Can we run Agentforce as a connected app in production?

You can. You will not be able to prove the agent acted as the user. We will not sign write-back that way.

What if the next hop is a different identity provider?

Exchange again for that audience. Do not reuse the first token. CIBA and multi-IdP are the next hop, not a reason to skip the gateway.

Agentforce

The agent acts as the user. Or it is a demo.

The first week is in the org, reading what already exists. The user authenticates once. Each hop exchanges for a narrower token. A shared service account is not trusted identity. The honest no: if the work is a software factory with a named delivery date, we are the wrong partner.

Send the brief

On-behalf-of

01
User authenticates
The identity provider issues the first token. The channel is Slack, a portal, or Salesforce.
02
Gateway exchanges
OAuth on-behalf-of. The next audience is narrower than the last.
03
Agent and tools
Agentforce and MCP see the user. Sharing rules still apply.
04
Next hop identity
If the next system needs another IdP, that is a second exchange, not a shared key.

Trusted agent identity. The user signs in. Flex Gateway exchanges on-behalf-of for the next audience. Downstream MCP and Agentforce see a user, not a god-mode connected app.

Mermaid source

flowchart LR
  U[User] --> C[Channel]
  C --> G[Flex Gateway]
  G --> A[Agentforce]
  G --> M[MCP]
  U -. authenticates .-> I[Identity provider]
  I -. OBO token .-> G

Honest split

User mode, connected app, or another identity.

Questions

What we actually say.

Can we run Agentforce as a connected app in production?: You can. You will not be able to prove the agent acted as the user. We will not sign write-back that way.
What if the next hop is a different identity provider?: Exchange again for that audience. Do not reuse the first token. CIBA and multi-IdP are the next hop, not a reason to skip the gateway.

The brief

Show us what the agent authenticates as today.

We will mark the hops with a shared key, and the ones that should not exist.

The agent acts as the user. Or it is a demo.

User mode, connected app, or another identity.

What we actually say.

Doors that belong next.

Show us what the agent authenticates as today.

The agent acts as the user. Or it is a demo.

User mode, connected app, or another identity.

What we actually say.

Doors that belong next.

Show us what the agent authenticates as today.

The agent acts as the user. Or it is a demo.

One sign-in. A narrower token at every hop.

User mode, connected app, or another identity.

What we actually say.

Doors that belong next.

Show us what the agent authenticates as today.

The agent acts as the user. Or it is a demo.

One sign-in. A narrower token at every hop.

User mode, connected app, or another identity.

What we actually say.

Doors that belong next.

Show us what the agent authenticates as today.