Authentication
What to do when sign-in, MCP authentication, or a session isn't working.
Scrubby signs you in with GitHub (among other methods), and your editor authenticates to the MCP server through GitHub OAuth. See Account Authorization for how sign-in works.
Clicking "Sign in with GitHub" does nothing
- Check for a popup blocker on
scrubby.ai. - Some privacy browsers block the cookies the OAuth flow needs; try another browser.
Sign-in returns to an error
You authorize on GitHub, get redirected back, and see an error banner:
| Message | Cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub authorization was denied | You declined the consent screen. | Start again and approve the requested scopes. |
| We could not finish signing you in | The sign-in couldn't complete. | Start the flow again from the sign-in page. |
| Email already linked to a different account | The email is tied to another Scrubby account. | Contact support to merge the accounts. |
Required scopes
Signing in with GitHub needs the read:org, user:email, and repo scopes. If you declined any of them, re-authenticate and approve all three. See Account Authorization for what each one is used for.
MCP OAuth flow hangs
Your editor opened a browser tab, you signed in, but it still says "not authenticated":
- Close other editor windows that may be listening for the same OAuth callback, then retry.
- Check the editor's MCP log for the underlying error.
- A corporate proxy that intercepts HTTPS can break the flow. Test from a non-proxied network.
- In Claude Code, run
/mcpto force a fresh connection.
The session keeps dropping
- Check your browser isn't clearing cookies for
scrubby.ai. - Check you aren't switching between two GitHub accounts on the same machine, which creates two Scrubby identities and can look like being signed out.
- Sign in again. If it still drops quickly, contact support.
You have two accounts by accident
This happens when the same person has two identities. For example, signing in with GitHub once and with email another time. Signing in with the conflicting method starts a merge; if it can't complete on its own, contact support to merge them.
"Not authorized for this organization"
You're a GitHub member of an organization but Scrubby says you don't have access:
- The organization may not have a Team or Business plan yet. An admin needs to set one up.
- An admin may not have invited you. Ask them to invite you from the Team section. See Team Management.
- The
read:orgscope must be granted for Scrubby to see your membership. Re-authenticate to grant it.