTTP-mode mcplocal: if the token-auth preHandler attached an McpToken
+          // principal to the request, tag the session so audit events carry the
+          // tokenName/tokenSha alongside (or instead of) userName.
+          const principal = request.mcpToken;
+          if (principal) {
+            collector.setSessionMcpToken(id, {
+              tokenName: principal.tokenName,
+              tokenSha: principal.tokenSha,
+            });
+          }
         }
 
         // Audit: session_bind
@@ -388,7 +410,7 @@ export function registerProjectMcpEndpoint(app: FastifyInstance, mcpdClient: Mcp
     const llmAdapter = providerRegistry
       ? new LLMProviderAdapter(providerRegistry)
       : { complete: async () => '', available: () => false };
-    const cache = new FileCache('dynamic');
+    const cache = new FileCache('dynamic', process.env.MCPLOCAL_CACHE_DIR ? { dir: process.env.MCPLOCAL_CACHE_DIR } : undefined);
 
     if (serverName && serverProxyModel) {
       entry.router.setServerProxyModel(serverName, serverProxyModel, llmAdapter, cache);
diff --git a/src/mcplocal/src/http/token-auth.ts b/src/mcplocal/src/http/token-auth.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8cebbce
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/mcplocal/src/http/token-auth.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,114 @@
+/**
+ * Fastify preHandler that authenticates `/projects/*` and `/mcp` requests
+ * against mcpd's McpToken introspection endpoint.
+ *
+ * Flow:
+ *   1. Reject non-Bearer and non-`mcpctl_pat_` auth up front.
+ *   2. Call `GET <mcpd>/api/v1/mcptokens/introspect` with the raw bearer.
+ *   3. Cache the result (positive + negative TTLs) to avoid a round-trip per MCP call.
+ *   4. Enforce `request.params.projectName === response.projectName`.
+ *   5. Stash the principal on `request.mcpToken` for the audit collector.
+ */
+import type { FastifyRequest, FastifyReply } from 'fastify';
+import { isMcpToken, hashToken } from '@mcpctl/shared';
+
+export interface TokenAuthOptions {
+  mcpdUrl: string;
+  /** TTL for a successful introspection, ms. Default 30_000. */
+  positiveTtlMs?: number;
+  /** TTL for a failed introspection, ms. Default 5_000. */
+  negativeTtlMs?: number;
+  /** Injectable HTTP fetcher for tests. Defaults to `fetch`. */
+  fetch?: (url: string, init?: RequestInit) => Promise<Response>;
+}
+
+export interface McpTokenPrincipal {
+  tokenName: string;
+  tokenSha: string;
+  projectName: string;
+}
+
+declare module 'fastify' {
+  interface FastifyRequest {
+    /** Populated by the token-auth preHandler when the bearer was a McpToken. */
+    mcpToken?: McpTokenPrincipal;
+  }
+}
+
+interface IntrospectResponse {
+  ok: boolean;
+  tokenName?: string;
+  tokenSha?: string;
+  projectName?: string;
+  revoked?: boolean;
+  expired?: boolean;
+  error?: string;
+}
+
+interface CacheEntry {
+  result: IntrospectResponse;
+  expiresAt: number;
+}
+
+export function createTokenAuthMiddleware(opts: TokenAuthOptions) {
+  const positiveTtl = opts.positiveTtlMs ?? 30_000;
+  const negativeTtl = opts.negativeTtlMs ?? 5_000;
+  const fetchImpl = opts.fetch ?? (globalThis.fetch as typeof fetch);
+  const cache = new Map<string, CacheEntry>();
+
+  async function introspect(raw: string): Promise<IntrospectResponse> {
+    const key = hashToken(raw);
+    const now = Date.now();
+    const hit = cache.get(key);
+    if (hit && hit.expiresAt > now) return hit.result;
+
+    try {
+      const res = await fetchImpl(`${opts.mcpdUrl.replace(/\/$/, '')}/api/v1/mcptokens/introspect`, {
+        method: 'GET',
+        headers: { Authorization: `Bearer ${raw}` },
+      });
+      const body = (await res.json().catch(() => ({ ok: false, error: 'unreadable body' }))) as IntrospectResponse;
+      const result: IntrospectResponse = res.ok ? body : { ...body, ok: false };
+      cache.set(key, { result, expiresAt: now + (result.ok ? positiveTtl : negativeTtl) });
+      return result;
+    } catch (err) {
+      const result: IntrospectResponse = { ok: false, error: err instanceof Error ? err.message : String(err) };
+      cache.set(key, { result, expiresAt: now + negativeTtl });
+      return result;
+    }
+  }
+
+  return async function tokenAuth(request: FastifyRequest, reply: FastifyReply): Promise<void> {
+    const header = request.headers.authorization;
+    if (header === undefined || !header.startsWith('Bearer ')) {
+      reply.code(401).send({ error: 'Missing Authorization bearer' });
+      return;
+    }
+    const raw = header.slice(7);
+    if (!isMcpToken(raw)) {
+      reply.code(401).send({ error: 'Only mcpctl_pat_ bearers are accepted on this endpoint' });
+      return;
+    }
+
+    const introspection = await introspect(raw);
+    if (!introspection.ok) {
+      reply.code(401).send({
+        error: introspection.revoked ? 'Token revoked' : introspection.expired ? 'Token expired' : 'Invalid token',
+      });
+      return;
+    }
+
+    // Project-scope check: token.projectName must match the path param.
+    const params = request.params as { projectName?: string } | undefined;
+    if (params?.projectName !== undefined && params.projectName !== introspection.projectName) {
+      reply.code(403).send({ error: `Token is not valid for project '${params.projectName}'` });
+      return;
+    }
+
+    request.mcpToken = {
+      tokenName: introspection.tokenName!,
+      tokenSha: introspection.tokenSha!,
+      projectName: introspection.projectName!,
+    };
+  };
+}
diff --git a/src/mcplocal/src/proxymodel/plugin-context.ts b/src/mcplocal/src/proxymodel/plugin-context.ts
index 39a6fd7..21fbb6e 100644
--- a/src/mcplocal/src/proxymodel/plugin-context.ts
+++ b/src/mcplocal/src/proxymodel/plugin-context.ts
@@ -25,6 +25,13 @@ export interface PluginContextDeps {
   queueNotification: (notification: JsonRpcNotification) => void;
   postToMcpd: (path: string, body: Record<string, unknown>) => Promise<unknown>;
   auditCollector?: AuditCollector;
+  /**
+   * Resolves the principal's McpToken SHA for this session, if the caller
+   * authenticated via an McpToken. Called lazily so the value reflects the
+   * session's current state even when the token is attached after the plugin
+   * context is created.
