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---
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- title : MCP Inspector
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+ title : Inspector
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description : In-depth guide to using the MCP Inspector for testing and debugging Model Context Protocol servers
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---
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- 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.
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+ 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.
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## Getting started
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@@ -20,111 +20,35 @@ Pass arguments to your server after the path:
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npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector path/to/server.js arg1 arg2
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```
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- ## Interface overview
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+ ## Feature overview
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- The Inspector provides several key panels for interacting with your MCP server:
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+ The Inspector provides several features for interacting with your MCP server:
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- ### Server info panel
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- - Displays server name and version
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- - Shows negotiated protocol version
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- - Lists supported capabilities
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- - Indicates connection status
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+ ### Server connection pane
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+ - Allows selecting the [ transport] ( /docs/concepts/transports ) for connecting to the server
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+ - For local servers, supports customizing the command-line arguments and environment
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- ### Resources browser
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+ ### Resources tab
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- Lists all available resources
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- Shows resource metadata (MIME types, descriptions)
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- Allows resource content inspection
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- Supports subscription testing
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- ### Prompts panel
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+ ### Prompts tab
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- Displays available prompt templates
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- Shows prompt arguments and descriptions
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- Enables prompt testing with custom arguments
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- Previews generated messages
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- ### Tools panel
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+ ### Tools tab
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- Lists available tools
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- Shows tool schemas and descriptions
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- - Provides input validation
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+ - Enables tool testing with custom inputs
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- Displays tool execution results
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- ## Testing features
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-
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- ### Resource testing
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- ``` typescript
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- // Example resource URI to test
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- resource :// myapp/data/123
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- ```
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-
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- 1 . View resource metadata
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- 2 . Inspect content representations
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- 3 . Test subscription updates
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- 4 . Monitor resource changes
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-
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- ### Prompt testing
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-
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- Test prompts with different arguments:
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- ``` json
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- {
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- "temperature" : 0.7 ,
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- "style" : " concise"
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- }
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- ```
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-
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- 1 . Validate argument constraints
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- 2 . Preview generated messages
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- 3 . Test error conditions
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- 4 . Check template rendering
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-
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- ### Tool testing
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-
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- Test tool execution with various inputs:
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- ``` json
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- {
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- "query" : " SELECT * FROM users" ,
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- "limit" : 10
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- }
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- ```
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-
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- 1 . Validate input schemas
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- 2 . Test error handling
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- 3 . Monitor execution progress
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- 4 . Inspect tool results
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-
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- ## Advanced usage
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-
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- ### Message inspector
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-
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- The Message inspector panel shows all communication between the client and server:
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-
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- 1 . Request/response pairs
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- 2 . Notifications
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- 3 . Progress updates
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- 4 . Error messages
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- This helps debug:
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- - Protocol conformance
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- - Message formatting
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- - Error conditions
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- - State transitions
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-
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- ### Subscription testing
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-
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- Test resource subscriptions:
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-
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- 1 . Subscribe to resources
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- 2 . Monitor update notifications
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- 3 . Test unsubscribe behavior
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- 4 . Verify update patterns
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-
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- ### Capability testing
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-
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- Verify server capabilities:
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- 1 . Check supported features
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- 2 . Test capability negotiation
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- 3 . Verify feature availability
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- 4 . Monitor initialization flow
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+ ### Notifications pane
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+ - Presents all logs recorded from the server
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+ - Shows notifications received from the server
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## Best practices
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2 . Iterative testing
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- Make server changes
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- - Restart Inspector
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+ - Rebuild the server
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+ - Reconnect the Inspector
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- Test affected features
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- Monitor messages
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- 3 . Error testing
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- - Test invalid inputs
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- - Check error responses
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- - Verify error handling
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- - Test recovery flows
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- ### Tips and tricks
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- 1 . Keep Inspector Running
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- - Monitor changes in real-time
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- - Quick iteration cycle
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- - Immediate feedback
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- 2 . Use Message Filtering
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- - Filter by message type
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- - Focus on specific features
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- - Debug targeted behaviors
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-
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- 3 . Test Edge Cases
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- - Invalid resource URIs
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- - Malformed tool inputs
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+ 3 . Test edge cases
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+ - Invalid inputs
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- Missing prompt arguments
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- Concurrent operations
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-
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- ## Common patterns
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-
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- ### Development loop
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- 1 . Start server development
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- 2 . Launch Inspector
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- 3 . Implement feature
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- 4 . Test in Inspector
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- 5 . Refine implementation
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- 6 . Repeat
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-
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- ### Integration testing
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- 1 . Test basic functionality
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- 2 . Verify error handling
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- 3 . Check performance
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- 4 . Validate protocols
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- 5 . Test user flows
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+ - Verify error handling and error responses
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## Next steps
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@@ -218,4 +106,4 @@ Verify server capabilities:
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>
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Review message specifications
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</Card >
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- </CardGroup >
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+ </CardGroup >
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