Dynamic Client Registration not supported when starting GitHub MCP Server in VS Code?
When installing GitHub MCP Server 0.13.0 in VS Code 1.106.0, I get a popup saying "Dynamic Client Registration not supported". Logs show "Error getting token from server metadata: User did not provide client details" and a 401 missing Authorization header, and the server never finishes initializing. How do I get the OAuth flow working again?
Originally asked on GitHub: https://github.com/github/github-mcp-server/issues/1404
6 answers
Status: fixed in the VS Code client by updating to a newer VS Code release; the thread was closed as completed. The GitHub maintainer explained that github/github-mcp-server does not support Dynamic Client Registration (DCR) and that VS Code should not attempt DCR for GitHub MCP, though they could not reproduce the bug. Updating VS Code and reinstalling from the MCP Servers panel did not help at first, but after the next VS Code update a commenter said it worked again and closed the issue.
If you still see the same wording, check the scopes of your GitHub PAT: one user said the exact error appeared because their PAT scopes were wrong, and generating a token with the correct scopes made the issue disappear.
For Claude Code users, a commenter posted this PAT-auth workaround that bypasses OAuth:
claude mcp add-json github '{"type":"http","url":"https://api.githubcopilot.com/mcp","headers":{"Authorization":"Bearer (opens external site) YOUR_GITHUB_PAT"}}'
Create a PAT with the repo scope, run the command with your PAT substituted, restart Claude Code, and verify with
claude mcp list. The commenter described it as working, but nobody else confirmed it in the thread. A later comment asked whether this stores the PAT in plaintext in the Claude config; the thread does not answer that, so as general advice use the least-privilege token you can.For opencode, a maintainer suggested trying the STDIO server setup referenced in issue #132, providing your own GitHub OAuth app if you want to keep OAuth login, or configuring a PAT auth header if opencode supports it.
Did this work for you?What a GitHub user tried on GitHub (Didn't work)
Installed GitHub MCP Server 0.13.0 from the VS Code Extensions view and started it. The "Dynamic Client Registration not supported" popup appeared and the server kept waiting for an initialize response.
Source: https://github.com/github/github-mcp-server/issues/1404 (opens external site)
Did this work for you?What @TechWatching tried on GitHub (Didn't work)
Updated VS Code to the latest version, searched for GitHub in the MCP Servers panel, and reinstalled using the "VS Code Install Server" button. The same DCR error still appeared.
Did this work for you?What @TechWatching tried on GitHub (Worked)
A commenter updated VS Code again after a new release and reported the server worked, then closed the issue as completed.
Did this work for you?What @pedrojrv tried on GitHub (Worked)
Created a new GitHub personal access token with the correct scopes. The "Dynamic Client Registration not supported" wording stopped appearing.
Did this work for you?What @JoshuaRamirez tried on GitHub (Outcome unclear)
For Claude Code, added the GitHub MCP server over HTTP with a PAT in the Authorization header using
claude mcp add-json, then restarted Claude Code and checkedclaude mcp list. The commenter called it a working workaround but no one else confirmed it.Did this work for you?
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