---
slug: account-connector
title: "Turning off the account connector (when it overlaps a folder connection)"
description: "Claude Code and Desktop's `</> Code` attach your claude.ai account connector separately from the folder connection. With two AiAkiv connections, saves split between the folder project and Main, so turn the account connector off, but only where you use a folder connection."
lang: en
---


# Turning off the account connector (when it overlaps a folder connection)

> **In one line.** **One AiAkiv connection per conversation.** Claude Code attaches
> your claude.ai account connector separately from the AiAkiv in the folder's
> `.mcp.json`, so **where you use a folder connection**, turn off the account
> connector's AiAkiv. Where you don't use a folder connection, leave it on.

What a folder connection (folder binding) is lives in [Folder
binding](folder-binding), and the steps for using one in Desktop live in
[Claude Desktop](desktop-binding). This page covers **only how to turn one
off when the two overlap.**

## What goes wrong

The **account connector** is the AiAkiv you registered on your claude.ai account.
It saves by following your account's **Main**.

**Claude Code** (the terminal CLI from version 2.1.46, and Claude Desktop's
`</> Code`) attaches this account connector to the session **separately from**
the AiAkiv in the folder's `.mcp.json`. That leaves **two** AiAkiv connections in
one conversation.

```
AiAkiv from the folder's .mcp.json  ──>  saves to the folder project
AiAkiv from the account connector   ──>  saves to Main
```

The two have identical tool names. So nothing guarantees which one the AI uses,
and depending on which it picks, saves **split between the folder project and
Main.** There's no error and no warning, so the screen looks fine.

This overlap happens **even when the folder connection is approved.** Approval
decides whether the folder connection attaches at all ([Claude
Desktop](desktop-binding) §4); the account connector attaching alongside it
is a separate matter.

## Who doesn't need to turn it off

To be clear up front: **this page is not telling everyone to turn the account
connector off.**

Some places use **only the account connector**, with no folder connection: claude.ai
web chat, and Desktop conversations opened where there's no folder config
(`.mcp.json`). Turn the account connector off there and AiAkiv **disappears
entirely.**

So there's one rule.

> **One AiAkiv connection per conversation.** Turn the account connector off
> **only where you use a folder connection.**

| Where | AiAkiv attached | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Claude Code in a folder with `.mcp.json` (terminal, Desktop `</> Code`) | Folder connection + account connector (two) | **Turn the account connector off** |
| A conversation opened where there's no `.mcp.json` | Account connector (one) | Leave it on |
| claude.ai web chat | Account connector (one) | Leave it on |
| ChatGPT · ChatGPT classic | Works differently | See [below](#the-chatgpt-apps) |

## Checking whether they overlap

Look for **two** AiAkiv entries in the `/mcp` list. Or ask your AI.

```
how many AiAkiv connections do you have?
```

If there are two, they overlap. Then asking for the save target
(`get_save_target`) answers `folder` or `main` **depending on which connection you
asked**. That answer alone can't tell you it's safe, so **cut it down to one
first**, then check the save target.

## How to turn it off, by where you work

### Claude Desktop (`</> Code`)

In the composer, open the **+ menu → Connectors** and turn AiAkiv off.

- **This doesn't delete the connector from your account.** It turns it off for
  Desktop sessions, so your web chat settings stay as they are.
- **It also changes the default for new Desktop sessions.** So in a conversation
  opened on a folder with no `.mcp.json`, AiAkiv will be gone. To use it there,
  **turn it back on** in the same menu.
- The terminal setting below (`deniedMcpServers`) **doesn't reach Desktop.** In
  Desktop, use this menu.

### Terminal CLI (Claude Code)

Put the following in that folder's `.claude/settings.local.json`.

```json
{
  "deniedMcpServers": [{ "serverName": "claude.ai AiAkiv" }]
}
```

- Each entry is **an object, not a string.** Write it in the
  `{ "serverName": "..." }` shape.
- **It blocks only in that folder.** Other folders and web chat are unaffected.
- If the same file already has approval settings (`enabledMcpjsonServers`,
  `enableAllProjectMcpServers`), **write it inside the same braces.** A second
  pair of braces breaks the file.

  ```json
  {
    "enabledMcpjsonServers": ["AiAkiv"],
    "deniedMcpServers": [{ "serverName": "claude.ai AiAkiv" }]
  }
  ```

  The approval side (`enabledMcpjsonServers`) is an array of **name strings**; the
  blocking side (`deniedMcpServers`) is an array of **objects**. The shapes differ,
  which makes them easy to mix up.

### Turning off every account connector in the terminal

To turn it off in one go instead of per folder, use one of these.

- The environment variable `ENABLE_CLAUDEAI_MCP_SERVERS=false`
- The setting `"disableClaudeAiConnectors": true`

**⚠ This turns off every other account connector too, not just AiAkiv.** If you use
other connectors registered on your claude.ai account, the per-folder setting
above is the better choice.

### claude.ai web chat

No need to turn anything off. Web chat has no folder, so the account connector is
**the only connection.** Turn it off and you can't use AiAkiv in web chat.

### The ChatGPT apps

ChatGPT and ChatGPT classic work differently. You keep the account connector and
**register the folder connection under a different name** to tell the two apart →
[Connecting ChatGPT](chatgpt).

That approach doesn't work in Claude. **Even with different names the AI can still
use the account connector**, so in Claude you turn the account connector off.

## Checking after you turn it off

1. Look at the `/mcp` list again, or ask "how many AiAkiv connections do you
   have?". There should be **one**.
2. With one, ask for the save target ("where are you saving right now?"). The AI
   calls `get_save_target` and reports back.
   - Check that `binding` is **`"folder"`**. If you attached with an API key it
     shows **`"api-key"`**. Both mean pinned.
   - Check that the project name **doesn't carry `(Main)`.** If it does, it's
     following the account Main.
3. To be sure, **open a new conversation** and check again. When the setting
   reaches a conversation that's already open can differ from place to place.

Every value `binding` can take, and what each means, is in *Confirming it
attached* in [Folder binding](folder-binding).

## Common problems

- **After turning it off, AiAkiv disappeared in other folders.** Turning it off in
  Desktop changed the default for new sessions. When you work in a folder with no
  `.mcp.json`, turn it back on under **+ menu → Connectors**.
- **I added the terminal setting but Desktop still shows two.** `deniedMcpServers`
  doesn't reach Desktop. In Desktop, turn it off under **+ menu → Connectors**.
- **I added the setting but nothing is blocked.** Check two things. That you didn't
  write the entry as a string (`"claude.ai AiAkiv"`): it must be **an object**
  (`{ "serverName": "claude.ai AiAkiv" }`). And that the server name exactly
  matches the account connector's name in the `/mcp` list (`claude.ai AiAkiv`).
- **After turning it off, there's no AiAkiv at all.** The folder connection wasn't
  approved, so it was skipped. An unapproved folder connection drops out with no
  error, and until now only the account connector was there. Approve it per
  §4 of [Claude Desktop](desktop-binding).

## Related

- Using a folder connection in Desktop, and approving in advance → [Claude Desktop](desktop-binding)
- What a folder connection is, and what the `binding` values mean → [Folder binding](folder-binding)
- Running two connections side by side in ChatGPT and ChatGPT classic → [Connecting ChatGPT](chatgpt)
- OAuth and API keys → [Authentication](auth)