Overview

Learn how to:
  1. Explore your current API configurations
  2. Create new API definitions with appropriate scopes
  3. Implement custom authorization logic with Auth0 Actions
  4. Deploy and test your authorization system
  5. Monitor and refine your authorization rules

Before you start

  1. Create an Auth0 account with administrative access
  2. Install Auth0 MCP Server and integrate with Claude Desktop
Use natural language interactions with Auth0 MCP Server to quickly set up and manage a comprehensive API authorization system. By leveraging Claude’s ability to interact with Auth0 through the Model Context Protocol, you can implement complex authorization patterns in minutes instead of hours.

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1: Explore current API configuration

Before creating new APIs, it’s important to understand what’s already configured in your tenant. With Auth0 MCP Server, you can quickly get this information through natural language. Ask Claude: 
Show me all the resource servers (APIs) currently configured in my Auth0 tenant.
Claude will use the auth0_list_resource_servers tool to retrieve and display your existing APIs. This gives you a quick overview of your API landscape without having to navigate through the .

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2: Create new API definitions

Now that you understand your current configuration, you can create new APIs for your microservices architecture. Instead of configuring each API separately through the dashboard, you can define them all at once. Ask Claude: 
I need to create three new APIs for our microservices:
1. An inventory API with read and write scopes
2. An orders API with read and write scopes
3. A customers API with read, write, and admin scopes

Each API should enforce scope validation.
Claude will use the auth0_create_resource_server tool multiple times to set up these APIs.

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3: Implement authorization logic

After your APIs are defined, you’ll need to implement custom authorization logic. With Auth0 MCP Server, you can describe your business rules in natural language and Claude will generate the appropriate Auth0 Actions code. Ask Claude: 
Create an Action that enforces the following authorization rules:
1. Verify the requesting application has the appropriate scopes for the API being accessed.
2. For the customers API, requests using the admin scope should only come from our internal IP ranges (10.0.0.0/8 and 172.16.0.0/12).
3. Log all authorization decisions for audit purposes.
Claude will use the auth0_create_action tool to generate and create an Action with the appropriate code.

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4: Deploy the authorization Action

Once you’re satisfied with the Action code, you can deploy it to your production environment with a simple instruction. Ask Claude: 
Deploy this action to run during the token issuance process.
Claude will use the auth0_deploy_action tool to deploy the Action.

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5: Configure client applications

Next, you’ll need to configure your client applications to access the appropriate APIs with the correct scopes. Ask Claude: 
Create an 'inventory-manager' application on my Auth0 tenant and update the app to access the inventory and orders APIs with read and write permissions, but not the customers API.
Claude will first use auth0_get_application to retrieve the current configuration, then use auth0_update_application to update it.

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6: Verify configuration

To ensure your authorization system is working correctly, you can check the logs for any authorization issues. Ask Claude: 
Check the logs for any failed API access attempts in the last hour. Focus on authorization failures.
Claude will use auth0_list_logs to find relevant log entries.

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7: Refine the authorization rules

Based on the log analysis, you might need to refine your authorization rules. For example, you might need to allow access from additional IP ranges. Ask Claude: 
Update the authorization action to also allow requests from our development VPN range 192.168.100.0/24.
Claude will use auth0_get_action to retrieve the current Action code, then use auth0_update_action to modify it. Finally, Claude will use auth0_deploy_action to deploy the updated Action.

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Conclusion

By using Auth0 MCP Server with Claude, you’ve implemented a comprehensive API authorization system by:
  • Creating multiple API definitions with appropriate scopes
  • Implementing custom authorization logic with IP-based restrictions
  • Configuring client applications to access specific APIs
  • Monitoring and refining your authorization rules
This natural language approach not only saves time but also allows you to implement security best practices without deep expertise in Auth0’s Actions system or log query syntax.

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Next steps

  • Implement additional authorization rules based on user attributes
  • Set up regular log monitoring for security analysis
  • Create custom dashboards to visualize API usage patterns