Introduction

Now that you understand the fundamentals of authentication and authorization, let’s explore how these concepts apply specifically to the Model Context Protocol (MCP).

MCP introduces unique challenges and opportunities for authentication because it operates in a different context than traditional web applications. Instead of users directly interacting with your application, MCP involves client applications (e.g. ChatGPT) communicating with your services on behalf of users.

This section covers how authentication works in the MCP context:

• Quick MCP refresher
• Authentication flow

This topic builds on the authentication fundamentals you’ve already learned, focusing specifically on how they apply to the MCP ecosystem.