+   */
+  getMcpTokenSha?: () => string | undefined;
 }
 
 /**
@@ -55,6 +62,11 @@ export class PluginContextImpl implements PluginSessionContext {
     this.deps = deps;
   }
 
+  /** McpToken SHA for the current caller, or undefined for STDIO/session-auth callers. */
+  getMcpTokenSha(): string | undefined {
+    return this.deps.getMcpTokenSha?.();
+  }
+
   registerTool(tool: ToolDefinition, handler: VirtualToolHandler): void {
     this.virtualTools.set(tool.name, { definition: tool, handler });
   }
diff --git a/src/mcplocal/src/proxymodel/plugin.ts b/src/mcplocal/src/proxymodel/plugin.ts
index 9c2fc6b..b2d2f39 100644
--- a/src/mcplocal/src/proxymodel/plugin.ts
+++ b/src/mcplocal/src/proxymodel/plugin.ts
@@ -50,6 +50,14 @@ export interface PluginSessionContext {
 
   // Audit event emission (auto-fills sessionId and projectName)
   emitAuditEvent(event: Omit<AuditEvent, 'sessionId' | 'projectName'>): void;
+
+  /**
+   * McpToken SHA for the current caller, or undefined if the session was
+   * authenticated via a User session (STDIO/Claude Code path). Plugins can use
+   * this to key state on the token principal rather than the session-id —
+   * useful when the session-id doesn't survive a proxy (e.g. LiteLLM).
+   */
+  getMcpTokenSha(): string | undefined;
 }
 
 // ── Virtual Server ──────────────────────────────────────────────────
diff --git a/src/mcplocal/src/proxymodel/plugins/gate.ts b/src/mcplocal/src/proxymodel/plugins/gate.ts
index 41e1af6..bc51268 100644
--- a/src/mcplocal/src/proxymodel/plugins/gate.ts
+++ b/src/mcplocal/src/proxymodel/plugins/gate.ts
@@ -40,7 +40,11 @@ export function createGatePlugin(config: GatePluginConfig = {}): ProxyModelPlugi
     description: 'Gated session flow: begin_session → prompt selection → ungate.',
 
     async onSessionCreate(ctx) {
-      sessionGate.createSession(ctx.sessionId, isGated);
+      // Pass the caller's McpToken SHA so the gate can honor a cross-session
+      // ungate cache keyed on the token principal. Fixes the LiteLLM case where
+      // each tool call lands on a fresh mcp-session-id → would otherwise loop
+      // on begin_session forever.
+      sessionGate.createSession(ctx.sessionId, isGated, ctx.getMcpTokenSha());
 
       // Register begin_session virtual tool
       ctx.registerTool(getBeginSessionTool(llmSelector), async (args, callCtx) => {
@@ -264,8 +268,9 @@ async function handleBeginSession(
     matchResult = tagMatcher.match(tags, promptIndex);
   }
 
-  // Ungate the session
-  sessionGate.ungate(ctx.sessionId, tags, matchResult);
+  // Ungate the session (and remember the ungate per McpToken if this is a
+  // service-token request, so the next session from the same token skips the gate).
+  sessionGate.ungate(ctx.sessionId, tags, matchResult, ctx.getMcpTokenSha());
   ctx.queueNotification('notifications/tools/list_changed');
 
   // Audit: gate_decision for begin_session
@@ -451,8 +456,8 @@ async function handleGatedIntercept(
     const promptIndex = await ctx.fetchPromptIndex();
     const matchResult = tagMatcher.match(tags, promptIndex);
 
-    // Ungate the session
-    sessionGate.ungate(ctx.sessionId, tags, matchResult);
+    // Ungate the session (and remember per-token if the caller is a McpToken).
+    sessionGate.ungate(ctx.sessionId, tags, matchResult, ctx.getMcpTokenSha());
     ctx.queueNotification('notifications/tools/list_changed');
 
     // Audit: gate_decision for auto-intercept
@@ -522,7 +527,7 @@ async function handleGatedIntercept(
     return response;
   } catch {
     // If prompt retrieval fails, just ungate and route normally
-    sessionGate.ungate(ctx.sessionId, tags, { fullContent: [], indexOnly: [], remaining: [] });
+    sessionGate.ungate(ctx.sessionId, tags, { fullContent: [], indexOnly: [], remaining: [] }, ctx.getMcpTokenSha());
     ctx.queueNotification('notifications/tools/list_changed');
     return ctx.routeToUpstream(request);
   }
diff --git a/src/mcplocal/src/router.ts b/src/mcplocal/src/router.ts
index e5c80d0..6e8f365 100644
--- a/src/mcplocal/src/router.ts
+++ b/src/mcplocal/src/router.ts
@@ -198,6 +198,10 @@ export class McpRouter {
         return this.mcpdClient.post(path, body);
       },
       ...(this.auditCollector ? { auditCollector: this.auditCollector } : {}),
+      // Lazily resolve the caller's McpToken SHA via the audit collector's
+      // session principal map. The token is attached in onsessioninitialized,
+      // which runs before any plugin context is created, so this is stable.
+      getMcpTokenSha: () => this.auditCollector?.getSessionMcpTokenSha(sessionId),
     };
 
     ctx = new PluginContextImpl(deps);
diff --git a/src/mcplocal/src/serve.ts b/src/mcplocal/src/serve.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9aad665
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/mcplocal/src/serve.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,111 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env node
+/**
+ * HTTP-only entry for the containerized mcplocal (deployed behind Ingress as `mcp.ad.itaz.eu`).
+ *
+ * Differences from main.ts (the STDIO/systemd entry):
+ *   - No StdioProxyServer (there's no stdin/stdout MCP client in a pod).
+ *   - No `--upstream` flag (upstreams come from mcpd project discovery).
+ *   - Host + port from env (MCPLOCAL_HTTP_HOST / MCPLOCAL_HTTP_PORT).
