Guides
Written from a self-hosted MCP server that passed claude.ai's connector validation, not from the spec alone.
2026
- 08/22Add OAuth to your MCP server with Auth0 (2026, no proxy)A start-to-finish Auth0 setup for MCP connectors, verified live: free signup, dynamic client registration, native RFC 8707 resource support, and a Worker that validates Auth0 JWTs offline. Every step was executed for real and screenshotted.
- 08/22Auth0 in front of an MCP server, with a thin proxyThe architecture that got a self-hosted MCP server through claude.ai connector validation: Auth0 for login and tokens, a small proxy for the metadata and DCR endpoints Auth0 does not serve the way MCP clients expect.
- 08/22Choosing an OAuth provider for your MCP serverA decision guide comparing Auth0, Stytch, Supabase Auth, and self-hosted Hydra as MCP authorization servers — signup friction, DCR support, token quirks, and CIMD — all from having set up and token-tested each one live.
- 08/22Claude vs ChatGPT vs Grok: MCP connector differencesThe exact configuration differences between the three MCP clients — callback URLs, DCR vs CIMD, where the connector UI lives, plan requirements, and what each one probes — so one server can satisfy all three.
- 08/22The endpoints claude.ai actually probes before connectingA verified checklist of every discovery request claude.ai makes when you add a remote MCP server with OAuth, and what each response must contain.
- 08/22Connect a custom MCP connector in Claude (2026 UI, screenshots)Where the connector settings actually live now (they moved), the Add custom connector dialog, the optional OAuth fields, and what happens when Claude runs the OAuth flow — captured from the live claude.ai UI.
- 08/22Debugging "unable to connect": a failure mapWhere MCP OAuth connections actually break, ordered by how often they happen, with the test that isolates each one.
- 08/22One MCP server, three connectors: Claude, ChatGPT, GrokThe same OAuth 2.1 server can pass Claude, ChatGPT, and Grok connector validation — if your discovery, registration, and redirect handling account for how each client differs.
- 08/22Run your own OAuth server: Ory Hydra in front of MCPNo Auth0, no SaaS identity provider — a self-hosted Hydra instance that issues connector tokens, with the DCR response quirk that fails Claude's schema validation and the tiny proxy that fixes it.
- 08/22Add OAuth to your MCP server with Stytch Connected AppsStytch as the authorization server for an MCP connector: magic-link signup, the Connected Apps DCR + CIMD toggles, the project-domain metadata trap, and validating Stytch JWTs in a Worker. Executed live, screenshots included.
- 08/22Add OAuth to your MCP server with Supabase AuthSupabase's OAuth Server beta as an MCP authorization server: the /auth/v1 issuer, ES256 keys, dynamic client registration, and the dashboard toggle that only the Management API can flip. Executed live against a real project.