datlechin · Oct 12, 2026 · Oct 12, 2026 · Oct 12, 2026 · Oct 12, 2026 · Oct 12, 2026
diff --git a/customization/general-settings.mdx b/customization/general-settings.mdx
@@ -54,7 +54,7 @@ Older servers have neither: MySQL before 5.7.8, MariaDB before 10.1.1. A stateme
 
 ## Command line tool
 
-**Install** writes a `tablepro` command to `/usr/local/bin` that opens database URLs in the app. When it cannot write there, the section prints the command to run in Terminal yourself. See [Terminal](/integrations/terminal).
+Shows whether `/usr/local/bin/tablepro` links to this copy of the app, with the Terminal line that links or removes it. The command opens database URLs in the app. See [Terminal](/integrations/terminal).
 
 ## Trusted links
 

diff --git a/customization/settings.mdx b/customization/settings.mdx
@@ -100,7 +100,6 @@ What a fresh install ships with, so one glance down this column says what you ch
 | MCP | Maximum row limit | 10,000 |
 | MCP | Query timeout | 30 seconds |
 | MCP | Log MCP queries in history | On |
-| MCP | Require authentication | On |
 | MCP | Approval | Ask Once for Each Connection |
 | MCP | Allow apps to list connections hidden from AI | Off |
 | Sync | Sync this Mac with iCloud | Off |

diff --git a/developers/mcp-protocol.mdx b/developers/mcp-protocol.mdx
@@ -274,7 +274,7 @@ Present the form, then repeat the **same** call with the answer and the state ec
 
 A call that carries `inputResponses` or `requestState` is never cached, whatever the method's normal hint says.
 
-An accepted form stands in for TablePro's own dialog only on a `fullAccess` token. On a `readOnly` or `readWrite` token, and on the anonymous loopback principal, Safe Mode still puts its dialog on the Mac afterwards, so a write is confirmed twice: once in your interface, once in TablePro's. Ask for `fullAccess` at [pairing](/developers/pairing) if the second prompt is not what you want.
+An accepted form stands in for TablePro's own dialog only on a `fullAccess` token. On a `readOnly` or `readWrite` token, Safe Mode still puts its dialog on the Mac afterwards, so a write is confirmed twice: once in your interface, once in TablePro's. Ask for `fullAccess` at [pairing](/developers/pairing) if the second prompt is not what you want.
 
 ## Errors
 

diff --git a/developers/pairing.mdx b/developers/pairing.mdx
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ sequenceDiagram
     E->>E: verifier = randomBytes(32).base64url
     E->>E: challenge = base64url(SHA-256(verifier))
     E->>T: open tablepro://integrations/pair<br/>?client=…&challenge=…&redirect=…&response_mode=query&state=…
-    T->>M: lazy-start server
+    T->>M: start server (refused while MCP is off)
     T->>U: Approval sheet (client, destination, scopes, connections, expiry)
     U->>T: Approve
     T->>T: mint token, hold pending exchange<br/>{ code, plaintext, challenge }, 5 min
@@ -157,7 +157,8 @@ The sheet names the client and counts down the five minutes the request is good
 the link asked for, movable in either direction), **Allowed Connections** (all, or a checked subset),
 and **Expiration** (never, 1, 7, 30 or 90 days). A link that asks for `connections:display` adds
 **List connections hidden from AI**, off until the user ticks it. The link's parameters are a
-request, not a grant.
+request, not a grant. **Deny** is the default button: Return and Escape both deny, and **Approve**
+takes a click. The sheet does not take focus from another app; TablePro's Dock icon bounces instead.
 
 Approving mints the token, holds the plaintext against a one-time code for 5 minutes, and opens the
 redirect. Pairing again mints a second token rather than replacing the first, so an extension that
@@ -175,6 +176,9 @@ re-pairs should stop using its old one. Revoke either under
 
 ## Errors
 
+With **Enable MCP Server** off, the pair link stops before the approval sheet with an alert that
+names **Settings > MCP**. No redirect is opened, so the extension sees no answer.
+
 A failed verification burns the code, so retrying with a guessed verifier is not an option: start a
 new pair request.
 

diff --git a/developers/tokens.mdx b/developers/tokens.mdx
@@ -14,22 +14,17 @@ description: Token model, scopes, connection allowlists, expiry, revocation, and
 
 | Level | Scopes | What it can do |
 |-------|--------|----------------|
-| Anonymous loopback | `tools:read`, `resources:read` | Read schema and run `SELECT`. |
-| **Read Only** | `tools:read`, `resources:read` | The same, under an issued token. |
+| **Read Only** | `tools:read`, `resources:read` | Read schema and run `SELECT`. |
 | **Read & Write** | plus `tools:write` | `INSERT`, `UPDATE`, `DELETE`, connect and disconnect, switch database or schema, open and focus tabs. |
 | **Full Access** | plus `admin` | Also `confirm_destructive_operation`, the only tool that runs `DROP` or `TRUNCATE`. |
 
