11---
2- title : MCP Inspector
2+ title : Inspector
33description : In-depth guide to using the MCP Inspector for testing and debugging Model Context Protocol servers
44---
55
6- The [ MCP Inspector] ( https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/inspector ) is an interactive developer tool for testing and debugging MCP servers. While the [ Debugging Guide] ( docs/tools/debugging ) covers the Inspector as part of the overall debugging toolkit, this document provides a detailed exploration of the Inspector's features and capabilities.
6+ The [ MCP Inspector] ( https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/inspector ) is an interactive developer tool for testing and debugging MCP servers. While the [ Debugging Guide] ( / docs/tools/debugging) covers the Inspector as part of the overall debugging toolkit, this document provides a detailed exploration of the Inspector's features and capabilities.
77
88## Getting started
99
@@ -20,111 +20,35 @@ Pass arguments to your server after the path:
2020npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector path/to/server.js arg1 arg2
2121```
2222
23- ## Interface overview
23+ ## Feature overview
2424
25- The Inspector provides several key panels for interacting with your MCP server:
25+ The Inspector provides several features for interacting with your MCP server:
2626
27- ### Server info panel
28- - Displays server name and version
29- - Shows negotiated protocol version
30- - Lists supported capabilities
31- - Indicates connection status
27+ ### Server connection pane
28+ - Allows selecting the [ transport] ( /docs/concepts/transports ) for connecting to the server
29+ - For local servers, supports customizing the command-line arguments and environment
3230
33- ### Resources browser
31+ ### Resources tab
3432- Lists all available resources
3533- Shows resource metadata (MIME types, descriptions)
3634- Allows resource content inspection
3735- Supports subscription testing
3836
39- ### Prompts panel
37+ ### Prompts tab
4038- Displays available prompt templates
4139- Shows prompt arguments and descriptions
4240- Enables prompt testing with custom arguments
4341- Previews generated messages
4442
45- ### Tools panel
43+ ### Tools tab
4644- Lists available tools
4745- Shows tool schemas and descriptions
48- - Provides input validation
46+ - Enables tool testing with custom inputs
4947- Displays tool execution results
5048
51- ## Testing features
52-
53- ### Resource testing
54- ``` typescript
55- // Example resource URI to test
56- resource :// myapp/data/123
57- ```
58-
59- 1 . View resource metadata
60- 2 . Inspect content representations
61- 3 . Test subscription updates
62- 4 . Monitor resource changes
63-
64- ### Prompt testing
65-
66- Test prompts with different arguments:
67- ``` json
68- {
69- "temperature" : 0.7 ,
70- "style" : " concise"
71- }
72- ```
73-
74- 1 . Validate argument constraints
75- 2 . Preview generated messages
76- 3 . Test error conditions
77- 4 . Check template rendering
78-
79- ### Tool testing
80-
81- Test tool execution with various inputs:
82- ``` json
83- {
84- "query" : " SELECT * FROM users" ,
85- "limit" : 10
86- }
87- ```
88-
89- 1 . Validate input schemas
90- 2 . Test error handling
91- 3 . Monitor execution progress
92- 4 . Inspect tool results
93-
94- ## Advanced usage
95-
96- ### Message inspector
97-
98- The Message inspector panel shows all communication between the client and server:
99-
100- 1 . Request/response pairs
101- 2 . Notifications
102- 3 . Progress updates
103- 4 . Error messages
104-
105- This helps debug:
106- - Protocol conformance
107- - Message formatting
108- - Error conditions
109- - State transitions
110-
111- ### Subscription testing
112-
113- Test resource subscriptions:
114-
115- 1 . Subscribe to resources
116- 2 . Monitor update notifications
117- 3 . Test unsubscribe behavior
118- 4 . Verify update patterns
119-
120- ### Capability testing
121-
122- Verify server capabilities:
123-
124- 1 . Check supported features
125- 2 . Test capability negotiation
126- 3 . Verify feature availability
127- 4 . Monitor initialization flow
49+ ### Notifications pane
50+ - Presents all logs recorded from the server
51+ - Shows notifications received from the server
12852
12953## Best practices
13054
@@ -137,52 +61,16 @@ Verify server capabilities:
13761
138622 . Iterative testing
13963 - Make server changes
140- - Restart Inspector
64+ - Rebuild the server
65+ - Reconnect the Inspector
14166 - Test affected features
14267 - Monitor messages
14368
144- 3 . Error testing
145- - Test invalid inputs
146- - Check error responses
147- - Verify error handling
148- - Test recovery flows
149-
150- ### Tips and tricks
151-
152- 1 . Keep Inspector Running
153- - Monitor changes in real-time
154- - Quick iteration cycle
155- - Immediate feedback
156-
157- 2 . Use Message Filtering
158- - Filter by message type
159- - Focus on specific features
160- - Debug targeted behaviors
161-
162- 3 . Test Edge Cases
163- - Invalid resource URIs
164- - Malformed tool inputs
69+ 3 . Test edge cases
70+ - Invalid inputs
16571 - Missing prompt arguments
16672 - Concurrent operations
167-
168- ## Common patterns
169-
170- ### Development loop
171-
172- 1 . Start server development
173- 2 . Launch Inspector
174- 3 . Implement feature
175- 4 . Test in Inspector
176- 5 . Refine implementation
177- 6 . Repeat
178-
179- ### Integration testing
180-
181- 1 . Test basic functionality
182- 2 . Verify error handling
183- 3 . Check performance
184- 4 . Validate protocols
185- 5 . Test user flows
73+ - Verify error handling and error responses
18674
18775## Next steps
18876
@@ -218,4 +106,4 @@ Verify server capabilities:
218106 >
219107 Review message specifications
220108 </Card >
221- </CardGroup >
109+ </CardGroup >
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