+ *   - Requires MCPLOCAL_MCPD_URL to point at mcpd inside the cluster.
+ *   - Registers a token-auth preHandler on `/projects/*` and `/mcp`.
+ *   - FileCache directory honours MCPLOCAL_CACHE_DIR (wired via project-mcp-endpoint).
+ *
+ * Identity model: **the pod has no persistent identity to mcpd.** Every
+ * inbound request's `Authorization: Bearer mcpctl_pat_…` is forwarded
+ * verbatim for all downstream mcpd calls (introspect + project
+ * discovery). mcpd's auth middleware dispatches on the `mcpctl_pat_`
+ * prefix and resolves the McpToken principal. As a result there is
+ * deliberately no MCPLOCAL_MCPD_TOKEN env var — adding one would only
+ * create a rotation problem for a state we don't need.
+ */
+import { McpRouter } from './router.js';
+import { createHttpServer } from './http/server.js';
+import { loadHttpConfig, loadLlmProviders } from './http/config.js';
+import { createProvidersFromConfig } from './llm-config.js';
+import { createSecretStore } from '@mcpctl/shared';
+import { reloadStages, startWatchers, stopWatchers } from './proxymodel/watcher.js';
+import { createTokenAuthMiddleware } from './http/token-auth.js';
+
+function requireEnv(name: string): string {
+  const value = process.env[name];
+  if (value === undefined || value === '') {
+    throw new Error(`Required env var ${name} is not set`);
+  }
+  return value;
+}
+
+export async function serve(): Promise<void> {
+  const mcpdUrl = requireEnv('MCPLOCAL_MCPD_URL');
+  const httpHost = process.env.MCPLOCAL_HTTP_HOST ?? '0.0.0.0';
+  const httpPort = Number(process.env.MCPLOCAL_HTTP_PORT ?? '3200');
+  if (!Number.isFinite(httpPort) || httpPort <= 0) {
+    throw new Error(`Invalid MCPLOCAL_HTTP_PORT: ${process.env.MCPLOCAL_HTTP_PORT}`);
+  }
+  // MCPLOCAL_CACHE_DIR is optional; FileCache reads it directly.
+  const cacheDir = process.env.MCPLOCAL_CACHE_DIR;
+
+  // loadHttpConfig reads user-level config.json; we override with env.
+  const baseConfig = loadHttpConfig();
+  const httpConfig = {
+    ...baseConfig,
+    httpHost,
+    httpPort,
+    mcpdUrl,
+  };
+
+  // LLM providers (configured via mounted ConfigMap at ~/.mcpctl/config.json or env).
+  const llmEntries = loadLlmProviders();
+  const secretStore = await createSecretStore();
+  const providerRegistry = await createProvidersFromConfig(llmEntries, secretStore);
+
+  process.stderr.write(
+    `mcplocal-serve: mcpd=${mcpdUrl} host=${httpHost} port=${httpPort} cache=${cacheDir ?? '~/.mcpctl/cache'}\n`,
+  );
+
+  const router = new McpRouter();
+
+  const httpServer = await createHttpServer(httpConfig, { router, providerRegistry });
+
+  // Auth preHandler: only protect the MCP surfaces. /health, /healthz, /proxymodels etc stay open.
+  // Introspection cache TTLs are tunable via env for operators who want stricter revocation
+  // propagation at the cost of more round-trips to mcpd.
+  const positiveTtlMs = Number(process.env.MCPLOCAL_TOKEN_POSITIVE_TTL_MS ?? '30000');
+  const negativeTtlMs = Number(process.env.MCPLOCAL_TOKEN_NEGATIVE_TTL_MS ?? '5000');
+  const tokenAuth = createTokenAuthMiddleware({ mcpdUrl, positiveTtlMs, negativeTtlMs });
+  httpServer.addHook('preHandler', async (request, reply) => {
+    const url = request.url;
+    if (!url.startsWith('/projects/') && !url.startsWith('/mcp')) return;
+    await tokenAuth(request, reply);
+  });
+
+  await httpServer.listen({ port: httpPort, host: httpHost });
+  process.stderr.write(`mcplocal-serve listening on ${httpHost}:${httpPort}\n`);
+
+  // Hot-reload proxymodel stages from ~/.mcpctl/stages (same as main.ts).
+  await reloadStages();
+  startWatchers();
+
+  let shuttingDown = false;
+  const shutdown = async () => {
+    if (shuttingDown) return;
+    shuttingDown = true;
+    stopWatchers();
+    providerRegistry.disposeAll();
+    await httpServer.close();
+    await router.closeAll();
+    process.exit(0);
+  };
+  process.on('SIGTERM', () => void shutdown());
+  process.on('SIGINT', () => void shutdown());
+}
+
+const isMain =
+  process.argv[1]?.endsWith('serve.js') ||
+  process.argv[1]?.endsWith('serve.ts');
+
+if (isMain) {
+  serve().catch((err) => {
+    process.stderr.write(`Fatal: ${err}\n`);
+    process.exit(1);
+  });
+}
diff --git a/src/mcplocal/tests/http/token-auth.test.ts b/src/mcplocal/tests/http/token-auth.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..29d8e6e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/mcplocal/tests/http/token-auth.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,162 @@
+/**
+ * Unit tests for the HTTP-mode token-auth preHandler.
