## MCP Phase 3 — OAuth 2.1 for Claude Desktop/web & ChatGPT connectors
Phase 1 shipped a read-only MCP server (#689); Phase 2 added write tools
+ the read/read_write token scope (#690). This phase adds **OAuth 2.1
(Authorization Code + PKCE)** so Anthropic's Claude Desktop/web custom
connectors and OpenAI's ChatGPT connectors can authenticate — those
clients sign in with OAuth rather than pasting a static bearer token, so
until now they only saw a "coming soon" note.
It reuses `laravel/mcp`'s built-in OAuth support (inert until Passport
is installed) wired to `laravel/passport ^13`. We do not hand-write the
authorization server, discovery endpoints, DCR endpoint, or the
`WWW-Authenticate` challenge — the package provides all of it.
### What's in it
- **`laravel/passport ^13`** + an `api` (passport) guard alongside the
existing session `web` guard; Passport migrations (UUID user columns),
config, and signing keys.
- **`Mcp::oauthRoutes()`** — RFC 8414/9728 discovery, RFC 7591 DCR
(`oauth/register`), and the `mcp:use` scope.
- **A second MCP endpoint `POST /mcp/oauth`** guarded by `auth:api`. The
existing Sanctum `/mcp` endpoint (Claude Code static PAT) is left 100%
unchanged.
- **On-brand OAuth consent screen** (Blade, light + dark, localized)
naming the connecting client and its redirect host, and stating plainly
what the connection can do (read/analyse + make changes, bank-connected
data excepted).
- **Settings UI**: the "Claude Desktop & ChatGPT" block now shows real
connect instructions (the `/mcp/oauth` URL to add as a custom connector,
no token needed) instead of "coming soon".
## Decision #1 — OAuth connections have read + write access
`laravel/mcp` advertises and uses a single `mcp:use` scope; it has no
read/write granularity, so there is no per-connection scope choice over
OAuth. **OAuth connections get full read + write access**, gated by the
user explicitly approving the connection on the Whisper Money consent
screen. (An earlier revision made them read-only; that restriction has
been lifted per request.)
`WriteTool` (`app/Mcp/Tools/WriteTool.php`) grants writes when the
request resolves through the `api` (Passport) guard **or** carries a
Sanctum `mcp:write` ability; a read-only Sanctum PAT is still rejected.
Bank-connected accounts and their transactions remain read-only for
every caller (only manual data can be created/edited/deleted; any
transaction can still be categorised/labelled). The consent screen and
settings copy state the read + write capability and the bank-connected
exception.
Possible follow-up: a consent-time read-only/read-write toggle, if
per-connection granularity is wanted (not offered by the standard MCP
OAuth flow's single scope).
## Other locked decisions
- **Route topology**: a separate `/mcp/oauth` endpoint rather than
multi-guarding `/mcp`. Keeps the Claude Code path unchanged (its
`abilities:mcp:read` gate would 403 an OAuth `mcp:use` token) and gives
each client type a clean documented URL. The package's nested discovery
`/.well-known/oauth-protected-resource/mcp/oauth` returns `resource =
url('/mcp/oauth')`.
- **Registration**: ship DCR (`oauth/register`). Redirect allowlist
tightened to `https://claude.ai` and `https://chatgpt.com` only — no
wildcard. CIMD is a possible later enhancement; both clients accept DCR.
## Deviation from the original plan — the User model is untouched
The plan proposed aliasing Passport's `HasApiTokens` trait alongside
Sanctum's (with `insteadof`/`as`) and implementing `OAuthenticatable`.
**Both are impossible here and, it turns out, unnecessary:**
- The two `HasApiTokens` traits declare an **incompatible `$accessToken`
property** (Sanctum untyped vs Passport `?ScopeAuthorizable`), which is
a hard PHP fatal that `insteadof` cannot resolve (it only resolves
methods).
