# An AI client cannot reach your notes

> Fix a Notate MCP connection that is refused, missing tools, or being rate limited.

Source: https://notate.md/docs/troubleshooting/mcp-connection/

Category: Troubleshooting

Updated: 2026-08-16

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When an AI client cannot use your notes over MCP, the endpoint says why rather than failing silently. What the client reports tells you which of these it is. For setup from scratch, see [connect an AI client](https://notate.md/docs/mcp/connect/).

## The client cannot connect at all

| What the client reports | Fix |
|---|---|
| MCP access is turned off for this account | Switch on **Enable MCP** in Settings, Features, MCP. It is off by default, and a token alone will not connect. |
| Your plan does not include MCP access | MCP needs the Sync plan or above. |
| Service token revoked, expired, or unknown | The token was revoked, mistyped, or truncated. Create a new one and paste it whole. |
| This account has end-to-end encryption enabled | MCP cannot serve encrypted accounts. See the [overview](https://notate.md/docs/mcp/overview/). |
| Nothing, or a generic connection error | Check the URL is `https://api.notate.md/mcp` and that the token is sent as `Authorization: Bearer <token>`. Some clients need a restart after a configuration change. |

## Some tools are missing

The client connects and can read notes, but cannot delete, rename, or rewrite anything.

That is the expected result of the permission settings, not a fault. Destructive actions are off until you turn them on, and an action you have not enabled is not offered to the client at all, so it is absent from the list rather than failing when tried.

Turn on the ones you want in **Settings, Features, MCP**, then reconnect the client so it picks up the new list.

If an action is on in Settings and still missing, the token is the narrower of the two. A token can carry fewer permissions than your account, never more. Create a new token with the permissions you want.

## An action is refused mid-conversation

| What the client reports | What it means |
|---|---|
| "X" is not enabled for MCP on this account | The client used a cached tool list from before you changed a setting. Reconnect it. |
| No folder found with name "X" | A note must live in a folder, so Notate refuses rather than filing it nowhere. Ask the client to create the folder first. |
| "X" contains N note(s) | Deleting a folder with contents needs a decision: move the notes to the parent folder, or delete them with it. Tell the client which. |
| "X" is a top-level folder | Top-level folders are renamed on disk rather than through a client. Folders inside them rename normally. |
| Searched by keyword only | Not an error. Searching by meaning needs AI on your account — the AI plan, or Sync with [your own provider key](https://notate.md/docs/ai/bring-your-own-keys/). Results still come back, matched on wording. |

## The client is being rate limited

Two limits protect the account, and the message says which one you hit.

**Per minute.** 120 tool calls without AI, 240 with it (the AI plan, or Sync with your own provider key). Usually an agent looping faster than intended. Wait a minute and it clears on its own.

**Per month.** 25,000 tool calls in a calendar month, which resets at the start of the next one. Reaching it normally means something ran unattended for a long time. Revoke that client's token if you are not sure what it was.

Notate does not currently show a running count in the app, so a client reporting the monthly limit is the first sign of it.

## Still stuck

Revoking a token in Settings takes effect immediately, so if you suspect a client is misbehaving, revoke its token first and investigate afterwards. The other clients keep working.