[BUG] Asked to authenticate gmail server by /mcp but that option is not listed

Found 3 possible duplicate issues:

1. https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues/69475
2. https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues/56794
3. https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues/41057

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There's a concrete unblock hiding in your own /mcp output, plus a reason this shouldn't be auto-closed as a duplicate.
The Gmail server is almost certainly behind "Show unused connectors (2)". Your panel shows:

    claude.ai
  ❯ claude.ai Google Calendar · △ needs authentication
    → Show unused connectors (2)

The /mcp panel collapses servers that currently have no enabled/active tools under that "unused connectors" group instead of listing them at top level. A connector that's sitting at "needs authentication" has no usable tools yet, so it gets filed under "unused" — which is exactly why claude.ai Gmail is counted in the startup warning but missing from the visible list. Select "Show unused connectors" to expand the 2 hidden entries; the Gmail server should appear there, and you can trigger its authentication from that expanded view. (I can't see your exact panel, but the hidden "(2)" count lines up with the one server you're missing plus one more.)
Why it's suddenly asking at all. Claude Code auto-injects the claude.ai-managed connectors (claude.ai, Gmail, Google Calendar, Drive) from your claude.ai account's integration — they aren't something you enabled locally, which is why it feels like it came out of nowhere. The Gmail one flips to "needs authentication" when its OAuth token/scope expires or a connector-side update requires re-consent. If you don't actually use it, the clean fix is to disconnect the Gmail connector in your claude.ai account's Connectors settings (server-side) — that removes it from the startup set so it stops nagging, rather than authenticating something you don't want.
This isn't a stale duplicate — it's a regression. Of the three the bot listed, the closest, #56794 ("claude.ai Gmail/Calendar/Drive connectors not syncing to /mcp"), is CLOSED — i.e. fixed. You're seeing the same "connector counted but missing from the /mcp panel" behavior return, so closing this as a duplicate of an already-closed issue would bury the regression. I'd 👎 the dup-bot comment (or reply) to keep it open, and note that the closest match is closed.
For the maintainers: a connector that the startup banner tells you to authenticate (run /mcp) must be reachable in that same panel. Hiding an auth-pending connector under "unused connectors" while still warning about it is the actual bug — auth-pending connectors should surface at the top regardless of whether they have active tools yet, or the warning shouldn't fire for a connector the panel hides.
(Not affiliated with Anthropic — I have the same claude.ai Gmail/Calendar/Drive connectors auto-injected in my environment; the "unused connectors" grouping is where an unauthenticated one lands.)

I can verify that this happens on my machine. It is incessant and comes across like Anthropic is trying to force me into connecting Claude to my Google account. I am sure it is probably a bug, however I would greatly appreciate if it can be fixed ASAP as it actively promotes distrust and is annoying as hell.

Note: I am also on Ubuntu/Debian Linux, and am on v2.1.195 and can verify it occurs every startup (including after disabling the plugins).

This bug is also affecting me on macos. It's incredibly distracting—every single project occasionally flashes "MCP servers require authentication". I'm surprised that there aren't more users reporting they're affected by this but not surprised at all by the complete silence from Anthropic on any issue affecting their users.