A proxy server that sits in front of MCP servers and handles the full OAuth 2.1 user-auth flow including automatic token refresh, so MCP tools that wrap user-scoped APIs actually work in production
MCP's OAuth 2.1 spec was only recently mandated and client adoption lags badly: tokens expire with no refresh, clients silently fall back to empty tool lists, and there is no standard error surface. Any MCP server that wraps a user-scoped API such as Gmail, GitHub, or Notion is either abandoned or forced to use hard-coded service tokens that are a security risk. This proxy intercepts MCP auth handshakes, handles token issuance and refresh on behalf of the MCP server, normalizes errors into a standard surface, and ships with pre-built adapters for the most common OAuth providers so builders do not have to re-implement auth for every integration.
Demand Breakdown
Social Proof 3 sources
Gap Assessment
5 tools exist (WorkOS Auth for MCP, Auth0 (Okta) Auth for MCP, Stytch Connected Apps (Twilio), Cloudflare AI Gateway, Kong AI Gateway) but gaps remain: Requires the MCP server developer to integrate WorkOS SDK and manage the token lifecycle themselves; does not act as a transparent proxy that intercepts and normalizes auth across arbitrary existing MCP servers without code changes; overkill cost and complexity for indie builders and small teams wrapping a single API; Does not solve the proxy layer problem: token refresh across heterogeneous MCP clients is still the server developer's responsibility; does not normalize the silent-failure and empty-tool-list behavior across clients; no pre-built per-provider adapters for the MCP context; enterprise pricing is prohibitive for small builders.
Features7 agent-ready prompts
Competitive LandscapeFREE
| Product | Does | Missing |
|---|---|---|
| WorkOS Auth for MCP | Provides enterprise-grade OAuth as an external authorization server for MCP implementations; covers SAML, SCIM, audit logs; targets B2B SaaS builders shipping to enterprise customers | Requires the MCP server developer to integrate WorkOS SDK and manage the token lifecycle themselves; does not act as a transparent proxy that intercepts and normalizes auth across arbitrary existing MCP servers without code changes; overkill cost and complexity for indie builders and small teams wrapping a single API |
| Auth0 (Okta) Auth for MCP | Full-featured identity platform that became generally available for MCP server auth in May 2026; covers OAuth 2.1, OpenID Connect, and fine-grained authorization | Does not solve the proxy layer problem: token refresh across heterogeneous MCP clients is still the server developer's responsibility; does not normalize the silent-failure and empty-tool-list behavior across clients; no pre-built per-provider adapters for the MCP context; enterprise pricing is prohibitive for small builders |
| Stytch Connected Apps (Twilio) | Purpose-built OAuth provider use case with explicit MCP support, Dynamic Client Registration, and a public Cloudflare partnership for Remote MCP servers; acquired by Twilio in November 2025 | SDK-level integration required on each MCP server; does not function as a transparent auth proxy that any MCP server can point at without code changes; Twilio acquisition adds enterprise complexity and roadmap uncertainty for developer-first use cases |
| Cloudflare AI Gateway | Handles LLM call auth and rate limiting; broad enterprise adoption; not designed for MCP-specific auth flows | No MCP OAuth proxy capability; does not handle user-scoped token issuance, refresh, or the MCP auth handshake; covers LLM inference calls not tool-auth flows |
| Kong AI Gateway | API infrastructure with an MCP Proxy plugin for protocol bridging and OAuth 2.1 support; 10+ years of API gateway experience | Full gateway platform with significant operational overhead; no lightweight standalone MCP OAuth proxy mode; no pre-built adapters specifically for user-scoped provider flows like Gmail or Notion; priced and designed for large enterprise API programs not individual MCP server builders |
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