MCP troubleshooting

Find the message your agent shows, then apply the fix.

Error messages

Message	Cause	Fix
401 Unauthorized when connecting	The token is wrong, incomplete or revoked.	Create a new token in Integrations and paste it again, including the Bearer prefix in the header.
Sign-in page doesn’t open, or the client says auth is required	The client doesn’t support MCP OAuth.	Use a token instead — see Connect your agent.
Wrong brand	The connection or token was made on a different brand than the one you meant.	For a connection, disconnect it in the client and connect again, picking the other brand at approval. For a token, create a new one on the brand you want.
Actions tools missing	The connection or token is read-only.	For a connection, disconnect and reconnect, ticking Also allow actions at approval. For a token, create a new one with action access.
MCP access needs an active GetIntel plan.	The account has no active plan or trial.	Reactivate a plan, then retry.
Monthly MCP read limit reached (N). Resets YYYY-MM-DD.	You used this month’s reads.	Wait for the reset or upgrade. Check usage any time with get_usage.
This action needs the ‘act’ permission…	The token is read-only.	Create a new token with action access and update your agent’s config.
Unknown tool: …	The agent called a tool that doesn’t exist.	Restart the agent so it reloads the tool list.
topic N not found	The topic id is wrong or the token is for another brand.	Ask the agent to call get_topics first and use an id from that list.
No AI data for …	The competitor name doesn’t match how AI writes it.	Use a name exactly as it appears in get_competitors or get_overview.
A scan ran recently — you can re-check again at …	recheck_technical runs at most once an hour.	Wait until the time shown.
Search Console not connected	get_search_console needs the integration.	Connect Search Console in Integrations.

Client-specific checks

• Claude.ai, ChatGPT, Claude Desktop: check the connector is still listed under Settings → Connectors. If not, add it again — see Claude.ai and ChatGPT.
• Claude Code: run /mcp to see whether getintel is connected. To replace a token, remove the server with claude mcp remove getintel and add it again.
• Cursor: after editing ~/.cursor/mcp.json, check that getintel is enabled under Settings → MCP.
• Codex CLI: this bridges through npx mcp-remote, so Node.js must be installed. Restart the app after changing the config.

Still stuck? Send support the client you use, the exact error, and the time it happened.