-Anonymous loopback is the floor and cannot be raised: the scope check refuses `tools:write` and `admin` to a caller with no issued token, whatever it asks for.
-
-`connections:display` sits outside the levels. Only [pairing](/developers/pairing#scopes) grants it, and only while **Allow apps to list connections hidden from AI** is on under **Settings > MCP > Connection Access**. The **Generate Token** sheet never does, and an anonymous caller never holds it. It does one thing: lets [`list_connections`](/developers/mcp-tools#listing-for-display) take `purpose: "display"`. A token holding it reads **Lists connections hidden from AI** in the token list.
+`connections:display` sits outside the levels. Only [pairing](/developers/pairing#scopes) grants it, and only while **Allow apps to list connections hidden from AI** is on under **Settings > MCP > Connection Access**. The **Generate Token** sheet never does. It does one thing: lets [`list_connections`](/developers/mcp-tools#listing-for-display) take `purpose: "display"`. A token holding it reads **Lists connections hidden from AI** in the token list.
 
 `confirm_destructive_operation` also needs the connection's external access to be **Read & Write**, and no permission level skips the user's approval. [Scopes and gates](/developers/mcp-tools#scopes-and-gates) names which tools sit on which scope.
 
-## Require authentication
-
-**Settings > MCP > Authentication > Require authentication** is on by default. Turning it on for the first time with no tokens yet mints a **Read & Write** token named "Default token" and reveals the plaintext once.
+## No token, no access
 
-With the toggle off, a request from your own machine with no `Authorization` header is accepted as the anonymous loopback caller in the table above. Presenting an `Authorization` header still goes through normal token validation, so an invalid token is rejected either way. The server is loopback only, with no remote mode.
+A request with no `Authorization` header gets `401` with a `Bearer` challenge, from your own Mac as much as from anywhere else. There is no setting that admits a caller without a token. The server is loopback only, with no remote mode.
 
 ## Connection allowlist
 
@@ -100,7 +95,7 @@ Every authentication, tool call, resource read, and query is recorded in `~/Libr
 | Timestamp | when the call happened |
 | Token | the token behind the call, by name and id |
 | Category | `auth`, `access`, `admin`, `query`, `tool`, `resource` |
-| Action | `auth.success`, `auth.anonymousLoopback`, `auth.failure`, `auth.rateLimited`, `pairing.exchange`, `pairing.redirectRejected`, `token.created`, `token.revoked`, `server.started`, `server.stopped`, `query.executed`, `tool.<name>`, `resource.read` |
+| Action | `auth.success`, `auth.failure`, `auth.rateLimited`, `pairing.exchange`, `pairing.redirectRejected`, `token.created`, `token.revoked`, `server.started`, `server.stopped`, `query.executed`, `tool.<name>`, `resource.read` |
 | Connection | the connection the call targeted, or `-` |
 | Outcome | `success`, `denied`, `error`, `rateLimited` |
 
@@ -119,7 +114,7 @@ Entries are chained: each row's hash covers the previous one, so a row cannot be
 | Failed pairing exchanges | 5 per 5 minutes |
 | Pairing lockout | 15 minutes |
 
-Request limits are keyed by token id, or by client address for an anonymous caller, and `subscriptions/listen` is exempt. Failed auth attempts are counted per client address, and every client on the Mac shares one, so a client that keeps sending a bad token locks the others out too. A malformed `Authorization` header, a scheme other than `Bearer`, and an unknown, expired or revoked token each count. A request with no `Authorization` header gets the `401` challenge and does not count. A successful auth clears the count. Anything over a limit returns `-33010` with HTTP `429` and a `Retry-After` header. Transport limits such as the body cap are on [MCP Protocol](/developers/mcp-protocol#transport-limits).
+Request limits are keyed by token id, and `subscriptions/listen` is exempt. Failed auth attempts are counted per client address, and every client on the Mac shares one, so a client that keeps sending a bad token locks the others out too. A malformed `Authorization` header, a scheme other than `Bearer`, and an unknown, expired or revoked token each count. A request with no `Authorization` header gets the `401` challenge and does not count. A successful auth clears the count. Anything over a limit returns `-33010` with HTTP `429` and a `Retry-After` header. Transport limits such as the body cap are on [MCP Protocol](/developers/mcp-protocol#transport-limits).
 
