Authentication Modes

Choose OAuth for public tunnels. Use No Authentication only for short-lived private tests.

Mode Matrix

OAuth

Recommended for Mac mini, Linux servers, ngrok, Cloudflare Tunnel, and any public HTTPS endpoint. ChatGPT authorizes once and then calls /mcp with a bearer token.

No Authentication

Only for loopback or private lab testing. If the URL is public, anyone with the URL can reach the MCP surface.

Mixed

Advanced mode for deployments that split anonymous low-risk tools from OAuth-protected tools. It is not the default public guide.

OAuth Fields

Server URL: https://YOUR-DOMAIN/mcp
Auth URL: https://YOUR-DOMAIN/oauth/authorize
Token URL: https://YOUR-DOMAIN/oauth/token
Registration URL: https://YOUR-DOMAIN/oauth/register
Authorization server base: https://YOUR-DOMAIN
Resource: https://YOUR-DOMAIN/mcp
Scopes: workspace:read workspace:write shell:exec
OIDC: off

Why Two Setups Can Both Work

A Mac mini test can work with No Authentication if the running bridge accepts unauthenticated calls. A Linux server exposed through a tunnel should use OAuth because the endpoint is reachable by hosted ChatGPT over the internet. Both can succeed technically, but OAuth is the public-safe default.

Debugging

If ChatGPT runs cloud Python instead of a connector tool, the connector is not selected, not authorized, or not loaded in the current chat. A successful call should show the connector name and a tool such as file.read_path in the activity panel.