Security & Privacy FAQ

Does Axe MCP Server capture or store our source code?

No. The Axe MCP Server does not capture or store your source code in any database or persistent storage.

When the analyze tool runs, the response includes the HTML source code of accessibility issue elements for context and debugging purposes. However, this data:

• Is only returned in the immediate API response to your AI agent
• Is never persisted to Deque-managed databases
• Remains within your local development environment
• Is discarded after the analysis completes

How long do MCP test results live on Deque-managed infrastructure?

They don't. MCP test results are not persisted in any Deque-managed database or storage system.

The analyze tool:

• Runs entirely on your machine — in a Docker container, or as a local Node.js process with the npm distribution
• Returns results directly to your AI agent
• Does not send analysis results to Deque servers

There are two exceptions:

• The remediate tool, which can include minimal violation metadata (see below) to generate AI-powered fix guidance.
• Advanced Rules, when an active preset is in effect. Advanced Rules are evaluated server-side, so analyze uploads a full-page screenshot and the page structure the rules need. See What gets sent to Deque.

What data is sent to Deque servers?

Only when using the remediate tool:

The following data is sent to Deque's AI remediation endpoint to generate fix guidance:

• Rule ID - The specific accessibility rule that was violated
• Element HTML - The HTML markup of the affected element(s)
• Issue metadata - Violation description and remediation guidance from axe-core

This data is used exclusively to generate remediation guidance and is not stored long-term in Deque databases.

When using Advanced Rules:

Advanced Rules are evaluated by Deque's ML and LLM services rather than in the local browser, so a scan with an active preset sends:

• A full-page screenshot of the page being scanned
• Page structure and computed styles — the evaluation payload the advanced rules need to reason about layout, contrast, and headings

This capture is independent of the analyze tool's optional screenshot parameter: omitting that parameter does not prevent it. Set the Advanced Rules preset to disabled — per scan, per server, or organization-wide in Axe Configuration — for pages whose content must not leave your environment.

Otherwise, the analyze tool does not send any data to Deque servers beyond authentication requests (validating your API key or OAuth 2.0 access token) and fetching your organization's Axe Configuration.

What level of access does the AI agent need to function?

The AI agent (Claude, Copilot, Cursor, etc.) needs access to:

1. MCP Server Communication - The agent must be able to call the MCP server's tools through the Model Context Protocol

2. Tool Response Data - The agent receives:

   • Accessibility violation data from analyze calls
   • Remediation guidance from remediate calls
   • This data is necessary for the agent to understand issues and generate code fixes

3. Your Codebase (Optional) - If you want the agent to automatically apply code fixes, it needs access to your source code files

• This is standard for AI coding assistants in IDEs (VS Code, Cursor, etc.)
• Not required if you're only using the tools for analysis and guidance (e.g., via Claude Desktop app)

The MCP server itself needs access to:

• URLs you specify for testing (supports both local and remote)
• Your Axe credentials: either an API key (generated in the Axe Account Portal) or an OAuth 2.0 access token (obtained via @deque/axe-auth); provided via environment variable

Important: The MCP server runs locally on your machine — in a Docker container, or as a Node.js process with the npm distribution. It does not require broad file system access or elevated privileges.

Best Practices

• Credential Security - Store your AXE_API_KEY or AXE_ACCESS_TOKEN as an environment variable, not in code. With OAuth 2.0, @deque/axe-auth keeps tokens in your OS keychain and injects a fresh access token at startup, so no long-lived secret needs to live in your configuration
• Local Testing - Test local development URLs (localhost) or staging to keep sensitive pre-production code isolated
• Network Isolation - The MCP server only communicates with:
  • URLs you explicitly request to analyze
  • Deque servers for authentication (API key or OAuth 2.0 token validation) and remediation (when called)
  • Your local AI agent through MCP protocol
• Review Before Applying - Always review AI-generated code changes before committing them to your codebase