Claude connectors not working? Fixes for Drive, GitHub, Gmail

Short answer

Most broken Claude connectors come down to one of four things: a sign-in that didn't finish, a connector that's off in this chat, an admin who hasn't allowed it, or a problem on Claude's or the app's side. Check status.claude.com first. Then click Disconnect and Connect again under Customize › Connectors, and check the connector is on under + › Connectors in the chat. On Team and Enterprise, an Owner adds a connector before you can connect it.

First: is it Claude's side?

Claude's status page lists connector outages. Recent ones: all connectors on October 22, 2026, Google Calendar on October 26 to 28, Gmail on October 27, Microsoft 365 on November 12 and 13 (an incident at Microsoft), and adding new connectors on November 13. If your error lines up with one, wait for the fix.

Custom connectors (remote MCP servers)

The custom connector guide covers "Authorization with the MCP server failed", "Unexpected error while invoking tool" and a missing Add custom connector button.

"Couldn't reach the MCP server"

Claude connects from Anthropic's cloud, not your computer. The address must use HTTPS on port 443 and resolve to a public IPv4 address, and no firewall may block Anthropic (help article, Anthropic's troubleshooting). The same message shows when Claude can't find how the server signs in. So a server can work in Claude Code, which connects from your machine, and still fail on claude.ai.

Dynamic client registration not supported

To sign you in, Claude needs a client ID from the server's sign-in service. The add dialog's OAuth client setting has three ways to get one (Anthropic): Use Claude's published identity (a Client ID Metadata Document that Anthropic hosts, recommended), Register automatically (dynamic client registration, or DCR), or Use your own OAuth client.

When a server supports neither of the first two, Claude says it "couldn't register with" its sign-in service and suggests adding an OAuth Client ID (example). If the service lets you create an OAuth client, create one with https://claude.ai/api/mcp/auth_callback as the redirect URL. Then remove the connector and add it again with Use your own OAuth client, since sign-in settings can't be edited. Some servers that do support registration have shown this message too since July 2026 (issue); report those.

• Claude Code says "Incompatible auth server: does not support dynamic client registration". Add the server with --client-id, --client-secret and --callback-port, register http://localhost:PORT/callback at the service, then run /mcp (Claude Code docs).
• OpenAI Codex says "Registration failed: Dynamic registration failed: Registration failed: Dynamic client registration not supported" on codex mcp login, for example with Slack's server (issue). See Slack in Codex.

The MCP spec made DCR optional, and its July 2026 version marks it deprecated in favor of Client ID Metadata Documents (spec). GitHub's and Slack's MCP servers don't support it.

"Connector couldn't be added"

On November 13, 2026, many people got this, often after "Couldn't determine how this server signs in", when adding any custom connector (issue). It was that day's outage and cleared within hours.

Connected, but Claude has no tools

Check the connector is on for this chat, and name it in your prompt. A November 2026 report found new chats sometimes saw a connected custom connector with no tools, and switching it off and on in that chat fixed it (issue).

Google Drive, Gmail and Calendar

"Access blocked: your institution's admin needs to review Claude for Google Drive"

A Google Workspace admin sets Claude to Trusted under Security › Access and data control › API controls › Manage third-party app access in the Admin console, then waits about 15 minutes (Anthropic). Full steps are in the Google Drive guide. For "You may need to reconnect", disconnect and connect again, and if it returns, remove Claude at myaccount.google.com/connections first.

Shared drive files come back empty

Since April 2026, users report that search and folder lists return nothing in Shared Drives while My Drive works (issue, still open). One user's fix was a Workspace admin approving Claude for Google Drive for the organization; others found none. The usual workaround is copying files into My Drive.

Gmail: "This app is blocked"

In April and May 2026, Google showed this, with no way past it, when users reconnected Gmail in Cowork (issue). Revoking Claude's access didn't help, and the report closed without a fix. "Couldn't reach Gmail" on November 13 was the outage and cleared that afternoon.

GitHub

"Add from GitHub" is missing, or "Claude cannot access that resource"

Connect GitHub Integration under Customize › Connectors first. On Team and Enterprise, it's listed only once GitHub is turned on for the organization. "Claude cannot access that resource" means the repo is private and the Claude GitHub App can't reach it: follow the link in the message to grant or request access (Anthropic). Missing organization repos are covered in the GitHub guide.

Adding GitHub's MCP server fails

GitHub's server doesn't support DCR, and GitHub's own guide says Claude's custom connectors aren't supported (GitHub). In July 2026, a Claude Desktop user got a "couldn't register" error on every try (issue). Use the built-in integration, Claude Code with a token, or Upsy.

In Cowork, GitHub says Connected but has no tools

Reported since May 2026 on Windows and macOS, while other connectors work (issue). It's still open, and reconnecting doesn't help. Reporters say GitHub works in Claude Code.

Notion

"Invalid MCP state. Please enable browser cookies and try again."

