claude mcp list shows 'Connected' for MCPs that are not authenticated
Resolved 💬 2 comments Opened Mar 26, 2026 by Chrisj7264a Closed Apr 25, 2026
Description
claude mcp list reports some MCPs as "✓ Connected" when they are actually connected but not authenticated. The /plugins UI within Claude Code correctly shows the distinction (connected but not authenticated), but the CLI output does not.
Steps to Reproduce
- Have an MCP configured that requires authentication (e.g., Granola at
https://mcp.granola.ai/mcp) - Let the auth token expire
- Run
claude mcp list - Observe: shows
granola: https://mcp.granola.ai/mcp (HTTP) - ✓ Connected - Check
/pluginsin Claude Code UI - Observe: correctly shows "connected but not authenticated"
Expected Behavior
claude mcp list should reflect the same auth state that /plugins shows. For example:
✓ Connected— fully connected and authenticated! Connected (not authenticated)or! Needs authentication— connected but not authenticated
Impact
- Hooks that monitor MCP health parse
claude mcp listoutput and cannot detect this failure mode - Tools from unauthed MCPs don't appear in the deferred tools list, so they silently become unavailable
- The MCP appears healthy when it's not, making it hard to automate re-auth prompts
Environment
- Claude Code CLI
- macOS
- Affected MCP: Granola (
https://mcp.granola.ai/mcp) — likely affects other HTTP MCPs too
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