Editor Not Connecting

What to check when your AI editor can't reach the Scrubby MCP server.

When Scrubby is connected, your editor lists scrubby_* tools alongside its built-in ones. If they aren't appearing or every call fails, work through this page.

Tools don't appear in the editor

The most common cause is that the MCP config isn't being loaded.

1. Check the config file path for your editor:
   • Claude Code: .mcp.json in the project root.
   • Cursor: .cursor/mcp.json in the project root, or an entry in Cursor Settings › MCP.
   • Windsurf: ~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json (macOS/Linux) or %USERPROFILE%\.codeium\windsurf\mcp_config.json (Windows).
   • VS Code: .vscode/mcp.json at the workspace root, or mcp.json in your user profile.
   • Zed: settings.json, under context_servers.
2. Check the JSON is valid. A stray trailing comma breaks the whole config in some editors.
3. Reload the editor. Most editors read MCP config only on startup. After editing it, restart the editor (in VS Code: Command Palette › Developer: Reload Window).
4. Open the editor's MCP server list and confirm Scrubby is there:
   • Claude Code: run /mcp.
   • Cursor: Settings › MCP.
   • VS Code: Command Palette › MCP: List Servers.
   • Windsurf: Settings › Cascade › MCP Servers.
   • Zed: Agent Panel settings view.

The server is listed but calls fail with "not authenticated"

The OAuth session expired or never completed.

• Claude Code: run /mcp to re-authenticate.
• Other editors: trigger any Scrubby tool call; the first one opens the browser OAuth flow.

If the OAuth flow itself hangs, see Authentication.

Calls fail with "not_indexed"

The repository hasn't been indexed yet.

• Ask your editor to run scrubby_index with the owner/repo name.
• If the repository was indexed before but calls still fail, auto-detection may be resolving the wrong repository. Pass repo_name or repo_id explicitly.

If the index never completes, see Indexing Stuck.

Calls hit a network error

The MCP server is reachable at https://mcp.scrubby.ai/mcp.

• Confirm you can reach https://scrubby.ai from the same machine.
• On a corporate network, confirm outbound HTTPS to scrubby.ai isn't blocked.
• Check your editor's MCP logs for the underlying error.

Calls work but results look stale

This isn't a connection problem. The index may be behind because a file was added since the last index or there was drift after a refactor. Re-index:

"Re-index this repo with Scrubby, incremental."

Editor setup pages

• Claude Code
• Cursor
• VS Code
• Windsurf
• Zed

If none of this resolves it, send the failing tool call's error and your editor's MCP log through the feedback page.