The page comes from Notion's own server, mcp.notion.com. Cursor's staff advised allowing cookies for notion.com and notion.so, trying another browser, and contacting Notion support if it fails everywhere (forum, August 2026). In April 2026, claude.ai users got it on every reconnect until it was marked fixed in May (issue).

Claude shows "Disabled by admin"

On Notion Enterprise, owners can allow only approved clients under Settings › Notion MCP › Manage workspace clients (Notion's help). Ask one to approve Claude. See the Notion guide.

Slack and Microsoft 365

Slack shows "Request to install"

Claude's Slack connector needs Anthropic's Claude app installed in Slack first. Where apps need approval, Slack shows Request to install until an admin approves it (Anthropic). See the Slack guide.

"A personal account can't sign in through 'Work or school account'"

As of November 2026, Claude's Microsoft 365 connector takes personal Outlook.com, Hotmail, Live and MSN accounts on Free, Pro, Max and Ultra, for Outlook and OneDrive. Each sign-in option accepts only its own kind of account, so pick the one that matches. Connect a personal account on claude.ai in a browser; Team and Enterprise don't offer it. On a work account, a feature Anthropic adds later can fail with a permission error until an Entra admin approves it, and reconnecting doesn't help (Anthropic).

Claude Desktop, mobile and Team plans

Claude Desktop: a local MCP server doesn't show up

Servers in claude_desktop_config.json run on your computer. Check the JSON is valid and paths are absolute, then fully quit and reopen Claude Desktop. Logs are in ~/Library/Logs/Claude on macOS and %APPDATA%\Claude\logs on Windows: mcp.log for connection failures, mcp-server-NAME.log for each server (MCP docs). A server with an https:// address goes in as a custom connector instead.

Mobile, Cowork, Team and Enterprise

• Mobile: add connectors on the web or desktop, since installing them in the app is still in beta. They appear in the iOS and Android apps the next time you log in (help article).
• Cowork: merged with chat on September 16, 2026, with connectors carried over (release notes). The fixes above apply.
• Request instead of Connect: an Owner hasn't added the connector. On Team, Request notifies the Owners (Anthropic). Once it's added, click Connect yourself.
• "This corporate identity belongs to an Enterprise that manages access through their own Claude account": the service's email domain belongs to a company on Claude Enterprise. Connect from that organization's Claude account, or ask its admin (help article).

When Upsy is a way around

Upsy helps where the problem is a connector's limits or sign-in: more than one account, read-only or per-action access, and servers Claude can't register with. You connect each app once in Upsy and add Upsy to Claude as one custom connector, https://upsy.ai/connect, with no client ID to enter.

• GitHub: Upsy signs in to GitHub's MCP server with its own GitHub OAuth App, so the registration error doesn't come up.
• Google: up to five accounts per app, each at No access, Read-only, Full access or Pick actions.
• Personal Outlook on Team and Enterprise: Upsy's Outlook connector is waiting on Microsoft's approval, so for now Claude uses outlook.com in Upsy's cloud browser.

It doesn't fix an admin block. While Google reviews Upsy's own app, Gmail, Calendar and Drive sign in through Composio, and a Workspace admin's block applies there too. A Notion sign-in error can hit Upsy too, since it uses Notion's own server. And custom connectors run on the same infrastructure as directory ones (Anthropic), so an outage on Claude's side affects Upsy as well.

Before you contact support

When a connection fails, copy the reference that starts with ofid_ from the error or the page address, and report it soon, since it expires. Server owners report at anthropics/claude-ai-mcp with the server URL and their logs. A failed tool call has no reference: give the tool's name, the time in UTC and the connector's URL (Anthropic). Never include passwords, tokens or client secrets.

FAQ

Why are my Claude connectors not working?

Usually an unfinished sign-in, a connector that's off in this chat, an admin who hasn't allowed it, or an outage. Check status.claude.com, then disconnect and connect again.

Why is the Claude Google Drive connector not working?

Disconnect and connect again. "Access blocked" needs a Workspace admin. Files in Shared Drives can come back empty because of an open bug.

Why is the Claude GitHub connector not working?

Private repos need the Claude GitHub App to have access. In Cowork, an open bug leaves GitHub connected with no tools. GitHub's own MCP server can't be added, because Claude can't register with it.

Why is the Claude Gmail connector not working?

Check the status page, then disconnect and reconnect. It holds one Google account and can't read what's inside attachments, by design. See multiple Gmail accounts.

Why is the Claude Notion connector not working?

On "Invalid MCP state", allow cookies for notion.com and notion.so and reconnect. On Notion Enterprise, an owner may need to approve Claude.

What does "dynamic client registration not supported" mean?

The server won't let apps register themselves. Add the connector again with your own OAuth client ID, or use --client-id in Claude Code.

Why is my MCP server not working in Claude Desktop?

For a local server, use absolute paths, fully restart Claude Desktop, and read mcp.log. A remote server goes in as a custom connector instead.