Troubleshooting

What to check when an app will not connect, or connects but will not do what you ask.

Every request is refused, or the connection fails

Go to Saddle → Apps → Connection details & health and run Check connection.

The most common cause is a web server that strips the Authorization header before WordPress sees it, so your key never arrives. Saddle detects this. On Apache or LiteSpeed it offers a one-click fix. On nginx it shows the one line to send your host.

“Your sign-in key was rejected”

The key was revoked, deleted or mistyped. Connect the app again from Saddle → Apps to get a new key.

“The request arrived without a sign-in key”

The key never reached your site. This is the stripped-header problem above. Run the connection check.

“MCP server does not implement OAuth”

Sign-in for ChatGPT is off. Turn it on under Saddle → Settings, check the readiness line under the switch, then try again in ChatGPT.

The approval screen says the request expired

Approval requests last 15 minutes. Start the connection again from the app and approve it when the screen appears.

The app connects but says it cannot do something

Check these in order:

1. Saddle → Settings. Is Saddle paused?
2. Saddle → Permissions. Is the access level high enough, and is that tool switched on?
3. Sign-in connections only. Did you grant enough when you approved the app? If not, disconnect and approve it again at the higher level.

Saddle tells connected apps why a request was refused, so a good app will pass the reason on to you.

The app connects but shows no tools

The app signed in, then reports it has no actions it can use. That is a different problem from the one above.

Go to Saddle → Apps → Client traffic, click Record the next hour, then ask the app to refresh its actions. Each attempt appears as a row:

• “refused” with a status code. The request never reached Saddle’s tools. A hosting security layer in front of WordPress is the usual cause.
• “0 tools sent”. Saddle answered but had nothing to offer. Look at the site’s settings, not the connection.
• No row at all. The request never reached WordPress. A firewall, CDN or security plugin is almost always the cause.

Copy report gives a plain-text summary for a support email. It contains no keys and no content.