Documentation

Troubleshooting, reference, and things worth knowing.

Troubleshooting

macOS: "No such file or directory" or server fails to start

Claude Desktop and other MCP clients on macOS don't inherit your shell's PATH. Even if uv works in your terminal, the app can't find it.

Run which uv in your terminal, then use the full path as the command in your config — e.g., /Users/you/.local/bin/uv.

Windows: MCP server not loading / config not found

Claude Desktop on Windows uses MSIX packaging, which redirects the config file to a different path than what the "Edit Config" button shows. This is a known bug.

Edit the config file at this path instead:
%LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\Claude_pzs8sxrjxfjjc\LocalCache\Roaming\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

Windows: "Application Control policy has blocked this file"

Update uv by running uv self update in your terminal, then restart Claude Desktop. Newer versions of uv include signed binaries that resolve this.

AI Provider Notes

Your experience with mcp-ynab depends on which AI provider and plan you use. The MCP server is the same for everyone — the difference is the model processing your requests.

PRO

Paid tiers (Claude Pro/Max, ChatGPT Plus/Pro) use more capable models with larger context windows. They handle complex multi-step tasks like bulk-categorizing 50+ transactions more reliably.

FREE

Free tiers work but may hit rate limits, use smaller models, or struggle with large transaction volumes. Great for trying things out.

Resources

GitHub Repository

Source code, full tool documentation, and 30+ available tools.

YNAB API Docs

Official YNAB API documentation for understanding the underlying data.

MCP Protocol

Learn about the Model Context Protocol that powers this integration.

YNAB Developer Settings

Create or manage your personal access tokens.