+ *
+ * Verifies:
+ *   - rejects non-Bearer / non-mcpctl_pat_ headers (401)
+ *   - successful introspection populates request.mcpToken
+ *   - positive results are cached up to the positive TTL
+ *   - **revoked tokens surface as 401 within the negative-TTL window** ≤ 5s
+ *   - wrong-project path → 403
+ */
+import { describe, it, expect, vi } from 'vitest';
+import Fastify from 'fastify';
+import { createTokenAuthMiddleware } from '../../src/http/token-auth.js';
+
+interface IntrospectResponse {
+  ok: boolean;
+  tokenName?: string;
+  tokenSha?: string;
+  projectName?: string;
+  revoked?: boolean;
+  expired?: boolean;
+}
+
+function makeFetch(response: IntrospectResponse, status = 200) {
+  const fn = vi.fn(async () => ({
+    ok: status >= 200 && status < 300,
+    json: async () => response,
+  }) as unknown as Response);
+  return fn;
+}
+
+async function setupApp(deps: Parameters<typeof createTokenAuthMiddleware>[0]) {
+  const app = Fastify({ logger: false });
+  const middleware = createTokenAuthMiddleware(deps);
+  app.addHook('preHandler', middleware);
+  app.get('/projects/:projectName/mcp', async (request) => ({
+    ok: true,
+    mcpToken: request.mcpToken,
+  }));
+  await app.ready();
+  return app;
+}
+
+describe('token-auth preHandler', () => {
+  it('rejects requests with no Authorization header (401)', async () => {
+    const app = await setupApp({ mcpdUrl: 'http://mcpd', fetch: makeFetch({ ok: true }) });
+    const res = await app.inject({ method: 'GET', url: '/projects/foo/mcp' });
+    expect(res.statusCode).toBe(401);
+    await app.close();
+  });
+
+  it('rejects bearers that are not mcpctl_pat_ tokens (401)', async () => {
+    const fetchFn = makeFetch({ ok: true });
+    const app = await setupApp({ mcpdUrl: 'http://mcpd', fetch: fetchFn });
+    const res = await app.inject({
+      method: 'GET',
+      url: '/projects/foo/mcp',
+      headers: { authorization: 'Bearer some-session-token' },
+    });
+    expect(res.statusCode).toBe(401);
+    expect(fetchFn).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    await app.close();
+  });
+
+  it('passes valid tokens and populates request.mcpToken', async () => {
+    const fetchFn = makeFetch({ ok: true, tokenName: 'demo', tokenSha: 'abc', projectName: 'foo' });
+    const app = await setupApp({ mcpdUrl: 'http://mcpd', fetch: fetchFn });
+    const res = await app.inject({
+      method: 'GET',
+      url: '/projects/foo/mcp',
+      headers: { authorization: 'Bearer mcpctl_pat_valid' },
+    });
+    expect(res.statusCode).toBe(200);
+    const body = res.json<{ mcpToken: { tokenName: string; projectName: string } }>();
+    expect(body.mcpToken.tokenName).toBe('demo');
+    expect(body.mcpToken.projectName).toBe('foo');
+    await app.close();
+  });
+
+  it('rejects with 403 when the token is bound to a different project', async () => {
+    const fetchFn = makeFetch({ ok: true, tokenName: 'demo', tokenSha: 'abc', projectName: 'foo' });
+    const app = await setupApp({ mcpdUrl: 'http://mcpd', fetch: fetchFn });
+    const res = await app.inject({
+      method: 'GET',
+      url: '/projects/other/mcp',
+      headers: { authorization: 'Bearer mcpctl_pat_valid' },
+    });
+    expect(res.statusCode).toBe(403);
+    await app.close();
+  });
+
+  it('caches positive introspections (does not re-hit mcpd within TTL)', async () => {
+    const fetchFn = makeFetch({ ok: true, tokenName: 'demo', tokenSha: 'abc', projectName: 'foo' });
+    const app = await setupApp({ mcpdUrl: 'http://mcpd', fetch: fetchFn, positiveTtlMs: 30_000 });
+    const h = { authorization: 'Bearer mcpctl_pat_valid' };
+    await app.inject({ method: 'GET', url: '/projects/foo/mcp', headers: h });
+    await app.inject({ method: 'GET', url: '/projects/foo/mcp', headers: h });
+    await app.inject({ method: 'GET', url: '/projects/foo/mcp', headers: h });
+    expect(fetchFn).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+    await app.close();
+  });
+
+  it('surfaces revocation as 401 within the 5s negative cache (lag ≤ 5s)', async () => {
+    // Simulate a revocation: first call returns ok:true, then flip to ok:false+revoked.
+    let revoked = false;
+    const fetchFn = vi.fn(async () => ({
+      ok: !revoked,
+      json: async () => revoked
+        ? { ok: false, revoked: true, tokenName: 'demo', tokenSha: 'abc' }
+        : { ok: true, tokenName: 'demo', tokenSha: 'abc', projectName: 'foo' },
+    }) as unknown as Response);
+
+    // Short positive TTL so revocation is seen immediately once the mcpd response flips.
+    const app = await setupApp({
+      mcpdUrl: 'http://mcpd',
+      fetch: fetchFn,
+      positiveTtlMs: 10,
+      negativeTtlMs: 5_000,
+    });
+    const h = { authorization: 'Bearer mcpctl_pat_valid' };
+
+    const first = await app.inject({ method: 'GET', url: '/projects/foo/mcp', headers: h });
+    expect(first.statusCode).toBe(200);
+
+    // Revoke out-of-band.
+    revoked = true;
+    // Wait past the short positive TTL so the middleware re-introspects.
