Is PAPI connected?

PAPI runs as a hosted MCP server at https://mcp.getpapi.ai/mcp. Nothing runs on the user's machine, so a failure is one of three things: the server is not registered, the user is not signed in, or the account has no project bound.

Work through the steps in order and stop at the first one that fails. The checks are the same in every client; only the commands differ, so use the ones for the tool you are running in.

Step 1: Are the tools there?

Look at the available tools list for PAPI tools such as orient, board_view and plan.

Tool names vary by how PAPI was installed. Installed as a plugin in Claude Code they are namespaced mcp__plugin_papi_papi__orient; added directly they are mcp__papi__orient; other clients use their own prefixes. All of them mean the same server.

If PAPI tools are present, skip to Step 3. If none are, go to Step 2.

Step 2: Is the server registered?

Check the client's MCP configuration.

• Claude Code: run claude mcp list. To install, run /plugin marketplace add getpapi/papi then /plugin install papi@papi, or claude mcp add --transport http papi https://mcp.getpapi.ai/mcp.
• Cursor: open Settings, then MCP, and look for papi. Config lives in ~/.cursor/mcp.json or .cursor/mcp.json in the project.
• VS Code, Windsurf, Codex and others: check that client's MCP config for a papi entry pointing at https://mcp.getpapi.ai/mcp. Per-client instructions are at https://getpapi.ai/docs/install.

If papi is absent, PAPI is not installed. Add it, then restart the client, since most clients only read MCP config at startup.

If papi is listed but shows an error or "needs authentication", go to Step 3.

Step 3: Is the user signed in?

The hosted server requires a PAPI account. Registering the server does not sign anyone in, and this is the most common cause of "PAPI is installed but nothing works".

Sign-in is interactive and cannot be done on the user's behalf.

• Claude Code: run /mcp, choose papi, pick Authenticate. A browser tab opens.
• Other clients: the client prompts for OAuth on first use. If it never does, the client may not support OAuth discovery. Fall back to an API key from the dashboard's Connect panel, set as a bearer token in the MCP config. See https://getpapi.ai/docs/install.

If the user has no account, they create one at https://getpapi.ai. The MCP server authenticates against the website account, so there is no separate credential.

Step 4: Is a project bound?

Call orient.

• Returns cycle state: PAPI is healthy. Report and stop.
• Asks which project to use: the account has more than one project and this connection has no default. Put the list to the user, then call again with their choice and run project_switch to make it stick.
• Reports an empty board or no cycles: the account is connected but this project has never been set up. Call setup.

Step 5: Report

Close with exactly one of these, and end on the single next action rather than a list of possibilities.

• Healthy: registered, signed in, project bound. Name the current cycle.
• Not signed in: registered but signed out. Next action is the sign-in step for this client.
• Not installed: no papi server registered. Next action is the install step for this client.
• No project: connected, but nothing set up here. Next action is setup.