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Enterprise-Managed Auth with Okta

Centrally authorize the Context7 MCP server for your organization through Okta Cross-App Access, so developers connect on first login with no per-user OAuth.
5 min read

Enterprise-Managed Auth (EMA) lets your Okta administrators decide who can use the Context7 MCP server, in the same console where you manage every other app. Developers sign in once with their corporate Okta account and their MCP client is connected automatically. There is no per-user OAuth consent and no API keys to distribute.

It implements the MCP Enterprise-Managed Authorization extension: Okta issues a short-lived Identity Assertion (ID-JAG) for the user, Context7 validates it against your Okta tenant, and resolves the user to your teamspace by email.

Warning

Enterprise-Managed Auth is available on Claude Team and Enterprise plans and currently requires preview access from both Anthropic and Context7. Contact Context7 support before starting the setup.

Note

Okta Cross-App Access (the productized ID-JAG flow) is an Early Access feature. Enable it from Admin Console → Settings → Features before you start. EMA also requires a Context7 enterprise teamspace.

How it works#

  • A developer signs in to their MCP client with your Okta org.
  • The client asks Okta for an ID-JAG scoped to Context7. Okta applies your access policy (group, role, conditional access) and issues it only if the user is allowed.
  • The client exchanges the ID-JAG with Context7 for an access token, then calls mcp.context7.com.
  • Context7 validates the ID-JAG against your tenant and, on first sign-in, provisions the user as a teamspace member automatically (matched by email).

Access is governed entirely in Okta. There is no user list to maintain in Context7: anyone your admin assigns to the connected app is provisioned on first sign-in. Removing them from the app blocks new sign-ins immediately, and any active session ends when its short-lived access token expires (within an hour).

Before you start#

  • An Okta org with Cross App Access enabled.
  • A Context7 enterprise teamspace. The Enterprise-Managed Auth settings appear only for enterprise plans.
  • A Claude Team or Enterprise organization with Enterprise-Managed Auth enabled.
  • Developers assigned to the connected Okta app. They are provisioned into the teamspace automatically on first sign-in, so there is no manual user list to maintain.

Part 1: Configure Okta#

Step 1: Enable Cross App Access#

In the Admin Console, go to Settings → Features, find Cross App Access under Early Access, and turn it on.

Cross App Access toggle in Okta Admin Console Settings → Features

Step 2: Add Context7 as a resource app#

Go to Applications → Applications → Browse App Catalog, search for XAA Resource App, and click Add Integration.

  • Application label: Context7
  • Issuer URL: https://context7.com

Click Done.

Add XAA Resource App general settings with Context7 label and issuer URL

Step 3: Add your MCP client as a requesting app#

Browse the catalog again, search for XAA Requesting App, and click Add Integration.

  • Application label: Claude
  • Issuer URL: https://context7.com
  • Client ID: the fixed client identifier provided during your Claude EMA onboarding

Enterprise-Managed Auth does not use Dynamic Client Registration. The identity assertion contains a fixed Client ID, so the exact value supplied during onboarding must be configured in Okta, Claude, and Context7 before an assertion can be exchanged. Do not substitute a dynamically registered client or a client identifier from a different Claude surface.

Click Done.

Add XAA Requesting App general settings with label, issuer URL, and client ID

Step 4: Connect the two apps#

Open the requesting app → Manage Connections tab. Under Apps providing consent, choose Add resource apps, select Context7, and Save.

Manage Connections tab linking the MCP Client to the Context7 resource app

Step 5: Assign your users#

On both apps, open the Assignments tab and assign the people (or groups) who should have access. Only assigned users can obtain an ID-JAG.

Assignments tab assigning a user to the app

Part 2: Configure Context7#

Sign in to context7.com/dashboard, select your enterprise teamspace, open the Enterprise tab, and select Okta.

  • Identity provider issuer: your Okta org issuer, for example https://<your-org>.okta.com.
  • Scope (optional): scopes to grant on the issued access token. Leave blank to pass through whatever Okta authorizes.

Click Configure, enter the issuer, and Save. Context7 validates the issuer against your tenant's OpenID Connect metadata on save.

Context7 dashboard Enterprise-Managed Auth settings card with the Okta issuer field

Note

Use your org authorization server issuer (https://<your-org>.okta.com), not a custom authorization server. Cross-App Access apps cannot use custom authorization servers.

Part 3: How developers connect#

Enterprise-Managed Auth is wired on the client side by your organization, not per developer. The Okta sign-in isn't triggered by a server URL someone pastes. It happens because Claude is configured to use your enterprise IdP for managed connectors.

Your admin connects the Okta org to Claude and enables the same Context7 endpoint used by the Claude Code marketplace plugin as a managed connector:

The client=claude-code-plugin query identifies marketplace traffic and makes authentication mandatory. It does not select EMA by itself. Claude selects managed authorization when your Claude organization enables it for Context7; otherwise Claude Code uses the normal interactive OAuth flow. Both flows use the same MCP resource and protected-resource metadata.

After the connector is enabled, Claude obtains an ID-JAG from Okta and exchanges it with Context7 for an access token. There is no token to paste and no per-user OAuth consent screen.

See Claude's Enterprise-Managed Auth for connectors documentation for the client-side admin setup and current availability.

Troubleshooting#

unauthorized_client / "client cannot use a custom authorization server"#

First confirm that the requesting app uses the fixed Claude Client ID from Step 3 and that Context7 has enabled Claude EMA for your teamspace. If those match, check whether sign-in or token exchange used a custom Okta authorization server. Cross-App Access requires the org authorization server endpoints (https://<your-org>.okta.com/oauth2/v1/...).

Claude opens an interactive OAuth screen#

Confirm that the managed connector URL exactly matches the URL above and that your Claude organization has managed authorization enabled for Context7. The query parameter only identifies the marketplace plugin; Claude's organization setting determines whether it uses EMA or interactive OAuth.

A valid Okta user can't be provisioned#

Context7 provisions members from the email claim on the ID-JAG, so the connected app must request the email scope at sign-in (it's included in the setup above). If provisioning still fails, the teamspace may be at its member limit.

The user receives no token at all#

The user is not assigned to the connected apps in Okta, or the connection between the requesting and resource apps was not saved. Re-check Steps 4 and 5.

What this does not cover#

  • Identity providers other than Okta. EMA currently supports Okta as the IdP. For Microsoft Entra, see Microsoft Entra ID.
  • Group-based authorization inside Context7. Okta decides who can obtain a token; Context7 authorizes against teamspace membership. Restricting which libraries a group can access is not configured here.