# Trouble setting up MCP with claude - I keep getting error 401

**URL:** <https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/trouble-setting-up-mcp-with-claude-i-keep-getting-error-401/116872>\
**Category:** Ignition Early Access\
**Tags:** perspective\
**Created:** [August 24, 2026, 12:25pm UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/trouble-setting-up-mcp-with-claude-i-keep-getting-error-401/116872 "2026-08-24T12:25:28Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![jus.mocivnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ad7895/32.png) [@jus.mocivnik](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/jus.mocivnik)\
**Post date:** [August 24, 2026, 12:25pm UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/trouble-setting-up-mcp-with-claude-i-keep-getting-error-401/116872/1 "2026-08-24T12:25:28Z")

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Environment: Ignition 8.3 EA (nightly build), standalone (non-inheritable) test project, Windows VM.

Issue: Every API request returns 401 Unauthorized, regardless of client or endpoint.

What I've tried (all fail identically with 401):

1. curl.exe from host PC -\> VM (network confirmed working: arp resolves, TCP port 8088 reachable, HTTP response received)
2. curl.exe from inside the VM itself (localhost)
3. Jython system.net.httpClient.post() from within Ignition's own Script Console (rules out any client-side/shell quoting issue)

Endpoints tried: /data/api/v1/gateway-info, /data/api/v1/resources/com.inductiveautomation.mcp/server-config

API key config tried:

- Security level: Authenticated (default, no custom restrictions)
- No IP allowlist, no expiration set
- Tried both "core" and "local" scope when creating the key - same 401 either way
- Tried with "Require secure connections for API Keys" both enabled and disabled - same 401 either way (note: enabling it over plain HTTP gives 401, not the 403 the docs describe)
- Generated a brand new key after each change, tested immediately
- Restarted the Gateway service after the most recent key creation - no change

Header used: X-Ignition-API-Token:

At this point I've ruled out network, client tooling, and (as far as I can tell from the UI) key configuration. Is there a known issue with API key auth in the current nightly, or something else I should check gateway-side (logs, a master enable toggle for the Gateway API, config sync state)?

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**Author:** ![pturmel](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/inductiveautomation/user_avatar/forum.inductiveautomation.com/pturmel/32/3295_2.png) [@pturmel](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/pturmel)\
**Post date:** [August 24, 2026, 12:57pm UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/trouble-setting-up-mcp-with-claude-i-keep-getting-error-401/116872/2 "2026-08-24T12:57:58Z")

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> [@jus.mocivnik](#):
>
> - Security level: Authenticated (default, no custom restrictions)

It isn't documented clearly, but this is insufficient. The user manual shows the use of a dedicated security level, and this is not optional.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![jus.mocivnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ad7895/32.png) [@jus.mocivnik](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/jus.mocivnik)\
**Post date:** [August 25, 2026, 7:39am UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/trouble-setting-up-mcp-with-claude-i-keep-getting-error-401/116872/3 "2026-08-25T07:39:07Z")

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Thanks for the response but sadly this hasnt fixed my issue. Neither me nor Claude can find a way to get a different response from the gateway other than 401. I honestly have no idea where to go from here