If an assistant will not connect
Every message you can meet while connecting an AI assistant to TradeSender, what causes it and what to do about it.
Connecting has three parts. Your AI app finds TradeSender, TradeSender asks you to allow it, and the app finishes the sign-in. Find the part that failed. Messages are quoted as TradeSender writes them.
Before TradeSender opens
| What you see | Why | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| The AI app says it cannot connect, and no TradeSender page opens | The address is not quite right. | Enter exactly https://app.tradesender.co.uk/mcp. It starts with https, and nothing follows mcp, not even a /. |
| The AI app has nowhere to add an address | The app, your account with it, or your organisation's settings do not allow a custom server. | See the page for your app: Claude, ChatGPT, Claude Code or Codex. |
On the TradeSender page
| What you see | Why | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| The sign-in page, with "Sign in to connect your AI assistant." | You are not signed in to TradeSender in this browser. Nothing is wrong. | Sign in, or choose Create an account. The Allow page follows. |
| A plain page: "TradeSender doesn't recognise this app. Try connecting again; if it keeps happening, remove TradeSender from your AI app and add it again." | TradeSender could not confirm which app is asking. | Try again. A second try often works. If it does not, remove TradeSender from the AI app and add it again. |
| A plain page: "This app asked to return to an address it didn't register." | The app asked TradeSender to send you back to an address the app had not declared. TradeSender refuses, so nobody can collect your sign-in at an address of their own. The fault is in the app. | Update the AI app and try again. If it repeats, tell us which app it was. |
| Nothing to connect, with "Start from your AI app: add TradeSender there and it will bring you back here." | You opened the Allow page on its own, or in a different browser or tab from the one the app opened. | Start from the AI app. How to connect opens Connected apps in Settings, where each assistant's card has its steps. |
| "This connection request has expired. Go back to your AI app and connect again." | More than 30 minutes passed between leaving the AI app and choosing Allow. | Start again from the AI app. |
| Couldn’t load this request, with a reason such as "Couldn’t reach your workspace. Check your connection and try again." | Your browser could not reach TradeSender, or something failed while it read the request. The request is kept. | Check your internet connection and choose Try again. You do not need to go back to the AI app. |
| "Couldn’t connect. Please try again." under the question | Something failed while TradeSender sent your answer. | Choose Allow again. |
| "Too many requests; try again later" | Too many sign-in requests reached TradeSender from one place within a minute. | Wait a minute and try again. |
| The page names the wrong workspace | You are signed in to a different workspace. | Choose Cancel. Sign in to the right workspace in TradeSender, then start again from the AI app. |
After you choose Allow
The last part happens between the AI app and TradeSender. If it fails, the app shows you what TradeSender told it. Some apps show the message, some only a code.
| What the app reports | Why | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| "The code is invalid or has expired" | The app took more than 2 minutes to finish after you chose Allow. | Connect again from the app. |
| "The code has already been used" | The app tried to finish the same sign-in twice. TradeSender also ends the connection the first try made. | Connect again, once. |
| "The code does not belong to this request" | The app that finished the sign-in was not the one that started it, or you were removed from the workspace in between. | Start again from the app. |
access_denied | You chose Cancel. | Start again, and choose Allow if you meant to. |
"Only authorization_code is supported", unsupported_response_type, invalid_request or invalid_target | The app asked in a way TradeSender does not accept. The fault is in the app. | Update the app. If it repeats, tell us which app it was. |
| "redirect_uris must be https URLs, http URLs on this device, or an app's own links" | The app tried to register a return address TradeSender does not allow. | The same: update the app, then tell us. |
It connected, and then
| What happens | Why | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| The assistant answers without using TradeSender | The app did not use the connection for that message. | In Claude, press the plus button under the message box, choose Connectors and switch TradeSender on. In ChatGPT, type @ and choose TradeSender. In Claude Code or Codex, type /mcp to check it is listed. |
It says it has no permission, or reports forbidden | The assistant has your role. A technician's assistant gets no quotes, invoices or price list, and sees only the jobs and visits that technician is assigned to. | Ask an owner or office member to do it. See What an assistant can and cannot do. |
It worked, and now it reports 401 or "A valid bearer token is required", or asks you to sign in again | The connection ended. Connections do not run out with time, so something ended it: you chose Disconnect, you chose a new password, or you left, were removed from or were deactivated in the workspace. | Connect again. See Disconnect an assistant. |
"Too many requests; try again later", or rate_limited, on anything but an email | That connection made more than 300 requests in a minute. | Wait a minute. |
| The same message when it emails a quote or invoice | Your workspace has reached 100 quote and invoice emails for the day. The limit is shared by everyone in the workspace. | Wait. The count clears within 24 hours. |
| "Your Free plan includes 30 visits a month." or "Your Free plan doesn't include repeating visits." | A plan limit. An assistant has the same limits as you. | See Plans. |
| "TradeSender hit an error and nothing was saved. Try again shortly." | A fault on our side. | Try again. If it repeats, tell us from Help what you asked for. |
| It says it cannot add a photo, fetch a PDF, read enquiries or change settings | Assistants are never offered those. | Do it in TradeSender yourself. |
Still stuck
Choose Report a problem in Help and tell us which AI app you use, what you were doing and the exact message. Do not send a password, or anything the app calls a token or a code.
Checked against the app on 20 October 2026. Still stuck? Ask usAsk us.