Lectures

We explain why a user in ChatGPT is not the same as a user in your service, why a full OAuth sign-in is needed for the ChatGPT App and the MCP server, how AuthN differs from AuthZ, why the “one API key in .env” approach breaks personalization and security, and how the modern OAuth 2.1 standard with PKCE (S256) fits the MCP model: tokens, scopes, aud validation, and challenges via _meta [ "mcp/www_authenticate" ].

In this lecture we assemble in our heads the “triangle of trust” among MCP Client (ChatGPT/Apps SDK), MCP Server (your resource server with tools), and MCP Auth Server (Keycloak/Auth0, etc.). We unpack the full OAuth flow: from 401 and WWW-Authenticate to the Bearer token, PKCE, and protected MCP tool calls; we also show how claims ( sub, aud, scope) turn into the userId in your database via an identity bridge.

In this lecture, using a practical Keycloak example, we assemble OAuth/OIDC authentication for an MCP scenario: we will unpack the roles of ChatGPT / MCP Jam (public client), your MCP server (resource server), and Keycloak (auth server), set up a separate realm for the application, create a public client with Authorization Code + PKCE ( S256), carefully configure the redirect URI, minimal scopes (for example, openid and mcp:tools), and also discuss tokens, claims, JWKS, and common integration pitfalls.

We break down how to turn an MCP server into an OAuth 2.1 Resource Server: publish metadata via /.well-known/oauth-protected-resource (RFC 9728), respond properly with 401 and WWW-Authenticate: Bearer, verify JWT locally (signature, iss, aud, exp), extract sub and scope, and pass a “ready” user context into the MCP SDK. Implementation shown with Next.js 16 and TypeScript (Route Handlers + jose).

In this lecture you will explore MCP Jam as a “lab” for debugging authorization of an MCP server: how the modes None, Bearer, OAuth with credentials, and Default OAuth differ; what exactly Jam sends in requests (for example, the Authorization header); how to read 401/ 403 responses; why WWW-Authenticate with resource_metadata is critical; and how to diagnose breakages between the MCP Server, the Auth Server, and the /.well-known/oauth-protected-resource document.