diff --git a/src/components/settings/__tests__/mcp-section-error-state.test.tsx b/src/components/settings/__tests__/mcp-section-error-state.test.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..3511d6890
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/components/settings/__tests__/mcp-section-error-state.test.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,51 @@
+/**
+ * A read failure on the MCP connector cards (connected assistants, connector
+ * tokens) must not read as "nothing connected / no tokens". Both queries are
+ * forced into their error state; each card has to render the `query-error-card`
+ * slot with retry and never fall through to its empty copy — the §6
+ * fall-through on another security surface.
+ */
+import { describe, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
+import { renderToStaticMarkup } from "react-dom/server";
+
+vi.mock("@tanstack/react-query", () => ({
+  useQuery: () => ({
+    data: undefined,
+    isLoading: false,
+    isError: true,
+    refetch: vi.fn(),
+  }),
+  useQueryClient: () => ({ invalidateQueries: vi.fn() }),
+  useMutation: () => ({ mutate: vi.fn(), isPending: false }),
+}));
+
+vi.mock("@/hooks/use-auth", () => ({
+  useAuth: () => ({
+    user: { id: "u1", role: "USER", modules: { mcp: true } },
+    isAuthenticated: true,
+    isLoading: false,
+    refetch: vi.fn(),
+  }),
+}));
+
+import { I18nProvider } from "@/lib/i18n/context";
+import { McpSection } from "../mcp-section";
+
+function render() {
+  return renderToStaticMarkup(
+    <I18nProvider initialLocale="en">
+      <McpSection />
+    </I18nProvider>,
+  );
+}
+
+describe("McpSection — a read failure is honest, not empty", () => {
+  it("renders query-error cards with retry and never the empty copy on error", () => {
+    const html = render();
+    expect(html).toContain('data-slot="query-error-card"');
+    expect(html).toContain('data-slot="query-error-retry"');
+    // Neither empty copy may appear when the reads failed.
+    expect(html).not.toContain("No connected assistants");
+    expect(html).not.toContain("No active tokens");
+  });
+});
diff --git a/src/components/settings/mcp-section.tsx b/src/components/settings/mcp-section.tsx
index 9c0692e1c..3d6099963 100644
--- a/src/components/settings/mcp-section.tsx
+++ b/src/components/settings/mcp-section.tsx
@@ -35,6 +35,8 @@ import {
 import { Badge } from "@/components/ui/badge";
 import { Button } from "@/components/ui/button";
 import { Input } from "@/components/ui/input";
+import { QueryErrorCard } from "@/components/ui/query-error-card";
+import { Skeleton } from "@/components/ui/skeleton";
 import { Switch } from "@/components/ui/switch";
 import { SettingsCard } from "@/components/settings/settings-card";
 import { SettingsCardHeader } from "@/components/settings/_card-header";
@@ -77,7 +79,12 @@ function McpConnectionsCard() {
   const { isAuthenticated } = useAuth();
   const queryClient = useQueryClient();
 
-  const { data: connections } = useQuery({
+  const {
+    data: connections,
+    isError,
+    isLoading,
+    refetch,
+  } = useQuery({
     queryKey: queryKeys.mcpConnections(),
     queryFn: async () => apiGet<McpConnectionInfo[]>("/api/mcp/connections"),
     enabled: isAuthenticated,
@@ -110,7 +117,11 @@ function McpConnectionsCard() {
       <p className="text-sm">{t("settings.mcp.connectionsDetail")}</p>
 
       <div className="space-y-4">
-        {list.length === 0 ? (
+        {isError ? (
+          <QueryErrorCard onRetry={() => refetch()} />
+        ) : isLoading ? (
+          <Skeleton className="h-24 w-full rounded-lg" />
+        ) : list.length === 0 ? (
           <p className="text-muted-foreground rounded-lg border border-dashed px-3 py-4 text-center text-sm">
             {t("settings.mcp.noConnections")}
           </p>
@@ -264,7 +275,12 @@ function McpTokensCard() {
   const [tokenMsg, setTokenMsg] = useState<string | null>(null);
   const [tokenCopied, setTokenCopied] = useState(false);
 
-  const { data: tokens } = useQuery({
+  const {
+    data: tokens,
+    isError,
+    isLoading,
+    refetch,
+  } = useQuery({
     queryKey: queryKeys.mcpTokens(),
     queryFn: async () => apiGet<McpTokenInfo[]>("/api/mcp/tokens"),
     enabled: isAuthenticated,
@@ -340,9 +356,7 @@ function McpTokensCard() {
       <p className="text-sm">{t("settings.mcp.tokensDetail")}</p>
 
       <div className="space-y-4">
-        <p className="text-sm leading-relaxed">
-          {t("settings.mcp.scopeNote")}
-        </p>
+        <p className="text-sm leading-relaxed">{t("settings.mcp.scopeNote")}</p>
 
         <div className="border-border bg-muted/30 space-y-2 rounded-lg border p-3">
           <div className="flex items-center justify-between gap-4">
@@ -421,7 +435,11 @@ function McpTokensCard() {
           <p className="mb-2 text-sm font-medium">
             {t("settings.activeTokensTitle")}
           </p>
-          {activeTokens.length === 0 ? (
+          {isError ? (
+            <QueryErrorCard onRetry={() => refetch()} />
+          ) : isLoading ? (
+            <Skeleton className="h-24 w-full rounded-lg" />
+          ) : activeTokens.length === 0 ? (
             <p className="text-muted-foreground rounded-lg border border-dashed px-3 py-4 text-center text-sm">
               {t("settings.noActiveTokens")}
             </p>