Endram field guides
Agent security comparisons
Decision guides for gateways, proxies, authentication, authorization, security, governance, and build-versus-buy.
Named alternatives
Open Policy Agent alternatives for AI agents
Open Policy Agent alternatives for AI agents: compare enforcement point, identity context, approvals, evidence, and operational fit before choosing an architecture.
Open guide →02 · auth0 alternativesAuth0 alternatives for AI agent authorization
Auth0 authenticates users and issues tokens. If the reason you are looking for an alternative is agent tool calls, this explains which part you actually need to replace and which part you should keep.
Open guide →03 · okta alternativesOkta alternatives when the problem is agent access, not workforce login
Workforce identity, privileged access, and agent tool authorization solve different failures. This separates them so an evaluation does not end in a migration that leaves the original gap open.
Open guide →04 · keycloak alternativesKeycloak alternatives for teams adding AI agents
Keycloak gives you an authorization server you can run yourself. Where it gets thin for agents is per-call decisions, approvals, and evidence, and that is a different component rather than a different Keycloak.
Open guide →05 · hashicorp vault alternativesHashiCorp Vault alternatives for AI agent credentials
Vault decides which secret an agent may hold. It does not decide what the agent does with it. This separates the secrets problem from the action problem before you compare products.
Open guide →06 · amazon verified permissionsAmazon Verified Permissions alternatives for agent tool calls
Verified Permissions evaluates Cedar policies for application authorization. Where it stops short for agents is arguments, approvals, and execution evidence, and this explains how the two layers fit together.
Open guide →07 · xacmlXACML alternatives for agent and API authorization
XACML got the architecture right and the ergonomics wrong. This maps its concepts onto what teams use now, and what is worth carrying forward into agent authorization.
Open guide →MCP architecture
MCP gateway vs API gateway
MCP gateway vs API gateway: compare enforcement point, identity context, approvals, evidence, and operational fit before choosing an architecture.
Open guide →02 · mcp proxy vs mcp gatewayMCP proxy vs MCP gateway
MCP proxy vs MCP gateway: compare enforcement point, identity context, approvals, evidence, and operational fit before choosing an architecture.
Open guide →03 · mcp authorization vs authenticationMCP authorization vs authentication
MCP authorization vs authentication: compare enforcement point, identity context, approvals, evidence, and operational fit before choosing an architecture.
Open guide →04 · mcp registryMCP registry vs security gateway
MCP registry vs security gateway: compare enforcement point, identity context, approvals, evidence, and operational fit before choosing an architecture.
Open guide →05 · open source mcp serversOpen-source MCP servers vs managed control
Open-source MCP servers vs managed control: compare enforcement point, identity context, approvals, evidence, and operational fit before choosing an architecture.
Open guide →06 · best mcp gatewayBest MCP gateway: a buyer evaluation guide
Best MCP gateway: a buyer evaluation guide: compare enforcement point, identity context, approvals, evidence, and operational fit before choosing an architecture.
Open guide →07 · mcp gateway open sourceOpen-source vs managed MCP gateway
Open-source vs managed MCP gateway: compare enforcement point, identity context, approvals, evidence, and operational fit before choosing an architecture.
Open guide →08 · best mcp serversBest MCP servers for production: security checklist
Best MCP servers for production: security checklist: compare enforcement point, identity context, approvals, evidence, and operational fit before choosing an architecture.
Open guide →Engines and policy languages
AI agent identity vs workload identity
AI agent identity vs workload identity: compare enforcement point, identity context, approvals, evidence, and operational fit before choosing an architecture.
Open guide →02 · ai agent authentication vs authorizationAI agent authentication vs authorization
AI agent authentication vs authorization: compare enforcement point, identity context, approvals, evidence, and operational fit before choosing an architecture.
Open guide →03 · short lived credentials for ai agentsAPI keys vs short-lived agent credentials
API keys vs short-lived agent credentials: compare enforcement point, identity context, approvals, evidence, and operational fit before choosing an architecture.
Open guide →04 · spicedb vs openfgaSpiceDB vs OpenFGA, and what neither one does for agents
Both implement Zanzibar-style relationship authorization. The comparison that matters for agent workloads is not which engine wins, it is which questions neither engine is being asked.
Open guide →05 · opa vs cedarOPA vs Cedar for agent authorization
Rego and Cedar make opposite trade-offs between expressiveness and analysability. This compares them on the axes that matter when the subject is an agent rather than a service.
Open guide →06 · rbac vs abacRBAC vs ABAC vs ReBAC for AI agent access
The three models compared on the question agents actually raise: can this model express a rule that depends on the arguments of one call, and what happens when it cannot.
Open guide →07 · policy decision pointPolicy decision point vs policy enforcement point for agent tool calls
The PDP and PEP split is decades old and still decides whether an agent control works. This is where each sits for a tool call, and the failure modes of putting them in the wrong place.
Open guide →Build, buy, and operate
Build vs buy AI agent authorization
Build vs buy AI agent authorization: compare enforcement point, identity context, approvals, evidence, and operational fit before choosing an architecture.
Open guide →02 · ai agent security vs governanceAI agent security vs AI agent governance
AI agent security vs AI agent governance: compare enforcement point, identity context, approvals, evidence, and operational fit before choosing an architecture.
Open guide →03 · ai agent observability vs securityAI agent observability vs runtime security
AI agent observability vs runtime security: compare enforcement point, identity context, approvals, evidence, and operational fit before choosing an architecture.
Open guide →04 · open source ai agent authorizationOpen source vs managed agent authorization
Open source vs managed agent authorization: compare enforcement point, identity context, approvals, evidence, and operational fit before choosing an architecture.
Open guide →