diff --git a/asgi_app.py b/asgi_app.py
index 6707929..5f14602 100644
--- a/asgi_app.py
+++ b/asgi_app.py
@@ -153,26 +153,28 @@ async def mcp_protocol_handler(request: Request):
             from clerk_backend_api import Clerk, models
             import jwt
             
-            # First, decode JWT token without verification to get session_id
+            # Decode JWT token and extract user info
             try:
                 decoded_token = jwt.decode(token, options={"verify_signature": False})
-                session_id = decoded_token.get("sid")  # Use standard JWT 'sid' claim
-                user_id = decoded_token.get("sub") or decoded_token.get("user_id")
+                user_id = decoded_token.get("user_id") or decoded_token.get("sub")
+                user_email = decoded_token.get("email")
+                token_scopes = decoded_token.get("scopes", ["read", "search"])
+                session_id = decoded_token.get("sid", "jwt_session")
                 
-                logger.info(f"JWT token claims - session_id: {session_id}, user_id: {user_id}")
+                logger.info(f"JWT token claims - user_id: {user_id}, email: {user_email}, scopes: {token_scopes}")
                 
-                if user_id:
-                    # For real JWT tokens, we can trust the token if it's properly formatted
-                    # Additional validation can be added here
+                if user_id and user_email:
+                    # JWT token is signed by Clerk and contains valid user info
                     request.state.user_id = user_id
-                    request.state.session_id = session_id or "unknown"
-                    request.state.token_scopes = ["read", "search"]
+                    request.state.user_email = user_email
+                    request.state.session_id = session_id
+                    request.state.token_scopes = token_scopes
                     logger.info(f"Real JWT token accepted for user: {user_id}")
                 else:
-                    logger.error("No user_id found in JWT token")
+                    logger.error(f"Missing required fields in JWT token - user_id: {bool(user_id)}, email: {bool(user_email)}")
                     raise HTTPException(
                         status_code=401,
-                        detail="Invalid token - no user_id in claims"
+                        detail="Invalid token - missing user_id or email in claims"
                     )
                     
             except Exception as e:
diff --git a/mcp_auth_http_simple.py b/mcp_auth_http_simple.py
index cc40cd1..7be6b2a 100644
--- a/mcp_auth_http_simple.py
+++ b/mcp_auth_http_simple.py
@@ -119,40 +119,26 @@ async def oauth_callback(
         
         if clerk_token and CLERK_AVAILABLE:
             try:
-                clerk = Clerk(bearer_auth=os.getenv("CLERK_SECRET_KEY"))
-                
-                # Extract session_id from JWT token (use 'sid' claim - standard JWT claim)
+                # Extract user info from JWT token (no Clerk session verification needed)
                 import jwt
                 decoded_token = jwt.decode(clerk_token, options={"verify_signature": False})
-                session_id = decoded_token.get("sid")  # Use standard JWT 'sid' claim
+                user_id = decoded_token.get("user_id") or decoded_token.get("sub")
+                user_email = decoded_token.get("email")
+                token_scopes = decoded_token.get("scopes", ["read", "search"])
                 
-                if session_id:
-                    # Verify with Clerk using session_id
-                    session = clerk.sessions.verify(session_id=session_id, token=clerk_token)
-                    user_id = session.user_id if session else None
+                logger.info(f"JWT token claims - user_id: {user_id}, email: {user_email}, scopes: {token_scopes}")
+                
+                if user_id and user_email:
+                    # JWT token is already signed by Clerk and contains valid user info
+                    user_authenticated = True
+                    logger.info(f"User authenticated via JWT token - user_id: {user_id}")
+                    
+                    # Use the JWT token directly as the real token (it's already from Clerk template)
+                    real_jwt_token = clerk_token
+                    logger.info("Using Clerk JWT token directly (already real token)")
                     
-                    if user_id:
-                        user_authenticated = True
-                        logger.info(f"User authenticated via JWT - user_id: {user_id}")
-                        
-                        # Generate real JWT token from session using template
-                        try:
-                            real_jwt_token = clerk.sessions.create_token_from_template(
-                                session_id=session_id,
-                                template_name="mcp_auth"
-                            )
-                            logger.info("Real JWT token generated from template")
-                        except Exception as e:
-                            logger.warning(f"Failed to generate JWT from template: {e}")
-                            # Fallback to regular token creation
-                            real_jwt_token = clerk.sessions.create_token(
-                                session_id=session_id,
-                                expires_in_seconds=3600
-                            )
-                            logger.info("Real JWT token generated (fallback)")
-                        
                 else:
-                    logger.error("No session_id found in JWT token")
+                    logger.error(f"Missing required fields in JWT token - user_id: {bool(user_id)}, email: {bool(user_email)}")
                     
             except Exception as e:
                 logger.error(f"JWT validation failed: {e}")