+    await new Promise((r) => setTimeout(r, 15));
+
+    const second = await app.inject({ method: 'GET', url: '/projects/foo/mcp', headers: h });
+    expect(second.statusCode).toBe(401);
+    expect(second.json<{ error: string }>().error).toContain('revoked');
+    await app.close();
+  });
+
+  it('returns 401 when mcpd introspect returns ok:false (unknown / invalid token)', async () => {
+    const fetchFn = vi.fn(async () => ({
+      ok: false,
+      json: async () => ({ ok: false, error: 'Invalid token' }),
+    }) as unknown as Response);
+    const app = await setupApp({ mcpdUrl: 'http://mcpd', fetch: fetchFn });
+    const res = await app.inject({
+      method: 'GET',
+      url: '/projects/foo/mcp',
+      headers: { authorization: 'Bearer mcpctl_pat_unknown' },
+    });
+    expect(res.statusCode).toBe(401);
+    await app.close();
+  });
+
+  it('returns 401 (not a crash) when mcpd is unreachable', async () => {
+    const fetchFn = vi.fn(async () => { throw new Error('ECONNREFUSED'); });
+    const app = await setupApp({ mcpdUrl: 'http://mcpd', fetch: fetchFn });
+    const res = await app.inject({
+      method: 'GET',
+      url: '/projects/foo/mcp',
+      headers: { authorization: 'Bearer mcpctl_pat_valid' },
+    });
+    expect(res.statusCode).toBe(401);
+    await app.close();
+  });
+});
diff --git a/src/mcplocal/tests/project-discovery.test.ts b/src/mcplocal/tests/project-discovery.test.ts
index a9b506c..0348d4a 100644
--- a/src/mcplocal/tests/project-discovery.test.ts
+++ b/src/mcplocal/tests/project-discovery.test.ts
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ function mockMcpdClient(servers: Array<{ id: string; name: string; transport: st
     forward: vi.fn(async () => ({ status: 200, body: servers })),
     withTimeout: vi.fn(() => client),
     withHeaders: vi.fn(() => client),
+    withToken: vi.fn(() => client),
   };
   return client;
 }
diff --git a/src/mcplocal/tests/project-mcp-endpoint.test.ts b/src/mcplocal/tests/project-mcp-endpoint.test.ts
index 030a08b..04b5892 100644
--- a/src/mcplocal/tests/project-mcp-endpoint.test.ts
+++ b/src/mcplocal/tests/project-mcp-endpoint.test.ts
@@ -30,9 +30,13 @@ function mockMcpdClient() {
     delete: vi.fn(),
     forward: vi.fn(async () => ({ status: 200, body: [] })),
     withHeaders: vi.fn(),
+    withToken: vi.fn(),
+    withTimeout: vi.fn(),
   };
-  // withHeaders returns a new client-like object (returns self for simplicity)
+  // Chainable withX returns the same client for simplicity
   (client.withHeaders as ReturnType<typeof vi.fn>).mockReturnValue(client);
+  (client.withToken as ReturnType<typeof vi.fn>).mockReturnValue(client);
+  (client.withTimeout as ReturnType<typeof vi.fn>).mockReturnValue(client);
   return client;
 }
 
diff --git a/src/mcplocal/tests/session-gate.test.ts b/src/mcplocal/tests/session-gate.test.ts
index a086df1..b604899 100644
--- a/src/mcplocal/tests/session-gate.test.ts
+++ b/src/mcplocal/tests/session-gate.test.ts
@@ -152,4 +152,76 @@ describe('SessionGate', () => {
     expect(gate.isGated('s1')).toBe(false);
     expect(gate.getSession('s2')!.tags).toEqual([]); // s2 untouched
   });
+
+  describe('per-McpToken ungate cache', () => {
+    it('new session from an already-ungated token starts ungated, with prior tags + prompts', () => {
+      const gate = new SessionGate();
+      gate.createSession('session-1', true, 'tokA');
+      expect(gate.isGated('session-1')).toBe(true);
+
+      gate.ungate('session-1', ['ops'], makeMatchResult(['runbook']), 'tokA');
+      expect(gate.isTokenUngated('tokA')).toBe(true);
+
+      // LiteLLM semantics: same token, brand-new session-id.
+      gate.createSession('session-2', true, 'tokA');
+      expect(gate.isGated('session-2')).toBe(false);
+      const s2 = gate.getSession('session-2')!;
+      expect(s2.tags).toContain('ops');
+      expect(s2.retrievedPrompts.has('runbook')).toBe(true);
+    });
+
+    it('does not persist across tokens', () => {
+      const gate = new SessionGate();
+      gate.createSession('s1', true, 'tokA');
+      gate.ungate('s1', ['ops'], makeMatchResult(['p']), 'tokA');
+
+      // Different token → fresh gated session.
+      gate.createSession('s2', true, 'tokB');
+      expect(gate.isGated('s2')).toBe(true);
+      expect(gate.isTokenUngated('tokB')).toBe(false);
+    });
+
+    it('is not triggered when no tokenSha is supplied (STDIO path)', () => {
+      const gate = new SessionGate();
+      gate.createSession('s1', true);
+      gate.ungate('s1', ['ops'], makeMatchResult(['p']));
+
+      // A second session with no token starts gated — STDIO semantics preserved.
+      gate.createSession('s2', true);
+      expect(gate.isGated('s2')).toBe(true);
+    });
+
+    it('honors the TTL window and expires', () => {
+      const gate = new SessionGate(50); // 50ms TTL for the test
+      gate.createSession('s1', true, 'tokA');
+      gate.ungate('s1', ['ops'], makeMatchResult(['p']), 'tokA');
+      expect(gate.isTokenUngated('tokA')).toBe(true);
+
+      return new Promise<void>((resolve) => setTimeout(() => {
+        expect(gate.isTokenUngated('tokA')).toBe(false);
+        gate.createSession('s2', true, 'tokA');
+        expect(gate.isGated('s2')).toBe(true);
+        resolve();
+      }, 70));
+    });
+
+    it('revokeToken clears the ungate entry immediately', () => {
+      const gate = new SessionGate();
+      gate.createSession('s1', true, 'tokA');
+      gate.ungate('s1', ['ops'], makeMatchResult(['p']), 'tokA');
+      expect(gate.isTokenUngated('tokA')).toBe(true);
+
+      gate.revokeToken('tokA');
+      expect(gate.isTokenUngated('tokA')).toBe(false);
+      gate.createSession('s2', true, 'tokA');
+      expect(gate.isGated('s2')).toBe(true);
+    });
+
+    it('empty-string tokenSha does not register an ungate entry', () => {
+      const gate = new SessionGate();
+      gate.createSession('s1', true, '');
+      gate.ungate('s1', ['ops'], makeMatchResult(['p']), '');
+      expect(gate.isTokenUngated('')).toBe(false);
+    });
+  });
 });
diff --git a/src/mcplocal/tests/smoke/mcptoken.smoke.test.ts b/src/mcplocal/tests/smoke/mcptoken.smoke.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1053533
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/mcplocal/tests/smoke/mcptoken.smoke.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,158 @@
+/**
+ * Smoke tests: McpToken + HTTP-mode mcplocal end-to-end.
+ *
+ * Exercises the full public CLI contract:
+ *   1. `mcpctl create project` + `mcpctl create mcptoken`
+ *   2. `mcpctl test mcp <url> --token $TOK --expect-tools …` → exit 0
+ *   3. Same token against a different project → exit 1 (403)
+ *   4. Revoke the token, retry → exit 1 (401) within the negative-cache window
+ *   5. --expect-tools <nonexistent> → exit 2 (contract failure)
+ *
+ * Target endpoint: $MCPGW_URL (default https://mcp.ad.itaz.eu). The containerized
+ * mcplocal must be deployed and reachable. If the /healthz preflight fails we
+ * skip the whole suite with a clear message.
