MCP: Missing login/logout commands in CLI; cannot authenticate MCP servers

What is the type of issue?

Documentation is confusing

What is the issue?

Issue description

• The Codex CLI’s MCP subcommand does not expose login/logout commands. This makes it impossible to authenticate against MCP servers that require auth.
• The CLI help only shows 5 commands: list, get, add, remove, help.

Current behavior

When running:
codex mcp --help or even codex mcp login <server>

Output:

[experimental] Run Codex as an MCP server and manage MCP servers

Usage: codex mcp [OPTIONS] <COMMAND>

Commands:
  list    [experimental] List configured MCP servers
  get     [experimental] Show details for a configured MCP server
  add     [experimental] Add a global MCP server entry
  remove  [experimental] Remove a global MCP server entry
  help    Print this message or the help of the given subcommand(s)

error: unrecognized subcommand 'login'

Usage: codex mcp [OPTIONS] <COMMAND>

For more information, try '--help'.

Expected behavior

• CLI should provide authentication flows for MCP servers, e.g.:
• codex mcp login
• codex mcp logout
• If auth is not yet supported, documentation should clearly state that MCP auth/login is currently unavailable and provide a recommended workaround for HTTP/remote MCP servers that require credentials (env vars, config tokens, or per-server headers).

Impact

• Cannot authenticate with HTTP-based or remote MCP servers that require login/session management.
• Blocks testing and usage of MCP servers that are not purely local or unauthenticated.
• Confusing for users because CLI appears to manage MCP servers but lacks auth primitives.

Environment

• Codex CLI version: codex-cli 0.44.0
• OS: Windows 11
• Install method: npm install -g @openai/codex@latest

Repro steps

1) Install Codex:
npm install -g @openai/codex@latest
2) Check MCP help:
codex mcp --help
3) Observe that only list/get/add/remove/help are present, with no login/logout.
4) Attempt to connect to an MCP server requiring authentication; there is no documented CLI flow to authenticate.

Questions/requests

• Is MCP authentication intentionally not implemented yet in the CLI?
• If yes, is there a recommended temporary approach (e.g., config.toml tokens, per-server headers, env vars) to connect to authenticated MCP servers?
• If implementation exists, please document the correct commands/flags and examples.
• If not yet available, please consider adding:
• codex mcp login <server> with interactive and headless options
• codex mcp logout <server>
• Support for storing/removing credentials, token refresh, and non-interactive usage for CI

Additional context

• The lack of auth commands prevents adoption for any MCP server that is not publicly open.
• Clear docs or explicit “not yet supported” guidance would help set expectations and offer interim workarounds.

Where did you find it?

https://github.com/openai/codex/blob/main/docs/config.md#mcp-cli-commands