Fix problems connecting an AI assistant to Tarkle
Fix the messages an AI assistant shows when it cannot connect to Tarkle or cannot upload a file.
This article lists the messages an AI assistant shows when it cannot connect to Tarkle, rejects its key or cannot finish an action. Find the heading that matches what you see and follow its fix. Assistants that use an API key need one from Settings, and the first section shows how to make it.
Create an API key for your assistant
ChatGPT, Claude and Grok connect with a browser sign-in and need no key. Other assistants, such as Claude Code, Codex and Cursor, use an API key. Only owners and admins of your organization see the API page and make keys, so a member who needs a key asks an owner or admin to make it.
Open Settings, then open API. This page has two tabs, API keys and Webhooks.
On the API keys tab, click Create.
Under Name, enter a name that tells you which assistant uses the key.
Under Access, choose All workspaces, or Only selected workspaces and tick each workspace the key may reach.
Click Create. Tarkle shows the key in a box, so click it to copy the key.
A key can read and change everything in Tarkle in the workspaces it may reach, and it acts as the person who made it. You can copy the key again later: open the key's menu and click Copy token. The same menu has Rename and Delete. Delete stops the key at once, everywhere it is used. The menu does not change which workspaces a key reaches, so to change them, make a new key.
A coding assistant sends the key in the header Authorization: Bearer <your-tarkle-key> to https://mcp.tarkle.com/mcp, with your key in place of <your-tarkle-key>.
Tarkle asks you to sign in first
If no one is signed in when the assistant opens the connection page, Tarkle sends you to sign in first. Sign in with the account whose workspaces the assistant should use, as described in How to sign in to Tarkle.
That page shows the email you are signed in with. Check it, then click Allow to connect the assistant or Deny to cancel. Once you allow it, the assistant acts as you, limited to what your role in each workspace allows. Links it creates are public.
The page says "This connection request can't be completed"
The page says This connection request can't be completed and adds that the request is invalid or has expired. Go back to the assistant and start the connection again.
The assistant reports a 404 error
A 404 error means the MCP server did not open for this request. Tarkle can switch the MCP server off for everyone, and a partner that manages your account can turn AI connectors off for its customers. Try again later. If it keeps happening, contact Tarkle through How to contact Tarkle.
The assistant reports a 429 error
A 429 error means too many requests reached Tarkle in one minute. Each signed-in person can send 120 requests a minute that read data, and 30 a minute that start an upload, get upload addresses, create a share link or create a file request. Failed sign-in attempts are counted per network address, so an assistant that keeps retrying a wrong key can reach the limit. Wait a minute and try again. If the assistant keeps retrying, stop it and check its key.
The assistant reports a 401 error
A 401 error means Tarkle did not accept the key. Find the case that matches.
The key was deleted. A deleted key stops working at once. Make a new key and use it in the assistant.
The key is marked Legacy. A key made before 2026-11-04 keeps its old, limited permissions, and the MCP server does not accept it. Make a new key.
The person who made the key no longer has an active account. A key acts as the person who made it, so it stops working when that account is suspended. Make a new key while signed in to an active account.
The assistant has an old or wrong copy. Copy the key again from the key's menu with Copy token, and paste it in place of the old one. A key made before copying existed has a disabled Copy token item, so make a new key for it.
The assistant uses a token from before 2026-11-04. A token you made before that date keeps working until its expiry date. After that, use an API key in its place.
ChatGPT, Claude and Grok connect with a browser sign-in and no key. If one of them reports a 401 error, start the connection again from the assistant.
The assistant reports "No workspaces available."
The assistant lists the workspaces the key can reach, and this message means that list is empty. Check these causes.
The account has no workspace it can open. The list holds the workspaces you own, the workspaces where you are a team member and the linked ones. Suspended workspaces are left out. Open Tarkle with the account you want the assistant to use and check that the workspace opens there. If it does not, ask an owner or admin of the workspace to add you, as explained in Teams, roles and sharing files with your team.
The key is limited to selected workspaces, and none of them is in the list. Make a new key with All workspaces, or tick the workspace under Only selected workspaces.
The person who made the key no longer has access to the workspace. A key uses the access of the person who made it, so make a new key while signed in to someone who can open the workspace.
A key limited to selected workspaces gets the answer "Workspace not found." when it asks for a workspace outside its list. Such a key cannot create a workspace either.
The assistant says an action is refused
The assistant shows the reason. Find the message and follow its fix.
Your role in this workspace cannot upload or share files. A Viewer cannot upload or share. Owners, Admins and Members can. Ask an owner or admin to change your role.
This workspace is suspended. Contact Tarkle.
This upload would exceed your plan's storage limit (including uploads still in progress). Wait for the uploads in progress to finish, or add storage as explained in How to add more storage to your Tarkle workspace.
Too many uploads are open. Finish or wait for existing ones to expire. An upload session expires 24 hours after it starts.
Tarkle could not confirm this workspace's plan right now, so the upload was not started. Try again shortly. Contact Tarkle if it keeps happening.
Tarkle could not total this workspace's stored files right now, so the upload was not started. Contact Tarkle.
A file is too big for the assistant
Two limits can apply. The first is your plan's per-file limit. Free supports uploads and transfers up to 1 GB each, and Pro and Agency support files up to 200 GB. A larger file stops with the message "This file is larger than your plan's per-file limit." Compare the plans on pricing.
The second depends on where the assistant runs. An assistant that works in a web chat app, such as ChatGPT or Claude in the browser, can send files up to 5 GB through Tarkle. For a larger file, ask the assistant for the Tarkle upload page. The page says "Choose files from this device", so pick the file there. An assistant connected with an API key has no 5 GB limit, so only your plan's limit applies. How big a file an AI assistant can upload to Tarkle explains both rules.
An upload link has expired
Upload addresses last one hour. If an upload stops part way, ask the assistant to request fresh addresses for the parts still to send. An upload session expires 24 hours after it starts. When a session has ended or an upload has failed, the assistant shows one of these messages:
"This upload session has expired or is already finished. Start a new one."
"This upload failed and cannot be resumed. Start a new one."
Start a new upload of the same file.
What happens next
Once the upload finishes, ask the assistant to create the share link.