 ## What a token cannot do
 

diff --git a/developers/url-scheme.mdx b/developers/url-scheme.mdx
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ Raycast extension with `open()` from `@raycast/api`.
 | [`connect/<uuid>/query?sql=…`](#run-a-query) | A query tab with the SQL prefilled, after a confirmation |
 | [`import?…`](#import-a-connection) | A review sheet that saves a new connection |
 | [`integrations/pair?…`](#start-pairing) | The pairing approval sheet |
-| [`integrations/start-mcp`](#lazy-start-the-mcp-server) | Nothing. Starts the MCP server and returns |
+| [`integrations/start-mcp`](#start-the-mcp-server) | Nothing. Starts the MCP server and returns |
 | [`settings/<pane>`](#open-a-settings-pane) | Settings on that pane, or on the last-used pane |
 
 ## Connection IDs are UUIDs
@@ -85,7 +85,7 @@ tablepro://connect/<connection-uuid>/query?sql=<percent-encoded-sql>
 ```
 
 A dialog titled **Open Query from Link** appears first, previewing the first 300 characters of the
-SQL; **Open Query** opens the tab. Nothing executes, the user runs it from the editor. A tab already
+SQL; **Open Query** opens the tab, and Return or Escape cancels. Nothing executes, the user runs it from the editor. A tab already
 holding exactly this SQL comes to front instead of a second one opening.
 
 `sql` is required and caps at 51,200 UTF-16 units. Longer than that and the link is dropped.
@@ -126,14 +126,15 @@ open "tablepro://integrations/pair?client=My%20Launcher&challenge=E9Melhoa2OwvFr
 
 [Pairing](/developers/pairing) has the exchange step and the error codes.
 
-## Lazy-start the MCP server
+## Start the MCP server
 
