OAuth Permissions for Third-Party MCP Connectors Reset Unpredictably — Claude Desktop 26.5.1 & Claude Web

Preflight Checklist

• [x] I have searched existing issues and this hasn't been reported yet
• [x] This is a single bug report (please file separate reports for different bugs)
• [x] I am using the latest version of Claude Code

What's Wrong?

AFFECTED PLATFORMS

• Claude Desktop 26.5.1 (macOS, Apple Silicon)
• Claude Web (claude.ai)

DESCRIPTION
Granular OAuth permissions for third-party MCP connectors (Gmail, Google Calendar, Notion, Slack, etc.) reset randomly to "not authorized" or "ask for approval each time."

WHEN IT OCCURS
The issue is unpredictable with no deterministic reproduction pattern. Permissions may reset:

• After closing and reopening Claude Desktop
• After restarting the computer
• After an indeterminate period of inactivity
• At a random moment with no clear trigger

PARTIAL REPRODUCTION STEPS

1. Open Claude Desktop 26.5.1 or log into claude.ai
2. Go to Connectors → [Third-party service: Gmail/Calendar/Notion/Slack/etc.]
3. Grant ALL requested permissions (read, send, create, modify, etc.)
4. Close Claude Desktop (Cmd+Q) or log out of claude.ai (indeterminate timing)
5. Reopen Claude Desktop or log back into claude.ai

→ FREQUENT RESULT: Permissions have reset to "not authorized" or "ask for approval"

FREQUENCY
High — occurs after most sessions, but timing is unpredictable.

IMPACT

• Third-party connectors are unreliable in production workflows
• Forces repeated authorization across unpredictable sessions
• Blocks reliable access to Gmail, Calendar, Notion, Slack, and other services
• Severely impacts productivity and automation workflows

TECHNICAL DETAILS

• Claude Desktop version: 26.5.1
• macOS version: [Apple Silicon]
• Configuration files inspected:
• ~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
• ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
• ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/config.json
• Result: Zero trace of granular OAuth scopes/permissions saved to disk
• OAuth token cache exists (config.json → oauth:tokenCache) but granular permission metadata is absent
• Local MCP servers persist correctly and are unaffected (labomep-mcp, pronote, dust, time)
• Comprehensive grep search for "permission", "scope", "consent", "gmail", "calendar" yields no results in config files

OBSERVED BEHAVIOR

• OAuth tokens are cached
• Permission grants are NOT persisted between sessions
• Each session requires re-authorization
• No mechanism appears to store consent decisions

SEVERITY
High — blocks production use of connector-dependent workflows.

EXPECTED BEHAVIOR
Granted OAuth permissions should persist across sessions, requiring re-authorization only when:

• User explicitly revokes access
• OAuth token expires naturally
• User logs out and logs back in with different account

ACTUAL BEHAVIOR
All OAuth permissions reset unpredictably regardless of session length or user action.

What Should Happen?

A memory on the server should be involved.

Error Messages/Logs

Steps to Reproduce

.

Claude Model

Sonnet (default)

Is this a regression?

I don't know

Last Working Version

_No response_

Claude Code Version

latest

Platform

Anthropic API

Operating System

macOS

Terminal/Shell

Terminal.app (macOS)

Additional Information

_No response_