Install

Install @brainwebuk/payload-plugin-mcp-oauth

Adds OAuth 2.1 + PKCE + Dynamic Client Registration to an existing @payloadcms/plugin-mcp MCP server. Additive — the API-key flow keeps working. Always prefer the latest version (the install path has had several fixes; use >= 0.3.3).

Prerequisites

• A Payload v3 app with @payloadcms/plugin-mcp already installed and working.
• Next.js 14 / 15 / 16 (for the exported proxy/middleware).

Steps

1. Install: pnpm add @brainwebuk/payload-plugin-mcp-oauth

2. Register it AFTER mcpPlugin(), sharing ONE options object (most common footgun):

   const mcpOptions = {
     collections: { posts: { enabled: { find: true, create: true, update: true } } },
   }
   plugins: [
     mcpPlugin(mcpOptions),
     payloadMcpOAuth({
       issuer: process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_SERVER_URL!,
       mcpPluginOptions: mcpOptions, // ← the SAME reference, never a copy/spread
     }),
   ]
   

   A copy/spread silently breaks OAuth token auth (API keys keep working, so it's easy to miss). Registering it before mcpPlugin() throws on boot.

3. Add the proxy — Next 16: src/proxy.ts; Next 14/15: src/middleware.ts. Re-export the handler but declare config as a local literal (never re-export config — it 500s every route on Next 16):

   export { mcpOAuthMiddleware as proxy } from '@brainwebuk/payload-plugin-mcp-oauth/middleware'
   export const config = {
     matcher: ['/', '/.well-known/oauth-authorization-server', '/.well-known/oauth-protected-resource'],
   }
   

4. Env: set NEXT_PUBLIC_SERVER_URL (public HTTPS origin; used as the OAuth issuer) and PMOAUTH_TOKEN_PEPPER (openssl rand -hex 32; required ≥ 32 chars in production). Ensure Payload's serverURL equals NEXT_PUBLIC_SERVER_URL — the consent flow relies on a first-party session cookie matching that origin.

5. Apply the schema — pick ONE workflow, don't mix:

   • Dev push (SQLite/Postgres in dev): just start the app.
   • Migrations (production): pnpm payload migrate:create then pnpm payload migrate. If you already booted the app once before installing, on SQLite either upgrade to >= 0.3.2 or reset the dev DB (rm your.db*) so the schema is created fresh.

Verify

• curl <issuer>/.well-known/oauth-authorization-server returns JSON metadata.
• In the admin, the MCP nav group shows OAuth Clients and OAuth Tokens (when logged in as a user of your userCollection).

Make it usable for AI agents (recommended)

Agents only know what the server tells them. On mcpPlugin() set serverOptions.instructions (how to use the server + non-obvious field rules), per-collection description, and field admin.description (these flow into the generated tool schemas). For gnarly create flows, define an MCP prompt. A Claude Skill cannot reach a connecting web agent — instructions/prompts are the protocol-native bridge.

Common failures → fixes

• Consent Approve → 401 access_denied / "Authentication required" — upgrade to >= 0.3.1 (a Referrer-Policy: no-referrer bug made the browser send Origin: null). If it persists, serverURL/NEXT_PUBLIC_SERVER_URL must exactly match the browser origin (scheme, host, no trailing slash).
• SQLITE_ERROR: no such column: oauth_clients_id (rebuilding payload_locked_documents_rels) — upgrade to >= 0.3.2, or reset the dev DB, or add the plugin before the first boot.
• OAuth tokens 401 but API keys work — mcpPluginOptions wasn't the same object reference passed to both plugins.
• must be registered AFTER mcpPlugin() — fix plugin order. (On >= 0.3.3 it's fine to leave payloadMcpOAuth registered while the MCP plugin is disabled — it no-ops instead of crashing.)
• A tool like createPages is missing — enable that op in collections.<slug>.enabled (create/update/delete); enabled: true turns on all of them.

For the full reference see the package's INSTALL_FOR_AGENTS.md and README.