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The XAA (Cross-App Access) Debugger tests an MCP server and its authorization setup. MCPJam acts as both:
  • The identity provider, which signs the ID token and ID-JAG.
  • The client/agent, which presents the ID-JAG and uses the access token.
XAA debugger sequence diagram and flow log

Before You Run the Test

Trust MCPJam’s Identity Provider

The XAA Flow header shows three URLs:
XAA Flow header showing the Issuer URL, OpenID Config, and JWKS URL
Configure your authorization server with the values it requests. The Issuer URL identifies MCPJam’s test identity provider, the OpenID Config URL provides discovery metadata, and the JWKS URL provides the public signing keys. If MCPJam is running locally and your authorization server is hosted in the cloud, turn on Use hosted issuer in the XAA Flow header. A cloud server cannot reach a local Issuer URL.
Use hosted issuer toggle in the XAA Flow header
The hosted issuer is available to both signed-in users and guest (not-signed-in) sessions, provided an organization is active. The issuer used depends on your session: When a guest session is active, the hosted-issuer toggle shows an Anonymous test issuer badge as a reminder of this distinction.

Add Your MCP Server

In the XAA Flow tab, select Configure Server to Test.

Server Configuration

Server configuration fields in the XAA Debugger
Enter a name and URL for the MCP server. Then choose a registration method and provide credentials if that method requires them. Scopes are optional. The identity provider is fixed to MCPJam test identity provider for this test.

Registration Method

Use the Registration menu to choose how MCPJam identifies itself to your authorization server:
  • Pre-registered client: Register MCPJam in your authorization server first, then enter the client ID and optional client secret it gives you.
  • Client metadata URL (CIMD): MCPJam uses its hosted client metadata URL as the client ID, so no client credentials are required. Your authorization server must advertise CIMD support.
  • Open dynamic registration (DCR): MCPJam registers a client during the test, so no client credentials are required beforehand. Your authorization server must provide an open registration endpoint; protected registration requiring an initial access token is not tested.

Scopes

Enter the permissions MCPJam should request, separated by spaces. MCPJam includes them when requesting the ID-JAG and access token. Leave blank to omit scopes from those requests.

Advanced Settings

Advanced settings in the XAA Debugger
Open Advanced to override authorization server discovery or test a specific user identity. Most tests can leave these settings unchanged.

Authorization Server Issuer

Leave Authorization Server Issuer blank to use the authorization server MCPJam discovers from the MCP server. Enter a URL to use a different authorization server instead. Leave Allow non-standard issuer mismatch disabled for normal RFC 8414 behavior. Use it only for compatibility testing when the discovered authorization server URL and the metadata issuer differ but belong to the same origin. RFC 8414 requires an exact match, so enabling this setting relaxes that check.

Simulated Identity

The Simulated identity fields let you choose the user that MCPJam, acting as the test identity provider, puts in the ID token. Leave them blank to use your signed-in account. Change them to test how your authorization server handles a specific user. Your authorization server must validate MCPJam’s ID-JAG before issuing an access token. It may also apply its own policy to decide which users are allowed.

Inspect the ID-JAG

ID-JAG Inspector showing the assertion claims, header, payload, and signature
Before MCPJam sends the ID-JAG to the authorization server, the right panel opens the ID-JAG Inspector. Use it to inspect exactly what MCPJam created and identify problems before the token exchange. MCPJam checks each piece of information inside the ID-JAG and shows whether it looks correct or broken. It also shows the relevant RFC or ID-JAG requirement for each check. The JWT header shows:
  • alg: the signing algorithm.
  • typ: the token type.
  • kid: the signing key identifier.

Payload

The payload shows the values MCPJam puts into the ID-JAG:

Signature

The inspector shows the signed JWT and provides Copy JWT for further inspection. The authorization server verifies the signature using MCPJam’s public signing keys.

Negative Tests

Negative-test scorecard showing invalid ID-JAGs rejected
The Negative-test scorecard sends invalid ID-JAGs to your authorization server and checks that it refuses the assertions that the ID-JAG profile requires it to reject. It also reports two policy-dependent probes separately. Run a successful flow first to unlock it. The scorecard reuses the client identity resolved by that flow when it was pre-registered or dynamically registered with DCR. Click Run negative tests to send intentionally broken ID-JAGs to the authorization server’s token endpoint. The MCP server is not called during these probes. A strict rejection check passes when the authorization server rejects the broken assertion. It fails when the authorization server issues an access token for one. The scorecard runs these nine strict rejection checks:
  • Bad Signature
  • Wrong Audience
  • Expired
  • Missing Claims
  • Invalid typ Header
  • Wrong Issuer
  • Resource Mismatch
  • Client ID Mismatch
  • Unknown kid
It also reports these policy probes without treating acceptance or rejection as a security verdict:
  • Unknown Subject
  • Scope Denial
An authorization server may resolve or JIT-provision an unknown subject. It may also reject a scope request or issue a token containing only an allowed subset. Inspect these rows against your deployment’s intended subject-resolution and authorization policy. These are targeted security and policy checks, not a full conformance test.

The XAA Flow

The debugger shows the flow in the sequence diagram and logs each request and response:
  1. Discover the MCP server and authorization server. MCPJam asks the MCP server which authorization server protects it, then reads the authorization server metadata.
  2. Resolve the client identity. MCPJam uses the pre-registered client, performs DCR, or uses its CIMD URL.
  3. Simulate sign-in at MCPJam’s identity provider. MCPJam issues a test ID token.
  4. Request an ID-JAG. MCPJam’s identity provider exchanges the ID token for an ID-JAG.
  5. Request an access token using the ID-JAG. MCPJam sends the ID-JAG to the authorization server’s token endpoint using the JWT-bearer grant.
  6. Call the MCP server. MCPJam sends the resulting access token to the MCP server.

Debugging Failures

The right panel shows each flow step, its request and response details, and any available token information. If a step fails, it also provides guidance for diagnosing the problem. This may include:
  • The authorization server does not advertise or accept the JWT-bearer grant.
  • MCPJam’s issuer or signing keys are not trusted.
  • The client identity is missing, unregistered, or not allowed to use the grant.
  • The aud, resource, or client_id claim does not match the authorization server’s configuration.
  • The authorization server issues a token, but the MCP server rejects it.
Use the compatibility results after discovery and expand each flow step to inspect the exact request, response, and token claims.