MCP Installer Fails to Start Without Any Errors

[vincentblokker]

MCP Installer Fails to Start Without Any Errors

Description

MCP installs successfully, but when running mcp start --verbose, there is no output, and no logs are generated. Even when forcing debug output with DEBUG=* mcp start --verbose, nothing appears.

System Information

OS: macOS 15.3.2 (24D81)
Node.js Version: v20.10.0 (also tested on v22.14.0)
npm Version: 10.2.3
MCP Version: 1.1.10
Installation Method: Global via:
npm install -g @mintlify/mcp --legacy-peer-deps --force

Steps to Reproduce

1. Install MCP globally:
   npm install -g @mintlify/mcp --legacy-peer-deps --force

2. Check if MCP is installed:
   mcp --version
   ✅ Returns 1.1.10

3. Attempt to start MCP:
   mcp start --verbose
   ❌ No output, no logs generated.

4. Force debug mode:
   DEBUG=* mcp start --verbose
   ❌ No output.

5. Check if MCP is running:
   ps aux | grep mcp
   ❌ No active processes.

6. Check logs:
   tail -n 50 ~/.mcp/logs/mcp.log
   ❌ No such file or directory → MCP does not generate logs.

Additional Debugging Attempts

1. Tried running MCP directly via Node.js:
   node /Users/[your-user]/.nodenv/versions/20.10.0/lib/node_modules/@mintlify/mcp/bin/index.js
   ❌ No output.

2. Tried running MCP via npx
   npx @mintlify/mcp --verbose
   ❌ No output.

3. Tried resetting MCP installation

npm uninstall -g @mintlify/mcprm -rf ~/.mcprm -rf /Users/[your-user]/.nodenv/versions/20.10.0/lib/node_modules/@mintlify
npm cache clean --force
npm install -g @mintlify/mcp --legacy-peer-deps --force

❌ Still no output.

4. Tried running MCP inside a clean test environment

mkdir ~/mcp-debug
cd ~/mcp-debug
npm init -y
npm install @mintlify/mcp --legacy-peer-deps --force
npx @mintlify/mcp --verbose

❌ No output.

Expected Behavior

MCP should start and provide output/logging, or at least return an error message.

Observed Behavior

• MCP installs correctly but does nothing when started.
• No error messages, no logs, and no running processes.

Request for Help

• How can I diagnose why MCP is not starting?
• Are there additional debug flags or logs that could provide insight?
• Could this be an issue with the MCP package itself?

Any help is appreciated! Thanks in advance. 🙏