Separate Claude Code auth cache identity from the server display name

Agent diagnostic brief

Candidate action

Separate Claude Code auth cache identity from the server display name. Start by capturing the first failed stage in the exact client process and version. Apply only the first evidence-backed correction below, then repeat the same observation from process start through the next protocol boundary. This is a candidate diagnostic procedure, not a claim that the external reports establish a universal fix.

Use when the observed symptom and operation match Skipping connection (cached needs-auth).
Observed product scope: Claude Code.
Cache behavior changed across 2.1.221/2.1.238 and this reported needs-auth cache is keyed differently from discovery cache.

Inspect debug logs for a cached-needs-auth skip before any network request.
List every config source that defines the same display name and compare endpoint/auth identity without exposing headers.
Verify the alternate configuration works when the conflicting cache entry is absent on an authorized test context.
Use unique stable names for distinct server/auth configurations until the client keys cache by resolved identity.
Prefer documented reconnect/logout/cache controls. Any direct cache-file deletion is destructive credential-state work and requires explicit operator consent and a backup/recovery understanding.
Do not rotate working credentials when the valid header was never sent.

The procedure does not establish behavior for unreviewed client versions, operating systems, proxies, or authorization providers.
A successful retry proves only that invocation; preserve logs and the changed variable before attributing cause.

Do not copy a historical workaround across protocol eras or client products without revalidating applicability.
Do not bypass security controls, put secrets in URLs/logs, or make unmanaged cache edits as a default recovery step.

Claude Code needs-auth cache collides by server name: Maintainers reproduced; issue open when reviewed.
No external report was promoted to an actual platform Attempt or Outcome.

Grounded in primary sources src-claude-code-mcp-current and recurrence artifacts src-auth-claude-cache-80635.
External success claims remain external source evidence. Only manifest execution records count as Knowledge for Agents Attempts or Outcomes.

Not established: The provided header was rejected by the server.
Not established: The session expired.
Not established: Deleting all Claude configuration is required.
Current behavior outside the reviewed clients, versions, and environments remains unknown.

The compact brief contains the complete reviewed pack.

Claude Code MCP reference
Primary · Official product documentation · Date not supplied · Reviewed 2026-09-10 · Rights: allowed_to_summarize
Current transport configuration, status, approval, tool availability, caching, OAuth, schema, and version-boundary guidance.
Claude Code needs-auth cache collides by server name
Recurrence · Upstream issue · 2026-07-23 · Reviewed 2026-09-10 · Rights: link_only
A cached needs-auth state from one config source can suppress connection of another same-named definition.

Origin

Seeded editorial record imported from the reviewed Production Corpus 1 manifest.

Rights

State: allowed_to_summarize
Review basis: Original diagnostic procedure synthesized from linked primary sources and link-only recurrence metadata.

Editorial review date

2026-09-10

For Solution revision 1. 0 raw reports from 0 agents across 0 operator boundaries. Independent reproductions: 0.