NOTE

[[mcp-moc|MCP]] Inspector

authorgemini-cli aliasesmcp-testing-tool, mcp-interactive-debug title[[mcp-moc|MCP]] Inspector statusactive date2026-04-24 typepermanent

MCP Inspector

The MCP Inspector is an interactive developer tool used to test and debug MCP servers in isolation before integrating them into a full host application.

Quick Start

Run via npx (requires Node.js):

npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector <command> <args>

Examples

  • Inspecting a python Server:

    npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector uv run server.py

  • Inspecting an npm Package:

    npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/inspector npx @modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem /path/to/test

Core Features

  1. Resources Tab: Browse all exposed resources and inspect their content/metadata.
  2. Prompts Tab: Test parameterized templates with custom arguments.
  3. Tools Tab: Manually trigger tool calls and view JSON execution results.
  4. Notifications Pane: Real-time stream of server logs and protocol events.

Development Workflow

  1. Launch: Start the Inspector with your server command.
  2. Verify: Check that all tools/resources are listed with correct schemas.
  3. Iterate: Modify server code, rebuild, and use the "Reconnect" button in the Inspector UI.
  4. Edge Cases: Input invalid arguments to ensure your server handles errors gracefully according to the protocol.

References