docs(mcp-clients): document custom MCP clients and user authorization

[teallarson]

Summary

The Algolia weekly report for Aug 03 - Aug 09 showed a 12.17% no-result rate on the primary docs index. The one long-tail zero-hit query that pointed at a real, fixable content gap was:

• connect a custom mcp client to an arcade gateway, user authorization

app/en/get-started/mcp-clients/page.mdx was 5 lines of intro plus a client grid, with no server-rendered prose on either half of that question. Nothing on the page named the pattern for connecting an unlisted or custom MCP client, and nothing named the user-authorization modes a gateway supports.

This PR replaces that shell with:

1. What you need — account + API key, MCP Gateway, and a client. Frames the page for someone landing cold on the overview.
2. Connect a custom or unlisted MCP client — names the generic pattern (remote HTTP transport, gateway URL, no client-side Arcade SDK). This is the paragraph the zero-hit query should land on.
3. User authorization — lists the three gateway auth modes (Arcade Auth, User Source, Arcade Headers), the per-user OAuth story for downstream tools, and links to /en/operate/identity/user-sources and /en/operate/governance/mcp-gateways for the full comparison.

The existing <MCPClientGrid /> still renders under Client-specific guides.

Zero-hit search terms addressed

From the Aug 03 - Aug 09 Algolia report, on docs_arcade_dev_bjb8pbsq9t_docsearch:

• connect a custom mcp client to an arcade gateway, user authorization (1 search) — fixed here.

Other zero-hit terms from the same report, and why they are not addressed in this PR

• snowflake (1) — the Snowflake MCP server page was added to toolkit-docs-generator/data/toolkits/snowflake.json on Aug 13 (PR [AUTO] Adding MCP Servers docs update #1128), after the reporting window. The next weekly crawl will index it. No docs change needed.
• mariadb (1), doordash (1), door dash (1) — no MariaDB or DoorDash MCP server exists. Product/roadmap call, not a docs fix.
• mcp_authentication_failed_error (1) — error string is not documented anywhere in the repo and its provenance is unclear from the report alone. Worth a follow-up once the emitting component is confirmed, rather than inventing content.
• createnewrequ (1) — truncated typo; intent unclear.
• xyzzyqwerty12345nonsense (2), zzzzqwxxyznotarealdocpage999 (1), xyzzyqwertynonsense99999 (1) — obvious probe / test queries. Ignored.

Changes

• app/en/get-started/mcp-clients/page.mdx — 12 lines → 40 lines. Adds three sections above the existing client grid.

Test plan

• pnpm build locally, confirm /en/get-started/mcp-clients still renders and the grid still loads.
• pnpm vale:check app/en/get-started/mcp-clients/page.mdx.
• After merge, wait for the next algolia-reindex.yml run (or trigger it manually) and confirm the target query now returns the MCP Clients overview page as its top hit.

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Note

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Project	Deployment	Actions	Updated (UTC)
docs	Ready	Preview	Aug 17, 2026 9:25am