Beacon
ForgeFast Labs · Coding
Beacon is a local-first security scanner built by ForgeFast Labs that reviews the code AI assistants write. It runs inside your editor and alongside Cursor, Claude Code, GitHub Copilot, Windsurf, and Zed, checking every line for leaked secrets, injection shapes, broken authorization paths, and unsafe sinks the moment it's written. Findings come back as fixes rather than tickets, and your code never leaves your machine.
About Beacon
What Is Beacon
Beacon is a security tool for teams who let AI assistants write their code. Instead of waiting for a pull request to reach a human reviewer, it watches the diff as the model produces it and flags risky patterns right away. The pitch is simple: faulty code goes in, reviewed code comes out.
The tool runs on your machine. That distinction matters for anyone who's been told to upload a repository to a cloud scanner. Beacon reads the diff through an MCP server on your computer, so source files stay put. The company reports review latency under 40ms, which is fast enough that you won't notice it running. Fast matters here. Slow scanners get turned off.
Beacon sells seats rather than review volume. There's no metering on files scanned or findings generated, so heavy use doesn't produce a surprise bill. The main limit to plan around: the deeper team features, like audit logs, role-based access, and self-hosted deployment, sit behind the Enterprise tier. Solo developers and small squads on Core get the scanning engine without that governance layer.
Getting Started
- Init the tool locally from the terminal. This writes agent rules and an optional pre-commit hook, and it needs no account.
- Connect the MCP server to your editor, Cursor, Claude, or Windsurf, so scans stay on your machine.
- Run a full local scan from the terminal to see baseline findings across the codebase.
- Optionally install the IDE extension for gutter diagnostics and one-click fixes, or skip it and keep using the CLI.
- If you want findings in the cloud dashboard, create an account and set the API URL and token, then pass the sync flag on the CLI.
Product Information
A quick look at Beacon's pricing, supported platforms, and performance.
Best for
The users, tasks, and scenarios where this tool fits best.
Users
- AI-assisted developers
- Security-conscious startups
- Solo builders
Tasks
- Catching leaked API keys
- Reviewing AI-generated diffs
- Running a pre-commit secret scan
Scenarios
- Shipping fast with coding agents
- Working on sensitive or regulated codebases
- Adding a review layer without changing workflow
Key features
Local-First Code Review
Beacon analyzes diffs on your own machine rather than shipping source to a server. The MCP server runs locally, so findings appear without your repository ever leaving the device. For teams with strict data-handling rules, that's the difference between using a scanner and not being allowed to.
Secret Detection Before Commit
The tool's headline job is catching credentials the moment they're written. It scans for API keys, tokens, and similar secrets as part of the diff stream, so a stray Stripe key gets flagged before it reaches version control. The pre-commit hook makes that check automatic for anyone who opts in. One leaked key can end a demo day.
Injection and Authorization Checks
Beyond secrets, Beacon looks for injection shapes, authorization path problems, and unsafe sinks. Those are the failure modes that matter when a model assembles code from patterns it saw in training data. The checks run as part of the same fast pass, so you're not juggling separate linters.
Editor and Agent Integrations
Beacon claims to ride along with Cursor, Claude Code, Copilot, Windsurf, and Zed, working through any MCP-compatible agent. The MCP security server is the piece that makes this work, and there's also a CLI, a VS Code and JetBrains extension path, and a REST API for teams that want to wire findings into other systems.
Fixes Instead of Tickets
Findings come back as fixes rather than a queue of issues to triage later. The IDE extension adds gutter diagnostics and a "Fix with Beacon" action, which keeps the correction inside the editing session. It's a small workflow choice that cuts the round trip between spotting a problem and resolving it.
Cloud Dashboard Sync (Optional)
Local scans need no account. If a team wants findings collected in one place, it can create an account and point the CLI at the cloud dashboard with an API token. Sync is opt-in, so keep-everything-local remains the default rather than a setting you have to hunt for.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Local-first design keeps source code on your machine, which removes a common blocker for security review in regulated or proprietary projects.
- No metering on reviews or files scanned, so cost stays predictable at a flat per-seat rate.
- Integrates with the AI coding assistants people already use through MCP, so it fits existing workflows instead of demanding a new one.
- Findings arrive as fixes in the editor, which shortens the gap between detection and resolution.
- Free to install and run locally with no account required.
Cons
- Audit logs, role-based access control, and self-hosted deployment are Enterprise-only, so growing teams eventually face a jump from $29 per seat to custom pricing.
- The IDE extension ships via a monorepo build or a VSIX "when published," meaning the polished in-editor experience may lag behind the CLI.
- Public information on the tool is thin outside the vendor's own site, so evaluating detection quality means testing it yourself rather than reading independent reviews.
Frequently asked questions
It scans the code AI assistants write and flags security problems before they're committed. The core checks cover secrets, injection shapes, authorization paths, and unsafe sinks.
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