Canonical: https://composio.dev/glossary/token-custody
Markdown: https://composio.dev/glossary/token-custody.md

# Token custody

Token custody describes which system stores provider credentials and which system retrieves and injects them into authenticated requests.

Trace the credential's path separately from the model's tool request. A model can request an action without receiving the OAuth token that authorizes it. The execution service can inject that token when it calls the provider.

Custody is different from authorization and deployment location. For a security review, establish who stores and decrypts credentials, where authenticated requests execute, and how revocation works. A private execution environment does not by itself establish that credentials remain in your infrastructure.

## Related terms

- [Connected account](https://composio.dev/glossary/connected-account)

- [Auth config](https://composio.dev/glossary/auth-config)

- [MCP gateway](https://composio.dev/glossary/mcp-gateway)

## Sources and implementation

- Technical reference: [Composio token custody architecture](https://docs.composio.dev/docs/security/token-custody)

- Implementation guide: [Where credentials live](https://docs.composio.dev/docs/authentication#where-credentials-live)

- On this site: [Composio and Arcade comparison](https://composio.dev/content/composio-vs-arcade)

[All glossary terms](https://composio.dev/glossary)

Reviewed: 2026-10-29
Next review: 2027-01-29
Owner: Brendan O'Leary / Developer Marketing