- `OAuthenticatable::tokens(): HasMany` is incompatible with Sanctum's
canonical `tokens(): MorphMany`, and the Claude Code PAT suite depends
on Sanctum's `tokens()`. The interface is never enforced at runtime by
Passport (docblock-only).
- Passport's resource guard only calls `$user->withAccessToken()`, which
Sanctum already provides (untyped, so it accepts the Passport
`AccessToken`); and Passport's `AccessToken::can()` makes
`tokenCan('mcp:write')` behave correctly for OAuth tokens. So Sanctum
stays canonical and the Claude Code PAT path is genuinely unchanged.
## Signing keys (deploy note)
Passport signs OAuth tokens with a key pair. This PR provisions it
everywhere it's needed: CI (`passport:keys` before tests), the
production Docker entrypoint (generates into the persisted `storage/`
volume unless provided via `PASSPORT_PRIVATE_KEY`/`PASSPORT_PUBLIC_KEY`
env), `worktree.sh`, and a documented `.env.example` entry. **For a
multi-instance deployment, set `PASSPORT_*` env** so every instance
validates tokens with the same key.
## Tests (`tests/Feature/Mcp/McpOAuthTest.php`)
Discovery metadata (RFC 9728/8414), the mandatory **401 bootstrap**
challenge + `WWW-Authenticate` header, DCR (allowed + rejected redirect
URIs), the full **Authorization Code + PKCE** flow reaching a read tool,
and **write access over OAuth** (an OAuth connection calling
`create_label` succeeds and the row is created). The existing
`McpTokenTest` / `Mcp/*` suites (incl. the read-only Sanctum PAT
guardrail) and `LocalizationTest` still pass unchanged.
## QA
- **Protocol** (curl, over HTTPS): both discovery endpoints return the
exact required JSON; unauthenticated `POST /mcp/oauth` returns `401` +
`WWW-Authenticate: Bearer …
resource_metadata="…/.well-known/oauth-protected-resource/mcp/oauth"`;
DCR accepts `claude.ai`/`chatgpt.com` callbacks and rejects others with
`400 invalid_redirect_uri`.
- **Browser**: consent screen verified in light and dark mode (client
name, signed-in email, redirect host, read + write capability +
bank-connected read-only note, Cancel/Connect); updated settings page
verified. No JS errors.
- Full PKCE token exchange + a write tool call is covered by the green
Pest e2e test.
## Fast-follows (not in this PR)
- **"Connected apps" revoke UI** — `McpTokenController` manages only
Sanctum PATs today, so there's no in-app revoke for OAuth grants yet.
The consent copy says "disconnect from the connected app" for now; a
Passport-grant list + revoke is the top follow-up (more important now
that OAuth grants can write).
- CIMD registration; optional consent-time read-only/read-write toggle.
## Stacking
Was developed stacked on `mcp-write-tools` (#690), itself on #689.
**Both have since merged to `main`**, so this branch was rebased onto
`main` (`git rebase --onto origin/main mcp-write-tools`) and targets
`main` directly.
## What & why
Adds a **read-only MCP server** so a paid ("Pro") user can connect
Whisper Money to their own AI assistant (Claude web/desktop, Claude
Code, ChatGPT) and analyse their own finances — spending, cashflow, net
worth, transactions.
This is **Phase 1 (PR1): read-only**. Write tools (create/edit/delete
transactions, categories, labels, rules, balances) are a deliberate
follow-up (PR2); the token plumbing already reserves an `mcp:write`
ability for them.
## How it works
- **Transport:** remote streamable HTTP server via `laravel/mcp`,
mounted at `/mcp` (`routes/ai.php`).
- **Auth:** Sanctum personal access tokens with **MCP-only abilities**
(`mcp:read`). The route is gated by `auth:sanctum` +
`abilities:mcp:read` + `throttle:60,1`, so a future public-API token
(different ability) can't reach it and vice versa.
