[BUG] `list_connectors` reports zero connectors while live connectors serve successful tool calls in the same session

Preflight Checklist

• [x] I have searched existing issues and this hasn't been reported yet
• [x] This is a single bug report
• [x] I am using the latest version of Claude Code

What's Wrong?

The MCP connector registry reports an empty inventory even when connectors are
loaded, healthy, and answering tool calls in the same session.

In one session I had two Google connectors live — Gmail and Google Calendar,
as separate MCP servers — and both returned real data from read-only calls.
Throughout, the registry insisted nothing was installed:

list_connectors()                      → {"connectors": []}
list_connectors(["google","calendar"]) → {"connectors": []}
search_mcp_registry(["google calendar","calendar","events","schedule"])
                                       → {"results": []}

Called four times over the session — before either connector was authorized,
after Gmail loaded, after a reconnect attempt, and after Calendar loaded. Empty
every time, including on calls made in the same assistant turn as a successful
tool call against a loaded server.

What Should Happen?

list_connectors should list connectors that are actually loaded and serving
tools in the current session. search_mcp_registry should return available
connectors for obvious keywords like "calendar".

Steps to Reproduce

1. Authorize a Google connector (Gmail and/or Google Calendar) so its tools load

into a Claude Code desktop session.

1. Confirm the connector is genuinely live — e.g. a read-only list_labels

(Gmail) or list_calendars (Calendar) call returns real data.

1. In the same session, call list_connectors with no arguments.
2. Observe {"connectors": []} plus the note *"No installed connectors found —

the card did not render."*

Impact

Two practical consequences:

• The connector card never renders, so there is no in-session way to see what is

connected.

• search_mcp_registry returning empty means there is no in-session path to

discover or add a connector either — the suggested remediation path in the
tool's own note ("Offer to search the registry") is itself broken.

Combined, this made it impossible to tell whether a connector was missing,
mid-authorization, or simply not reported. It also produced a misleading picture
during troubleshooting: the registry said nothing was installed while a
connector was demonstrably working.

Error Messages/Logs

No errors. Both calls return HTTP-success with empty result sets.

Environment

• Claude Code desktop app, Windows 11 Pro (10.0.26100)
• Model: Opus 5
• Observed: 2026-08-02

Related Issues

• #72914 — claude.ai-scoped connectors show "Connected" via claude mcp list but

never load as tools. Inverse-facing symptom of what looks like the same
split-brain between the connector inventory and the session's real MCP state:
there the inventory over-reports, here it under-reports.