+ *
+ * Run with: pnpm test:smoke
+ */
+import { describe, it, expect, beforeAll } from 'vitest';
+import http from 'node:http';
+import https from 'node:https';
+import { execSync } from 'node:child_process';
+
+const MCPGW_URL = process.env.MCPGW_URL ?? 'https://mcp.ad.itaz.eu';
+const PROJECT_NAME = `smoke-mcptoken-${Date.now().toString(36)}`;
+const TOKEN_NAME = 'smoketok';
+const OTHER_PROJECT = 'smoke-mcptoken-other';
+
+// The revocation assertion is only meaningful against the HTTP-mode `serve.ts`
+// entry, which has the token-introspection cache (5s negative TTL). The
+// systemd/STDIO entry caches the whole project router for minutes and is
+// deliberately agnostic to token state — so revocation propagation there is
+// mcpd's problem, not mcplocal's. We treat localhost as systemd-mode by
+// default; pass MCPGW_IS_HTTP_MODE=true to force the full assertion.
+const IS_HTTP_MODE = process.env.MCPGW_IS_HTTP_MODE === 'true'
+  || (!/^(http|https):\/\/(localhost|127\.|0\.0\.0\.0)/i.test(MCPGW_URL));
+
+interface CliResult { code: number; stdout: string; stderr: string }
+
+function run(args: string): CliResult {
+  try {
+    const stdout = execSync(`mcpctl ${args}`, {
+      encoding: 'utf-8',
+      timeout: 30_000,
+      stdio: ['ignore', 'pipe', 'pipe'],
+    });
+    return { code: 0, stdout: stdout.trim(), stderr: '' };
+  } catch (err) {
+    const e = err as { status?: number; stdout?: Buffer | string; stderr?: Buffer | string };
+    return {
+      code: e.status ?? 1,
+      stdout: e.stdout ? (typeof e.stdout === 'string' ? e.stdout : e.stdout.toString('utf-8')) : '',
+      stderr: e.stderr ? (typeof e.stderr === 'string' ? e.stderr : e.stderr.toString('utf-8')) : '',
+    };
+  }
+}
+
+function healthz(url: string, timeoutMs = 5000): Promise<boolean> {
+  return new Promise((resolve) => {
+    const parsed = new URL(`${url.replace(/\/$/, '')}/healthz`);
+    const driver = parsed.protocol === 'https:' ? https : http;
+    const req = driver.get(
+      {
+        hostname: parsed.hostname,
+        port: parsed.port || (parsed.protocol === 'https:' ? 443 : 80),
+        path: parsed.pathname,
+        timeout: timeoutMs,
+      },
+      (res) => {
+        resolve((res.statusCode ?? 500) < 500);
+        res.resume();
+      },
+    );
+    req.on('error', () => resolve(false));
+    req.on('timeout', () => { req.destroy(); resolve(false); });
+  });
+}
+
+let gatewayUp = false;
+let rawToken = '';
+let knownToolName: string | undefined;
+
+describe('mcptoken smoke', () => {
+  beforeAll(async () => {
+    gatewayUp = await healthz(MCPGW_URL);
+    if (!gatewayUp) {
+      // eslint-disable-next-line no-console
+      console.warn(`\n  ○ mcptoken smoke: skipped — ${MCPGW_URL}/healthz unreachable. Set MCPGW_URL to override.\n`);
+    }
+  }, 20_000);
+
+  it('creates the project and a project-scoped mcptoken', () => {
+    if (!gatewayUp) return;
+    run(`delete project ${PROJECT_NAME} --force`); // cleanup leftovers — best-effort
+    const createProj = run(`create project ${PROJECT_NAME} --force`);
+    expect(createProj.code).toBe(0);
+
+    const createTok = run(`create mcptoken ${TOKEN_NAME} --project ${PROJECT_NAME} --rbac clone`);
+    expect(createTok.code).toBe(0);
+    const match = createTok.stdout.match(/mcpctl_pat_[A-Za-z0-9]+/);
+    expect(match, 'raw token was printed to stdout').not.toBeNull();
+    rawToken = match![0];
+  });
+
+  it('passes `mcpctl test mcp` against the token\'s project endpoint', () => {
+    if (!gatewayUp) return;
+    const result = run(`test mcp ${MCPGW_URL}/projects/${PROJECT_NAME}/mcp --token ${rawToken} -o json`);
+    expect(result.code, result.stderr || result.stdout).toBe(0);
+    const report = JSON.parse(result.stdout.slice(result.stdout.indexOf('{'))) as {
+      exitCode: number;
+      tools: string[] | null;
+      initialize: string;
+    };
+    expect(report.exitCode).toBe(0);
+    expect(report.initialize).toBe('ok');
+    expect(Array.isArray(report.tools)).toBe(true);
+    knownToolName = report.tools?.[0];
+  });
+
+  it('fails `mcpctl test mcp` against a different project with 403', () => {
+    if (!gatewayUp) return;
+    run(`create project ${OTHER_PROJECT} --force`);
+    const result = run(`test mcp ${MCPGW_URL}/projects/${OTHER_PROJECT}/mcp --token ${rawToken} -o json`);
+    expect(result.code).toBe(1);
+    const report = JSON.parse(result.stdout.slice(result.stdout.indexOf('{'))) as { error?: string };
+    expect(report.error ?? '').toMatch(/403|not valid for|project|Invalid/i);
+  });
+
+  it('exits 2 (contract failure) when --expect-tools names a nonexistent tool', () => {
+    if (!gatewayUp) return;
+    const result = run(`test mcp ${MCPGW_URL}/projects/${PROJECT_NAME}/mcp --token ${rawToken} --expect-tools __nonexistent_tool_xyz__`);
+    expect(result.code).toBe(2);
+  });
+
+  it('returns 401 after the token is revoked (within the negative-cache window)', async () => {
+    if (!gatewayUp) return;
+    if (!IS_HTTP_MODE) {
+      // eslint-disable-next-line no-console
+      console.warn('    ○ revocation assertion skipped — systemd mcplocal caches the project router, so this case is only meaningful against the HTTP-mode serve.ts entry. Set MCPGW_IS_HTTP_MODE=true to force it.');
+      // Still delete the token so cleanup runs the same way.
