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name: mcp-inspector description: MCP Protocol Inspection and Debugging with Inspector CLI keywords: [mcp, inspector, debugging, protocol, testing, cli]

MCP Inspector Skill

Guidelines for using the MCP Inspector tool in CLI mode for protocol inspection, debugging, and tool listing in a VS Code environment.

Prerequisites

• Ensure you have Node.js and npx installed.
• Install MCP Inspector: npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/inspector --help
• Build your MCP server (e.g., bun run build or equivalent).

Usage Examples

List Available Tools

Run the following command in your VS Code terminal:

Copynpx -y @modelcontextprotocol/inspector --cli node build/index.js --method tools/list

Send a Protocol Request (e.g., ping)

Copynpx -y @modelcontextprotocol/inspector --cli node build/index.js --method ping

Debugging and Inspection

• Use Inspector CLI to wrap your MCP server and inspect protocol traffic.
• Example for STDIO server:

Copynpx -y @modelcontextprotocol/inspector node build/index.js

• For HTTP server:

Copynpx -y @modelcontextprotocol/inspector node build/server.js

Tips

• Use Inspector CLI flags for advanced filtering, logging, and output formatting. See Inspector documentation for details.
• Integrate Inspector CLI commands into your VS Code tasks or launch configurations for automated inspection and debugging.
• Use Vitest or your preferred test runner to automate CLI checks (see tests/inspector.test.ts for examples).

References

• MCP Inspector GitHub
• Model Context Protocol Documentation