n8n - 💡(How to fix) Fix MCP Bearer Auth

Describe the problem/error/question

When using bearer auth (which has worked for all previous workflows), it now doesnt recognize the access token retrieved from a previous node. Bearer Credentials in expression to reference the node don't find the reference back

What is the error message (if any)?

[ERROR: No path back to node] This credential uses the "Authorization" header. To use a custom header, use a "Custom Auth" credential instead

Custom Auth doesnt exists and bearer auth should still work.

Please share your workflow/screenshots/recording

The relevant part of the workflow:

The generate access token node:

MCP Node: <img width="1358" height="800" alt="Image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/ba70ad47-8e49-46ae-962e-031227249719" />

Bearer Credential Config: <img width="1275" height="714" alt="Image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/eaa86b6f-b38b-4920-b2f5-e594f294c18d" />

(Select the nodes on your canvas and use the keyboard shortcuts CMD+C/CTRL+C and CMD+V/CTRL+V to copy and paste the workflow.)
⚠️ WARNING ⚠️ If you have sensitive data in your workflow (like API keys), please remove it before sharing.

Share the output returned by the last node

Debug info

core

• n8nVersion: 2.19.5
• platform: docker (cloud)
• nodeJsVersion: 24.14.1
• nodeEnv: production
• database: sqlite
• executionMode: regular
• concurrency: 50
• license: enterprise (sandbox)

storage

• success: all
• error: all
• progress: false
• manual: true
• binaryMode: filesystem

pruning

• enabled: true
• maxAge: 720 hours
• maxCount: 25000 executions

client

• userAgent: mozilla/5.0 (macintosh; intel mac os x 10_15_7) applewebkit/605.1.15 (khtml, like gecko) version/26.3.1 safari/605.1.15
• isTouchDevice: false

Generated at: 2026-05-08T08:45:49.829Z