diff --git a/client/src/lib/auth.ts b/client/src/lib/auth.ts
index 79750112..87993610 100644
--- a/client/src/lib/auth.ts
+++ b/client/src/lib/auth.ts
@@ -153,15 +153,22 @@ export class InspectorOAuthClientProvider implements OAuthClientProvider {
   }
 
   get clientMetadata(): OAuthClientMetadata {
-    return {
+    const metadata: OAuthClientMetadata = {
       redirect_uris: this.redirect_uris,
       token_endpoint_auth_method: "none",
       grant_types: ["authorization_code", "refresh_token"],
       response_types: ["code"],
       client_name: "MCP Inspector",
       client_uri: "https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/inspector",
-      scope: this.scope ?? "",
     };
+
+    // Only include scope if it's defined and non-empty
+    // Per OAuth spec, omit the scope field entirely if no scopes are requested
+    if (this.scope) {
+      metadata.scope = this.scope;
+    }
+
+    return metadata;
   }
 
   state(): string | Promise<string> {
diff --git a/client/src/lib/hooks/useConnection.ts b/client/src/lib/hooks/useConnection.ts
index c26c1d66..60ac73ed 100644
--- a/client/src/lib/hooks/useConnection.ts
+++ b/client/src/lib/hooks/useConnection.ts
@@ -393,11 +393,22 @@ export function useConnection({
       saveScopeToSessionStorage(sseUrl, scope);
       const serverAuthProvider = new InspectorOAuthClientProvider(sseUrl);
 
-      const result = await auth(serverAuthProvider, {
-        serverUrl: sseUrl,
-        scope,
-      });
-      return result === "AUTHORIZED";
+      try {
+        const result = await auth(serverAuthProvider, {
+          serverUrl: sseUrl,
+          scope,
+        });
+        return result === "AUTHORIZED";
+      } catch (authError) {
+        // Show user-friendly error message for OAuth failures
+        toast({
+          title: "OAuth Authentication Failed",
+          description:
+            authError instanceof Error ? authError.message : String(authError),
+          variant: "destructive",
+        });
+        return false;
+      }
     }
 
     return false;