 ```text
 tablepro://integrations/start-mcp
 ```
 
-Starts the MCP server if it is not running, then returns. MCP does not have to be enabled in Settings
-first. The bundled `tablepro-mcp` CLI uses this to bootstrap on a cold launch.
+Starts the MCP server if it is not running, then returns. The bundled `tablepro-mcp` CLI uses this
+to bootstrap on a cold launch. With **Enable MCP Server** off in **Settings > MCP**, the start is
+refused: no listener, no alert, and a launch made only for this URL quits again.
 
 The server takes the configured port (`23508` by default) and falls back to a kernel-assigned free
 port when that one is busy. The **Status** row in **Settings > MCP** shows the port it bound.

diff --git a/features/mcp.mdx b/features/mcp.mdx
@@ -16,9 +16,9 @@ This page covers the **Settings > MCP** pane. The protocol itself, the tool cata
 
 Open **Settings > MCP** and turn on **Enable MCP Server**. The **Status** row underneath is how you check it before touching a client config: it reads **Running on port 23508**, or **Stopped**, or the reason it failed.
 
-Leaving the toggle off does not keep the server down. It starts on demand when a client launches the bundled `tablepro-mcp` bridge and when you pair an extension, so turning the toggle off stops the listener but not those paths.
+With the toggle off, nothing starts the server. A client that launches the bundled `tablepro-mcp` bridge gets "The TablePro MCP server is turned off" within a second instead of a timeout, and pairing an extension stops at the same message with **Open MCP Settings**.
 
-While it is only answering a client, TablePro stays out of the Dock and the app switcher. It appears in both, with its menu bar, once it has a window on screen, including one a client asked it to open.
+While it is only answering a client, TablePro stays out of the Dock and the app switcher. It appears in both, with its menu bar, once it has a window on screen, including one a client asked it to open. A TablePro the bridge launched while the toggle is off quits again.
 
 The default port is **23508**. If it is taken, TablePro asks the kernel for a free one instead. Either way the real port goes to `~/Library/Application Support/TablePro/mcp-handshake.json`, which the bridge reads, so a client config never carries a port.
 
@@ -64,6 +64,10 @@ The question always arrives as a dialog on your Mac, never through the client. A
 answer it in its own interface could also answer it without asking you, and this is the gate that
 decides whether it reaches the connection at all.
 
+The dialog does not take focus from the app you are typing in. TablePro's Dock icon bounces until
+you switch to it, **Deny** is the default button, and Return and Escape both deny. **Allow** takes a
+click.
+
 Nothing here times out. Whoever sent the request decides how long to wait for you, and an answer
 counts whenever you give it.
 
@@ -78,9 +82,7 @@ Tokens that hold this grant read **Lists connections hidden from AI** in the tok
 
 ## Authentication
 
-**Require authentication** is on by default. Turning it on for the first time with no tokens yet generates a full-access "Default token" and shows the plaintext once, so copy it then. Create, scope, allowlist, expire and revoke tokens in the same section, described in [Tokens](/developers/tokens).
-
-With the toggle off, a caller on your own machine is accepted without a token, but only as a read-only caller: schema reads and `SELECT`. Anything beyond reading needs a token you issued.
+Every request needs a token, including one from your own Mac. The bundled bridge mints its own, so a client set up through **Connect a Client…** needs nothing from you; an HTTP client or a launcher needs a token you generate or pair. Create, scope, allowlist, expire and revoke tokens in this section, described in [Tokens](/developers/tokens).
 
 ## Activity and connected clients
 

diff --git a/images/command-line-install-dark.png b/images/command-line-install-dark.png
diff --git a/images/command-line-install.png b/images/command-line-install.png
diff --git a/images/command-line-link-dark.png b/images/command-line-link-dark.png
diff --git a/images/command-line-link.png b/images/command-line-link.png
diff --git a/integrations/mcp-clients.mdx b/integrations/mcp-clients.mdx
@@ -104,7 +104,7 @@ Click **Connect a Client…** in **Settings > MCP**. The sheet covers Claude Des
 
 ## What the config leaves out
 
-TablePro does not have to be open first. Finding no trusted handshake, the bridge runs `open -g tablepro://integrations/start-mcp` and polls for one every 200ms for up to 10 seconds. A TablePro started that way stays out of the Dock, the app switcher and the menu bar until it has a window to show; open the app yourself and it behaves normally for the rest of that run.
+TablePro does not have to be open first, but **Enable MCP Server** has to be on. Finding no trusted handshake, the bridge runs `open -g tablepro://integrations/start-mcp` and polls for one every 200ms for up to 10 seconds. With the toggle off, TablePro refuses the start and the bridge exits with that error at once. A TablePro started that way stays out of the Dock, the app switcher and the menu bar until it has a window to show; open the app yourself and it behaves normally for the rest of that run.
 
 The token is not yours to manage either. Each server start mints one named `__stdio_bridge__`, writes it into the handshake file, and rotates it 15 minutes before its one-hour expiry. It is **Read & Write**, so an agent on the bridge can read and write but cannot call `confirm_destructive_operation`.
 
@@ -153,6 +153,10 @@ Clients see the full [tool catalog](/developers/mcp-tools), the [resources](/dev
 
 The bridge writes its failure to stderr and as a JSON-RPC error, so the message in the client names the layer that refused.
 
+### The TablePro MCP server is turned off
+
+**Enable MCP Server** is off in **Settings > MCP**. Turn it on, then relaunch the client.
+
 ### TablePro is not running
 
 The bridge could not launch the app, or got no trusted handshake within 10 seconds. Open TablePro and check that **Settings > MCP** shows the server running; if it does, toggle **Enable MCP Server** off and on, then relaunch the client.

diff --git a/integrations/raycast.mdx b/integrations/raycast.mdx
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ It defaults to `/Applications/TablePro.app`, so change it only for a build that
 
 ## Pair
 
-Run **Pair with TablePro**. An approval sheet opens in TablePro where you pick the scope (read-only
+Turn on **Enable MCP Server** in **Settings > MCP** first; with it off, pairing stops at an error. Then run **Pair with TablePro**. An approval sheet opens in TablePro where you pick the scope (read-only
 to start), the connections the token may reach, and an optional expiry. Approving sends a one-time
 code back to Raycast, which exchanges it for a token over localhost. [Pairing](/developers/pairing)
 documents the protocol.
@@ -74,6 +74,6 @@ under Raycast's [privacy policy](https://www.raycast.com/privacy).
 | Symptom | What to do |
 |---|---|
 | Paired, but the connection list is empty | TablePro omits every connection the token cannot reach. Either the allowlist you approved left it out, or its **External Clients** level is **Blocked**. Re-pair with the connection selected, or raise the level in the [connection form's Options tab](/connections/connection-form#options). |
-| Commands hang on a running TablePro | The MCP server is stopped. The extension opens `tablepro://integrations/start-mcp` and retries on its own; give it a moment. |
+| Commands hang on a running TablePro | The MCP server is stopped. Turn on **Enable MCP Server** in **Settings > MCP**; the extension retries on its own. |
 | `401` | The token was revoked or has expired. Run **Pair with TablePro** again. |
 | `403` and other MCP errors | See [MCP client troubleshooting](/integrations/mcp-clients#when-it-does-not-work). |