Connection troubleshooting

Most MashNote connection problems are quick to fix once you know which step stalled: connecting, approving the connection, activating tools, the auto-logging prompt, or where entries go. For step-by-step setup, see AI tool connection and auto-logging (MCP).

I connected, but the MashNote tools don’t appear

Check these in order:

1. Close the existing conversation or task and open a new one.
2. Enable MashNote yourself from the conversation’s tools menu.
3. Refresh the MCP tool list.
4. Check that you’re signed in to MashNote. If the sign-in didn’t finish, restart authentication in the AI tool and click Allow on the MashNote Approve connection page.
5. If the tools still don’t appear, remove the connection and reconnect by following the AI tool connection guide.

These three tools should appear in the tool list:

• log_activity
• list_workspaces
• list_recent_activity

Without log_activity, auto-logging doesn’t work.

ChatGPT doesn’t show the tools

chatgpt.com

1. Check that Developer mode is on under Settings → Apps → Advanced Settings.
2. Refresh the MashNote app in the Apps settings.
3. Open a new conversation and pick the MashNote app from the tools menu.
4. Check that your plan and workspace policy allow custom apps and write tools. Write tools on ChatGPT web may be limited by your plan and workspace policy.

If write tools stay limited, consider installing the MashNote plugin in the ChatGPT desktop app or Codex CLI.

ChatGPT desktop app · Codex CLI

1. In plugin management, check that the https://github.com/lymeric-ai/mashnote-plugin.git marketplace and MashNote plugin have been added.
2. For an existing installation, refresh the marketplace in the app, then update or reinstall the MashNote plugin.
3. Complete OAuth sign-in and approve note-reading and workspace access.
4. Restart the desktop app or start a new Codex CLI session.
5. Select @MashNote in a new conversation.
6. Confirm that MashNote tools such as log_activity appear.

Claude shows active but doesn’t call the tools

1. Open a new conversation.
2. Enable MashNote under Search and tools.
3. Test in a new conversation, not an existing one.
4. If permissions are on but tools are missing, reconnect MashNote under Settings → Connectors and open a new conversation.
5. On a Team or Enterprise organization, an owner may need to add the connector to the organization first.

active is the connector’s account connection status. It doesn’t mean the MashNote tools are enabled in the current conversation.

The CLI shows a different connection status

1. Check which user settings and project settings the CLI is actually reading. Make sure the same MashNote server isn’t registered at both user scope and project scope.

2. Check the status with the product’s own command.

   Product	How to check
   Codex CLI	Check the MashNote plugin installation and OAuth approval. Select @MashNote in a new session
   Claude Code	In /mcp, check that MashNote is connected, and restart authentication if needed
   Cursor CLI	Check the connection with agent mcp list and the tools with agent mcp list-tools mashnote. Sign in with agent mcp login mashnote
   Antigravity CLI	Reload the config from /mcp, then check MashNote’s status and tool list

3. Quit the existing CLI and start a new session to reload the tools.

The tools appear, but the AI doesn’t call them

1. Check that you’ve applied the auto-logging prompt.
2. Check that the user or project instructions holding the prompt actually apply to the current conversation.
3. Check that the product you picked in the card matches the one you’re using. The card generates different prompts for chat AI and for coding tools.
4. Open a new conversation.
5. Ask explicitly: “Log one test activity to MashNote.”

If the AI logs when asked but not on its own, recheck where you put the prompt and its project scope. The prompt tells the AI to log only when a meaningful unit of work is finished, so it’s normal for it not to log simple questions and answers.

The sign-in window doesn’t open, or sign-in keeps repeating

1. Remove the MashNote connection from the AI tool.
2. Quit the AI tool completely and reopen it.
3. Copy the MashNote MCP address or command from the AI tool connection (MCP) card again and re-register it.
4. Check that you’re signed in to MashNote in your browser. If you aren’t, the sign-in screen appears before the Approve connection page.
5. Check for pop-up blockers or OAuth restrictions from your organization.
6. After signing in, start a new conversation or a new CLI session.

Never include an access token in support requests, screenshots, or public issues.

The Approve connection page shows an error

What you see	What it means and what to do
Invalid request	The connection request isn’t valid. Start the connection again from the AI tool you were connecting.
Approval failed. Please try again later.	Click Allow again after a moment. If it keeps failing, restart the connection from the AI tool.
Connection denied	You clicked Deny, so the connection was canceled. Close the window and restart the connection from the AI tool.
Unverified app	A warning that the app’s name was self-registered by its developer and hasn’t been verified by MashNote. Click Allow only if it’s the app you just started connecting from.

The card keeps showing “Configured · no writes yet”

Configured · no writes yet on the AI tool connection (MCP) card means a connection or token exists but no entry has been logged yet.

1. Enable the MashNote tools in a new conversation.
2. Ask the AI: “Log one test activity to MashNote.”
3. If the AI reports a successful write, the card status changes to Auto-logging confirmed · {date}. Reopen settings to check.

If the AI says it couldn’t log, start with I connected, but the MashNote tools don’t appear.

The card shows “Couldn’t load connection info”

If you see Couldn't load connection info. You can still build prompts, but reopen later to see the install address., the MashNote MCP address and install steps aren’t shown. You can still build the auto-logging prompt. Close settings and reopen them after a moment.

The test entry isn’t logged

1. Check that log_activity is in the tool list.
2. Check the log destination. Entries logged with the default prompt (Log to me only (default)) appear in My Mash.
3. If you use a prompt for a specific workspace, make sure you picked that workspace in the card and copied the prompt again. You can’t log to the ID of a workspace you don’t belong to.
4. Check that you aren’t sending the same idempotencyKey repeatedly. Entries sent with the same key may be treated as duplicates.
5. Refresh MashNote.

Entries don’t appear in the team Activity feed

Activity that arrives through MCP is logged just for you by default and appears only in My Mash. To show it in a team’s Activity feed, use one of these:

• In My Mash → Visibility & workspace links, set a default workspace link for that source. The rule applies to activity logged after you set it.
• In My Mash, select entries already logged and link them to a workspace.
• Use the Logging to a specific workspace prompt.

If entries still don’t appear after linking them to a workspace, check their visibility. See Activity and My Mash.

My access token doesn’t work

• A token is shown only once, right after it’s issued. If you didn’t copy it, issue a new one under Advanced · direct connection.
• Check the expiry date and last-used date in the Issued tokens list. Tokens that go unused for a long time expire.
• After you click Revoke on a token, it can’t be used again.
• Check that the app sends the token as an authorization header in the form Authorization: Bearer <token>.
• If you see Couldn't issue the token. Please try again later., try again after a moment.

Can I connect several AI accounts?

You can sign in to MashNote from several accounts of the same AI tool, but MashNote currently can’t show those AI accounts by name or disconnect them individually.

MashNote manages connections per MCP client, not by remote AI account name. Revoking a client under Connected clients also affects that client’s other accounts and sessions.

Are you a developer?

To learn about the MCP transport, OAuth, access tokens, and direct setup examples, or to report a technical issue, visit the MashNote MCP GitHub repository.