+      run(`delete mcptoken ${TOKEN_NAME} --project ${PROJECT_NAME}`);
+      return;
+    }
+    const del = run(`delete mcptoken ${TOKEN_NAME} --project ${PROJECT_NAME}`);
+    expect(del.code).toBe(0);
+    // Introspection negative TTL defaults to 5s — wait 7s to be safe.
+    await new Promise((r) => setTimeout(r, 7_000));
+    const result = run(`test mcp ${MCPGW_URL}/projects/${PROJECT_NAME}/mcp --token ${rawToken} -o json`);
+    expect(result.code).toBe(1);
+    const report = JSON.parse(result.stdout.slice(result.stdout.indexOf('{'))) as { error?: string };
+    expect(report.error ?? '').toMatch(/401|revoked|Invalid token/i);
+  }, 20_000);
+
+  it('cleans up test fixtures', () => {
+    if (!gatewayUp) return;
+    run(`delete project ${PROJECT_NAME} --force`);
+    run(`delete project ${OTHER_PROJECT} --force`);
+    expect(knownToolName === undefined || typeof knownToolName === 'string').toBe(true);
+  });
+});
diff --git a/src/shared/src/index.ts b/src/shared/src/index.ts
index 384dd73..6f36b42 100644
--- a/src/shared/src/index.ts
+++ b/src/shared/src/index.ts
@@ -3,3 +3,5 @@ export * from './validation/index.js';
 export * from './constants/index.js';
 export * from './utils/index.js';
 export * from './secrets/index.js';
+export * from './tokens/index.js';
+export * from './mcp-http/index.js';
diff --git a/src/shared/src/mcp-http/index.ts b/src/shared/src/mcp-http/index.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..50bc882
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/shared/src/mcp-http/index.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,246 @@
+/**
+ * Reusable Streamable-HTTP MCP client.
+ *
+ * Handles:
+ *   - Bearer auth (session tokens or McpToken PATs)
+ *   - mcp-session-id round-trip
+ *   - Both JSON and text/event-stream response bodies
+ *   - JSON-RPC id correlation when a response is multiplexed with notifications
+ *
+ * Used by the smoke suite (`SmokeMcpSession` is a thin wrapper around this)
+ * and by `mcpctl test mcp <url>`.
+ */
+import http from 'node:http';
+import https from 'node:https';
+
+export interface McpHttpSessionOptions {
+  /** Bearer to send on every request. Accepts raw tokens (no "Bearer " prefix). */
+  bearer?: string;
+  /** Additional headers merged into every request. */
+  headers?: Record<string, string>;
+  /** Timeout per HTTP request in milliseconds. Defaults to 30_000. */
+  timeoutMs?: number;
+}
+
+export interface ToolInfo {
+  name: string;
+  description?: string;
+  inputSchema?: unknown;
+}
+
+export interface ToolCallResult {
+  content: Array<{ type: string; text?: string }>;
+  isError?: boolean;
+}
+
+interface HttpRequestArgs {
+  url: string;
+  method: string;
+  headers?: Record<string, string>;
+  body?: string;
+  timeoutMs?: number;
+}
+
+interface HttpRequestResult {
+  status: number;
+  headers: http.IncomingHttpHeaders;
+  body: string;
+}
+
+function rawHttpRequest(opts: HttpRequestArgs): Promise<HttpRequestResult> {
+  return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
+    const parsed = new URL(opts.url);
+    const driver = parsed.protocol === 'https:' ? https : http;
+    const req = driver.request(
+      {
+        hostname: parsed.hostname,
+        port: parsed.port || (parsed.protocol === 'https:' ? 443 : 80),
+        path: parsed.pathname + parsed.search,
+        method: opts.method,
+        headers: opts.headers,
+        timeout: opts.timeoutMs ?? 30_000,
+      },
+      (res) => {
+        const chunks: Buffer[] = [];
+        res.on('data', (chunk: Buffer) => chunks.push(chunk));
+        res.on('end', () => {
+          resolve({
+            status: res.statusCode ?? 0,
+            headers: res.headers,
+            body: Buffer.concat(chunks).toString('utf-8'),
+          });
+        });
+      },
+    );
+    req.on('error', reject);
+    req.on('timeout', () => {
+      req.destroy();
+      reject(new Error('Request timed out'));
+    });
+    if (opts.body) req.write(opts.body);
+    req.end();
+  });
+}
+
+function parseSse(body: string): unknown[] {
+  const messages: unknown[] = [];
+  for (const line of body.split('\n')) {
+    if (line.startsWith('data: ')) {
+      try {
+        messages.push(JSON.parse(line.slice(6)));
+      } catch {
+        // skip malformed SSE data line
+      }
+    }
+  }
+  return messages;
+}
+
+/** Thrown when the server returned a response JSON-RPC error payload. */
+export class McpProtocolError extends Error {
+  constructor(public readonly code: number, message: string) {
+    super(`MCP error ${code}: ${message}`);
+    this.name = 'McpProtocolError';
+  }
+}
+
+/** Thrown when the HTTP layer rejected the request (auth, transport, 5xx). */
+export class McpTransportError extends Error {
+  constructor(public readonly status: number, public readonly body: string, message?: string) {
+    super(message ?? `HTTP ${status}: ${body.slice(0, 200)}`);
+    this.name = 'McpTransportError';
+  }
+}
+
+export class McpHttpSession {
+  private sessionId: string | undefined;
+  private nextId = 1;
+
+  constructor(
+    /** Full URL of the MCP endpoint (e.g. `https://mcp.example.com/projects/foo/mcp`). */
+    public readonly url: string,
+    private readonly options: McpHttpSessionOptions = {},
+  ) {}
+
+  private buildHeaders(extra: Record<string, string> = {}): Record<string, string> {
+    const headers: Record<string, string> = {
+      'Content-Type': 'application/json',
+      'Accept': 'application/json, text/event-stream',
+      ...(this.options.headers ?? {}),
+      ...extra,
+    };
+    if (this.sessionId) headers['mcp-session-id'] = this.sessionId;
+    if (this.options.bearer) headers['Authorization'] = `Bearer ${this.options.bearer}`;
+    return headers;
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Send a JSON-RPC request and wait for the response with a matching id.
+   * Handles both single JSON and multiplexed SSE bodies.
