[Bug]: Unable to connect to extension server. Please try disabling and re-enabling the extension.) red popup shows .

[msarjun46]

Server type

Local (stdio via npx @apify/actors-mcp-server)

MCP Client

Claude Desktop

Operating System

Windows

What happened?

When i enable the apify toggle (Unable to connect to extension server. Please try disabling and re-enabling the extension.) red popup shows .

Steps to reproduce

Open Claude Desktop
Add connector and search Apify connector
install and enable
popup shows

Node.js version

v24.14.0

Apify MCP Server version

No response

MCP server configuration

{
  "preferences": {
    "coworkWebSearchEnabled": true,
    "ccdScheduledTasksEnabled": false,
    "coworkScheduledTasksEnabled": false
  }
}

Error logs

2026-03-24T20:31:34.958Z [Apify] [info] Initializing server... { metadata: undefined }
2026-03-24T20:31:35.007Z [Apify] [info] Using built-in Node.js for MCP server: Apify { metadata: undefined }
2026-03-24T20:31:35.042Z [Apify] [info] Server started and connected successfully { metadata: undefined }
2026-03-24T20:31:35.209Z [Apify] [info] Message from client: {"method":"initialize","params":{"protocolVersion":"2025-11-25","capabilities":{"extensions":{"io.modelcontextprotocol/ui":{"mimeTypes":["text/html;profile=mcp-app"]}}},"clientInfo":{"name":"claude-ai","version":"0.1.0"}},"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":0} { metadata: undefined }
2026-03-24T20:31:42.624Z [Apify] [info] Message from server: {"result":{"protocolVersion":"2025-11-25","capabilities":{"tools":{"listChanged":true},"tasks":{"list":{},"cancel":{},"requests":{"tools":{"call":{}}}},"resources":{},"prompts":{},"logging":{}},"serverInfo":{"name":"apify-mcp-server","version":"1.0.0","web...[2706 chars truncated]... a general and versatile web scraping tool.\n- **Dedicated Actor tools (e.g. apify/rag-web-browser) vs call-actor:**\n  Prefer dedicated tools when available; use `call-actor` only when no specialized tool exists in Apify store.\n"},"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":0} { metadata: undefined }
2026-03-24T20:31:42.626Z [Apify] [info] Message from client: {"method":"notifications/initialized","jsonrpc":"2.0"} { metadata: undefined }
2026-03-24T20:31:42.626Z [Apify] [info] Message from client: {"method":"tools/list","params":{},"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1} { metadata: undefined }
2026-03-24T20:31:42.626Z [Apify] [info] Message from client: {"method":"prompts/list","params":{},"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":2} { metadata: undefined }
2026-03-24T20:31:42.626Z [Apify] [info] Message from client: {"method":"resources/list","params":{},"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":3} { metadata: undefined }
2026-03-24T20:31:42.632Z [Apify] [info] Message from server: {"result":{"tools":[{"name":"search-actors","description":"\nSearch the Apify Store to FIND and DISCOVER what scraping tools/Actors exist for specific platforms or use cases.\nThis tool provides INFORMATION about available Actors - it does NOT retrieve act...[30111 chars truncated]...ructiveHint":true,"openWorldHint":true},"icons":[{"src":"https://apify-image-uploads-prod.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/3ox4R101TgZz67sLr/SGmCeTBVS4pdLKrXM-2815986.png","mimeType":"image/png"}],"execution":{"taskSupport":"optional"}}]},"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1} { metadata: undefined }
2026-03-24T20:31:42.632Z [Apify] [info] Message from server: {"result":{"prompts":[{"name":"GetLatestNewsOnTopic","description":"This prompt retrieves the latest news articles on a selected topic.","arguments":[{"name":"topic","description":"The topic to retrieve the latest news on.","required":true},{"name":"timespan","description":"The timespan for which to retrieve news articles. Defaults to \"7 days\". For example \"1 day\", \"3 days\", \"7 days\", \"1 month\", etc.","required":false}]}]},"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":2} { metadata: undefined }
2026-03-24T20:31:42.632Z [Apify] [info] Message from server: {"result":{"resources":[]},"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":3} { metadata: undefined }

[jirispilka]

Hi @msarjun46, thank you for a detailed report

Your logs show the server is actually starting and communicating correctly, so the problem might be at the Claude Desktop side. I don't see anything suspicious in the logs.

The easiest fix is to connect directly to the remote Apify MCP server. In Claude Desktop, go to Customize → Connectors → Click on the + sign to add a new connector

It will ask for your Apify API token — you can find it at https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations.

If that doesn't work, you can also try using mcp-remote:

{
    "mcpServers": {
      "apify": {
        "command": "npx",
        "args": [
          "-y",
          "mcp-remote",
          "https://mcp.apify.com/",
          "--header",
          "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR_APIFY_API_TOKEN>"
        ]
      }
    }
  }

More details at https://mcp.apify.com.

[ssquare55]

facing Same Issue

[Akash25042003]

i am also facing the same issue, give the clear cut clarification why it is happing like this

[jirispilka]

Same answer as #560 — the most reliable fix is to use the remote server directly. In Claude Desktop go to Settings → Connectors → Add custom connector, use https://mcp.apify.com as the URL, and follow the OAuth flow.

See the troubleshooting guide for full details.

Closing this — please open a new issue if the problem persists with details and logs.