[Docs index](/docs.md) / [MCP Servers](/docs/mcp-servers/overview.md) / Authorizing an MCP Client

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# Authorizing an MCP Client

This guide explains what happens when an external AI client connects to your MCP server for the first time and how to approve or deny the connection.

## Before you begin

- You must have already created an MCP server and provided its URL to the client application. See [Creating an MCP server](creating-an-mcp-server.md).
- You must be signed in to your workspace in the browser. If you are not signed in, you are redirected to the login page first and then returned to the authorization screen.

## Steps

### 1. The client initiates a connection

When you configure your AI client with the MCP server URL and it attempts to connect, your browser opens an authorization page. This page is titled **Authorize Application**.

### 2. Review the request

The authorization page shows:

- The **name of the application** requesting access (for example, "Claude Desktop").
- The **name of your MCP server** that the application wants to access.
- A **list of tools** the application will be able to call, each with its name and description.
- The **scope** of access being requested (displayed as a label, such as "mcp:tools").

Review this information to confirm you recognize the application and are comfortable granting it access to the listed tools.

### 3. Approve or deny

Click **Approve** to grant the application access. The page briefly shows "Authorizing..." while the request is processed, then you are redirected to a confirmation page or back to the application.

Click **Deny** to reject the request. The application is notified that access was denied and cannot call your tools.

### 4. Authorization complete

After approving, you see an **Authorization Complete** page confirming the application has been granted access. If the authorization page opened in a popup window, click **Close Tab** to close it. Otherwise, you can navigate away or close the tab manually.

The client now has a time-limited token and can begin calling your tools. Tokens are automatically refreshed by the client, so you typically do not need to re-authorize.

## If you see an error

Errors appear as a message at the top of the authorization page. Common errors include:

- **"The application redirect URL is no longer valid."** -- The application's callback address has changed. Ask the application developer to update their configuration.
- **"This authorization request expired."** -- The request took too long. Return to the application and try connecting again.
- **"You must be signed in to continue."** -- Sign in to your workspace and try again.
- **"You do not have access to this MCP server."** -- You can only authorize connections to servers you created.

For more issues, see [Troubleshooting](troubleshooting.md).

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## Navigation

### In this section: MCP Servers

- [MCP Servers](/docs/mcp-servers/overview.md)
- [Use Cases and Playbooks](/docs/mcp-servers/use-cases.md)
- [Creating an MCP Server](/docs/mcp-servers/creating-an-mcp-server.md)
- **Authorizing an MCP Client** (current)
- [Managing MCP Servers](/docs/mcp-servers/managing-mcp-servers.md)
- [Troubleshooting](/docs/mcp-servers/troubleshooting.md)

#### Playbooks

- [Playbook: Build a Campaign Launcher for Your Internal Ad Platform](/docs/mcp-servers/playbook-campaign-launcher.md)
- [Playbook: Build a Client Reporting Portal from Your Homegrown Analytics System](/docs/mcp-servers/playbook-client-reporting-portal.md)
- [Playbook: Build a Reconciliation Agent Across Two Systems](/docs/mcp-servers/playbook-reconciliation-agent.md)
- [Playbook: Build a Supply Chain Monitoring Agent](/docs/mcp-servers/playbook-supply-chain-monitor.md)
- [Playbook: Build an Intake App for a System Only Engineers Can Use](/docs/mcp-servers/playbook-intake-app.md)
- [Playbook: Build an Order Management App on Top of Your WMS](/docs/mcp-servers/playbook-order-management-app.md)

### Other sections

- [Tool Creation](/docs/tool-creation/overview.md)
- [Agent Filesystem](/docs/agent-filesystem/overview.md)
- [Chat Sharing](/docs/chat-sharing/overview.md)
- [Scheduled Triggers](/docs/scheduled-triggers/overview.md)
- [Agent Skills](/docs/agent-skills/overview.md)
- [Sandcastles](/docs/sandcastles/overview.md)
- [Subagents](/docs/subagents/overview.md)
- [Workspace Permissions](/docs/workspace-permissions/overview.md)

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