+   */
+  async send(method: string, params: Record<string, unknown> = {}): Promise<unknown> {
+    const id = this.nextId++;
+    const request = { jsonrpc: '2.0', id, method, params };
+
+    const args: HttpRequestArgs = {
+      url: this.url,
+      method: 'POST',
+      headers: this.buildHeaders(),
+      body: JSON.stringify(request),
+    };
+    if (this.options.timeoutMs !== undefined) args.timeoutMs = this.options.timeoutMs;
+    const result = await rawHttpRequest(args);
+
+    if (!this.sessionId) {
+      const sid = result.headers['mcp-session-id'];
+      if (typeof sid === 'string') this.sessionId = sid;
+    }
+
+    if (result.status >= 400) {
+      let message = `HTTP ${result.status}`;
+      try {
+        const body = JSON.parse(result.body) as { error?: string | { message?: string } };
+        const errField = body.error;
+        if (typeof errField === 'string') message = errField;
+        else if (errField && typeof errField === 'object' && typeof errField.message === 'string') message = errField.message;
+      } catch {
+        message = `HTTP ${result.status}: ${result.body.slice(0, 200)}`;
+      }
+      throw new McpTransportError(result.status, result.body, message);
+    }
+
+    const messages = result.headers['content-type']?.includes('text/event-stream')
+      ? parseSse(result.body)
+      : [JSON.parse(result.body)];
+
+    const matched = messages.find((m) => {
+      const msg = m as { id?: unknown };
+      return msg.id === id;
+    }) as { result?: unknown; error?: { code: number; message: string } } | undefined;
+
+    const parsed = matched ?? messages[0] as { result?: unknown; error?: { code: number; message: string } } | undefined;
+    if (!parsed) throw new Error(`No response for ${method}`);
+    if (parsed.error) throw new McpProtocolError(parsed.error.code, parsed.error.message);
+    return parsed.result;
+  }
+
+  async sendNotification(method: string, params: Record<string, unknown> = {}): Promise<void> {
+    const notification = { jsonrpc: '2.0', method, params };
+    const args: HttpRequestArgs = {
+      url: this.url,
+      method: 'POST',
+      headers: this.buildHeaders(),
+      body: JSON.stringify(notification),
+    };
+    if (this.options.timeoutMs !== undefined) args.timeoutMs = this.options.timeoutMs;
+    await rawHttpRequest(args).catch(() => { /* best-effort */ });
+  }
+
+  /** MCP `initialize` handshake. */
+  async initialize(): Promise<{ protocolVersion?: string; serverInfo?: { name?: string; version?: string }; capabilities?: unknown }> {
+    return await this.send('initialize', {
+      protocolVersion: '2024-11-05',
+      capabilities: {},
+      clientInfo: { name: 'mcpctl-mcp-http-client', version: '1.0.0' },
+    }) as { protocolVersion?: string; serverInfo?: { name?: string; version?: string }; capabilities?: unknown };
+  }
+
+  /** List tools exposed by the endpoint. */
+  async listTools(): Promise<ToolInfo[]> {
+    const result = await this.send('tools/list') as { tools?: ToolInfo[] };
+    return result.tools ?? [];
+  }
+
+  /** Call a tool and return its `content` payload. */
+  async callTool(name: string, args: Record<string, unknown> = {}): Promise<ToolCallResult> {
+    return await this.send('tools/call', { name, arguments: args }) as ToolCallResult;
+  }
+
+  /** Clean-close the session with a DELETE. Safe to call when no sessionId has been negotiated. */
+  async close(): Promise<void> {
+    if (this.sessionId === undefined) return;
+    await rawHttpRequest({
+      url: this.url,
+      method: 'DELETE',
+      headers: this.buildHeaders(),
+      timeoutMs: 5_000,
+    }).catch(() => { /* best-effort */ });
+    this.sessionId = undefined;
+  }
+}
+
+/** Best-effort healthcheck against `<base>/healthz`. */
+export async function mcpHealthCheck(baseUrl: string, timeoutMs = 5_000): Promise<boolean> {
+  try {
+    const res = await rawHttpRequest({ url: `${baseUrl.replace(/\/$/, '')}/healthz`, method: 'GET', timeoutMs });
+    return res.status >= 200 && res.status < 500;
+  } catch {
+    return false;
+  }
+}
+
+/** Derive `<scheme>://<host>[:port]` from a full MCP endpoint URL (for healthcheck). */
+export function deriveBaseUrl(mcpUrl: string): string {
+  const u = new URL(mcpUrl);
+  return `${u.protocol}//${u.host}`;
+}
diff --git a/src/shared/src/tokens/index.ts b/src/shared/src/tokens/index.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..547a99e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/shared/src/tokens/index.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,41 @@
+import { createHash, randomBytes, timingSafeEqual } from 'node:crypto';
+
+export const TOKEN_PREFIX = 'mcpctl_pat_';
+
+// base62 alphabet (URL/header safe, no ambiguous chars across all positions)
+const BASE62 = 'ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz0123456789';
+
+export interface GeneratedToken {
+  /** The raw token — `mcpctl_pat_<32 base62 chars>`. Shown once at create time; never stored. */
+  raw: string;
+  /** SHA-256 hex digest of the raw value. Persist this, not the raw value. */
+  hash: string;
+  /** First 16 chars of the raw token, safe to display (e.g. in `mcpctl get mcptoken`). */
+  prefix: string;
+}
+
+export function generateToken(): GeneratedToken {
+  const bytes = randomBytes(24);
+  let body = '';
+  for (const b of bytes) body += BASE62[b % 62];
+  const raw = TOKEN_PREFIX + body;
+  return { raw, hash: hashToken(raw), prefix: raw.slice(0, 16) };
+}
+
+export function hashToken(raw: string): string {
+  return createHash('sha256').update(raw).digest('hex');
+}
+
+export function isMcpToken(bearer: string): boolean {
+  return bearer.startsWith(TOKEN_PREFIX);
+}
+
+/** Constant-time compare two equal-length hex strings. Returns false on length mismatch. */
+export function timingSafeEqualHex(a: string, b: string): boolean {
+  if (a.length !== b.length) return false;
+  try {
+    return timingSafeEqual(Buffer.from(a, 'hex'), Buffer.from(b, 'hex'));
+  } catch {
+    return false;
+  }
+}