🔐 SSE MCP Server with JWT Authentication
About
Secure middleware server implementing Model Context Protocol (MCP) over SSE with JWT authentication. Enables standardized communication between AI tools and clients with dynamic tool registration, request logging, and session management. Perfect for building production-ready AI s
Details
- Author
- anisirji
- GitHub stars
- 4
- Downloads
- 196
- Categories
- Developer Tools
Jump to
- Secure SSE connection with Bearer JWT token
- Dynamic tool registration (echo, time, random number)
- Tested with @modelcontextprotocol/inspector
- Session management for /message endpoint
- Ready to extend for production use
Setting up with Highlight
This MCP is not yet compatible with Highlight’s one-click setup. However, you can still use it with Highlight by following these steps:
- Download and install Highlight from highlightai.com/download
- Navigate to the plugins tab and select "Add Custom Plugin"
-
Configure the plugin with the settings below
Plugin Name
🔐 SSE MCP Server with JWT AuthenticationCommand (node, npx, python, etc.)Please refer to the README for specific instructions on how to obtain API keys or other required environment variables.
- Enable "Start Automatically" if you want the plugin to start when Highlight launches
From the repository
Clone the repository, install dependencies with npm install, create a .env file with a JWT_SECRET, and run npm run dev to start the server on http://localhost:3001/sse. Generate a JWT token via GET /auth/token?username=<username>&scope=mcp:access. Then connect to the SSE endpoint using the token in the Authorization header.
Claude Desktop / Cursor
Paste into your MCP client config file to install this server.
{
"mcpServers": {
"\ud83d\udd10 sse mcp server with jwt authentication": {
"mcp-server-remote-setup-with-jwt-auth": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"@modelcontextprotocol/inspector"
]
}
}
}
}McpServers
{
"mcp-server-remote-setup-with-jwt-auth": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"@modelcontextprotocol/inspector"
]
}
}🔐 SSE MCP Server with JWT Authentication
This is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) SSE server with JWT-based authentication.
It allows you to expose multiple AI tools over an SSE transport, protected via secure Bearer Token flow.
Built with:
- 🚀 Node.js + Express
- 🧩 @modelcontextprotocol/sdk
- 🔒 JSON Web Tokens (JWT) for authentication
- ⚙️ Zod for input validation
> ✅ Fully tested with @modelcontextprotocol/inspector
📂 Project Structure
server/
├── index.ts # Main Express + MCP server
├── .env # Environment variables
├── package.json # Project metadata & scripts
├── tsconfig.json # TypeScript config
└── README.md # You are here!
✨ Features
- ✅ Secure SSE connection using Bearer JWT token
- ✅ Dynamic Tool registration (echo, time, random number, etc.)
- ✅ Tested with MCP Inspector
- ✅ Logs all request lifecycle events
- ✅ Session management for /message endpoint
- 🚀 Ready to extend for production use
⚙️ Setup
1. Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/anisirji/mcp-server-remote-setup-with-jwt-auth.git
cd mcp-server-remote-setup-with-jwt-auth
2. Install dependencies
npm install
3. Create .env file
echo "JWT_SECRET=your-secret-key" > .env
4. Run the server
npm run dev
✅ Server will run on:
http://localhost:3001/sse
🧪 Testing the server with MCP Inspector
Step 1 — Install MCP Inspector
> 📖 Official Docs: MCP Inspector
npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector
Step 2 — Generate a token
Use cURL to get your JWT token:
curl "http://localhost:3001/auth/token?username=aniket&scope=mcp:access"
✅ Example response:
{
"token": "eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9..."
}
Step 3 — Connect MCP Inspector
1. Open Inspector UI
2. Set Transport Type: SSE
3. URL:
http://localhost:3001/sse
4. Add Authorization Header:
Authorization: Bearer <your-token>
5. Click Connect
🎉 Success! Your server is now connected.
Step 4 — Test tools
Go to Tools tab in Inspector and click List Tools.
You will see:
- ✅ test
- ✅ echo
- ✅ get-time
- ✅ random-number
Test them and enjoy!
📖 API Reference
🔑 Generate Token
GET /auth/token?username=<username>&scope=mcp:access
🔌 SSE Endpoint (requires token)
GET /sse
Authorization: Bearer <token>
📩 Send Message to active session
POST /message?sessionId=<sessionId>
Authorization: Bearer <token>
🧩 Tools Reference
| Tool Name | Description |
| ---------------- | ------------------------------ |
| test | Test connection (security check) |
| echo | Echo back provided message |
| get-time | Returns current server time |
| random-number | Returns random number (min/max) |
🗓️ Upcoming Changes
- [ ] Token revocation list (blacklist)
- [ ] Role-based tool access (scope checks)
- [ ] Session heartbeat / keep-alive
- [ ] Rate limiting & logging
- [ ] Dockerization for deployment
📚 Useful Resources
- Model Context Protocol Introduction
- MCP Inspector Docs
- JWT.io Debugger
- Zod Validation Docs
👨💻 Maintainer
> Aniket
📄 License
This project is open-source and free to use.
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