# Server not starting

**Symptoms:** The MCP server shows as disconnected or unavailable in your client.

**Diagnosis:** Check the server logs:

* **VS Code:** Open the Command Palette (`Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + P`) → `MCP: List Servers` → click the dbt server to see detailed logs.
* **Claude Desktop:** Check `~/Library/Logs/Claude` (macOS) or `%APPDATA%\Claude\logs` (Windows).
* **All clients:** Set `DBT_MCP_LOG_LEVEL=DEBUG` in your environment variables to get more verbose output.

**Common causes:**

* Missing or incorrect (Applies to dbt v1.11 and later) `DBT_ENGINE_PROJECT_DIR` or `DBT_PATH` — verify the paths exist and are absolute paths.
* Invalid or expired authentication tokens — generate a new token and update your config.
* Missing required environment variables for the toolset you're trying to use — see [Tool requirements](../../../docs/dbt-ai/setup-local-mcp.md#tool-requirements-at-a-glance).