- **Pro gating** is enforced **per request inside the tools**
(`User::canUseFeature(PlanFeature::McpAccess)`), so a lapsed
subscription stops working on its own without the user revoking the
token. Free users can still create tokens (marked **PRO** in the UI) but
every call returns a "paid plan required" error with an upgrade URL.
- **Consent:** connecting is the consent — a clearly-weighted
data-egress disclaimer + per-client connection instructions on the
settings page. No separate checkbox (by design).
## Tools (all read-only)
| Tool | Scope |
|------|-------|
| `search_transactions` | space-scoped (optional `space`, defaults to
personal) |
| `list_accounts`, `list_categories`, `list_spaces` | space-scoped |
| `spending_by_category`, `get_cashflow`, `get_net_worth` | user's whole
account (reuse existing analytics services/controllers) |
Recurring-charge detection is left to the agent over
`search_transactions` results (no dedicated tool).
## Settings → MCP access
New page to create / rotate / revoke tokens (name + one-time secret
reveal), with `last_used_at`, a PRO badge, the egress disclaimer, and
copy-paste connection instructions for Claude (web/desktop), Claude Code
and ChatGPT.
## Tests
- Tool behaviour + Pro gating + **cross-user / cross-space isolation**
(`tests/Feature/Mcp/McpToolsTest.php`).
- HTTP auth boundary: 401 without a token, 403 without `mcp:read`, 200
with it (`tests/Feature/Mcp/McpEndpointAuthTest.php`).
- Token CRUD + ownership + free-tier creation
(`tests/Feature/Settings/McpTokenTest.php`).
## Reviewed & adjusted
Ran technical + product reviews and applied the fixes: kept PR1 strictly
read-only (dropped a UI scope selector that promised non-existent
write), routed gating through the `PlanFeature` convention, put token
rotation behind a confirmation, removed a silent on-load clipboard copy,
weighted the egress disclaimer, and fixed a `list_spaces` N+1.
### Known, deliberate tradeoffs
- `get_cashflow` / `get_net_worth` / `spending_by_category` reuse the
existing **user-scoped** analytics controllers/services, so they cover
the whole account rather than a single space (documented in the server
instructions). Per-space analytics is a follow-up.
- Space tools scope by `space_id` gated by membership
(`accessibleSpaces`) — the intended shared-tenant model — rather than a
per-row `user_id` filter.
## Not runnable in this environment
Browser QA of the settings page wasn't run here (no local
`node_modules`); that surface relies on CI build/typecheck/lint and
follows existing settings-page conventions.
---
## Updates since opening
- **Behind a feature flag.** New `App\Features\Mcp` (default off) hides
the whole settings screen — the nav item and every `settings/mcp*` route
(404 when off). Pro-plan gating still happens per request. Enable it
with `php artisan feature:enable "App\Features\Mcp" <email|all|25%>`.
- **Renamed** the user-facing page from "MCP access" to **"AI
Connector"** (nav, title, breadcrumb) so non-technical users understand
it. Route names, files and the feature stay internal.
- **Shared `ProBadge`** component (amber), now used on both the AI
Connector and billing pages instead of an inline badge.
- **Softer data-egress notice** (amber shield icon instead of a red
alert) and plainer copy throughout.
- **Accurate connection instructions (important).** Verified against the
official docs: a personal access token works with **Claude Code** today.
**Claude Desktop** and **ChatGPT** custom connectors authenticate over
**OAuth** and do not accept a static token, so they're now marked
**"coming soon"**. OAuth is the real unlock for those clients and is the
recommended follow-up (it also maps to the deferred write-tools work).
Sources: [Claude custom
connectors](https://support.claude.com/en/articles/11175166-get-started-with-custom-connectors-using-remote-mcp),
[ChatGPT developer
mode](https://developers.openai.com/api/docs/guides/developer-mode).
- UI reviewed in a real browser; layout/alignment checked across states
(empty, new-token reveal, token list).
Víctor Falcón