# How Kastra works

Choose the integration that can see and govern the action you care about.

Updated: 2026-09-22

Canonical: https://docs.kastra.ai/start/overview

## Choose an enforcement surface

Kastra checks supported AI actions against your policies before they reach the next step in a connected workflow. Routine actions can proceed, disallowed actions stop, and sensitive actions can wait for an authorized person. Recorded decisions give security and engineering a common way to inspect the result.

New to the terms? Read [core concepts](https://docs.kastra.ai/start/concepts). Evaluating Kastra as a supplier? Start with the [security review guide](https://docs.kastra.ai/security/overview) and [Trust Center](https://trust.oneleet.com/kastra).

| Your workflow | Integration | What it governs |
| --- | --- | --- |
| A supported coding agent changes files or runs tools | [Kastra Edge](https://docs.kastra.ai/edge/install) | Hook events exposed by that agent |
| Your application calls OpenAI or Anthropic | [Proxy](https://docs.kastra.ai/proxy/overview) | Requests and supported model output passing through the proxy |
| An assistant calls a local MCP server | [Local MCP gateway](https://docs.kastra.ai/mcp/local-gateway) | Tool discovery and tool-call arguments |
| Your own application needs a permission decision | [Evaluation API](https://docs.kastra.ai/reference/evaluate) | The action your application submits; your code enforces the result |

Kastra's hosted control plane manages policies, approvals, and recorded decisions. A separate [enterprise appliance](https://docs.kastra.ai/reference/self-hosted) is under development for customer-operated deployments. Edge is not an offline policy engine or an operating-system sandbox. Traffic and actions outside a connected integration remain outside its coverage.

## Follow one action

1. The integration supplies action context to Kastra.
2. The active policy is evaluated in its environment.
3. An allowed action continues. A denied action stops at the integration. A supported HOLD waits for a human decision.
4. Recorded decisions and approval history help your team inspect the result.

A successful installation is not evidence of enforcement. Complete the [first-workflow checklist](https://docs.kastra.ai/start/first-workflow) and inspect the decision for the exact action you tested.

## Choose your next step

- Security leaders: review [architecture and coverage](https://docs.kastra.ai/security/architecture), then agree on [pilot acceptance criteria](https://docs.kastra.ai/security/evaluation).
- Engineers: connect one supported surface and complete [your first governed workflow](https://docs.kastra.ai/start/first-workflow).
- Operators: assign responsibilities and prepare [monitoring, failure response, and recovery](https://docs.kastra.ai/security/operations).

## Keep inspection and enforcement separate

The [account MCP connector](https://docs.kastra.ai/mcp/account) reads Kastra governance data. It does not intercept third-party tools. The [onboarding MCP](https://docs.kastra.ai/mcp/onboarding) starts a browser signup handoff. The gateway is the MCP surface that governs downstream tool calls.