Configuration & Security

Black Duck Tools

Version
latest

Configuration Reference

Variable Default Description
BLACKDUCK_BDSCA_URL https://localhost Base URL of the Black Duck SCA instance
BLACKDUCK_BDSCA_TOKEN (required) API bearer token for authentication
BLACKDUCK_BDSCA_SSL_VERIFY true Whether to verify SSL/TLS certificates
BLACKDUCK_BDSCA_LOG_LEVEL INFO Logging level: DEBUG, INFO, WARNING, ERROR, CRITICAL
BLACKDUCK_BDSCA_LOG_FORMAT colored Log format: colored, json, simple
BLACKDUCK_BDSCA_LOG_FILE (none) Path to a log file (written in addition to stderr)
BLACKDUCK_MCP_ENABLE_RESOURCES_AS_TOOLS false Expose MCP resources as tools (required for GitHub Copilot)
BLACKDUCK_BDSCA_MCP_MAX_REQUESTS_PER_SEC 10 Rate limit for inbound MCP requests from the AI agent
BLACKDUCK_BDSCA_API_MAX_REQUESTS_PER_SEC 10 Rate limit for outbound API calls to Black Duck

All logging variables can also be set via CLI flags (--log-level, --log-format, --log-file), which take precedence over environment variables.

Security & Permissions

Best practices:

  • Create a dedicated service account for the MCP server with the minimum required roles.

  • Do not use a personal admin token unless necessary.

  • Refer to the Black Duck Role and Permission Matrix for details on role assignments.

Common role requirements:

Operation Minimum Required Role
Run scans GLOBAL_CODE_SCANNER, PROJECT_CODE_SCANNER, or PG_CODE_SCANNER
Create new projects PROJECT_CREATOR, FULL_ACCESS, or PG_MANAGER
Update vulnerability remediation Write access to the project version

Rate Limiting

The MCP server applies two independent rate limits:

Limit Environment Variable Default
Inbound MCP requests (from AI agent) BLACKDUCK_BDSCA_MCP_MAX_REQUESTS_PER_SEC 10
Outbound API calls (to Black Duck) BLACKDUCK_BDSCA_API_MAX_REQUESTS_PER_SEC 10

If you have exclusive use of the instance and need higher throughput, increase both values. If sharing the instance, keep the outbound limit conservative.