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Build an MCP Client for Tape

This page is for developers building an MCP client, or adding Tape support to one. Tape follows the MCP authorization specification, so a client that implements it connects without anything Tape-specific.

Requirements at a glance​

RequirementWhat Tape uses
Endpointhttps://mcp.tapeapp.com/mcp
TransportStreamable HTTP — JSON-RPC 2.0 over POST. There is no SSE endpoint
AuthorizationOAuth 2.1 authorization code flow with PKCE (S256) — the only supported flow
DiscoveryProtected resource metadata (RFC 9728), then authorization server metadata (RFC 8414)
Client registrationA client ID metadata document or dynamic client registration (RFC 7591)
CredentialA bearer access token on every request, renewed with a refresh token

How a client connects​

  1. Discover. Without a token, Tape answers 401 and points to its protected resource metadata, which names Tape's authorization server and the scopes the Tape MCP tools use.
  2. Register as a public client — see Register a client yourself.
  3. Authorize with PKCE, requesting the scopes from the protected resource metadata. The user signs in to Tape and approves — see the authorization flow.
  4. Call tools with the access token, and refresh it when it expires.
  5. Step up when a tool needs a scope the connection lacks: Tape answers 403 naming the scopes to request — see Asking for more scopes.

The scopes are described in Capabilities and Scopes. The same access token also works at the Developer API. Clients that cannot run OAuth can send a personal access token as the bearer token instead.