MemoryGate treats its dashboard as an administrative surface and keeps agents on a separate, read-only interface.

MemoryGate assumes the dashboard is an administrative surface and keeps agents on a separate read-only interface.

• MemoryGate refuses to start with no admin key configured. There is no open fallback tier; the startup error names the exact fix. A key supplied through MEMORYGATE_ADMIN_KEY must be at least 16 characters.
• CORS defaults to the bundled dashboard's own origins (http://localhost:8021, http://127.0.0.1:8021). MEMORYGATE_CORS_ORIGINS=* is a development override only - a wildcard puts every route in reach of any page the owner has open, and it is logged as a warning at startup.
• Destructive actions need a second, deliberate confirmation on top of admin auth: POST /system/memory-reset requires the exact phrase RESET MEMORY. A valid admin key alone is not enough.
• Admin keys are stored as PBKDF2-SHA256 hashes, never plaintext.
• Failed key verification is limited to five attempts with a five-minute lockout per client scope.
• Agent read keys are separate, scoped credentials. They can retrieve context but cannot ingest, edit, reset, or administer MemoryGate.
• Listener ingestion uses a source-specific secret, not the admin key.
• LLMs receive no write, delete, shell, or tool capability through MemoryGate.
• OpenAI API keys, when configured, are encrypted at rest in the MemoryGate server volume and never returned to the dashboard after saving.
• Backups exclude admin/read-key hashes and listener secrets.

Local deployment protects against remote misuse, not a fully compromised host. Running the agent and MemoryGate services on separate machines is the recommended next isolation step.

Bootstrap read-key configuration is initial setup, not key rotation. Once its label or credential exists, startup preserves the owner's revocation, agent assignment and stored hash. Use the owner key-management API to issue replacement credentials; changing bootstrap environment variables never restores authority. Retain revoked key rows: they record the decision that restart must respect.